Payload Raises $9M Series A

Payload, a Cincinnati-based embedded-payments platform, has raised $9 million in a Series A funding round. Founded in 2019, the company provides a unified API and object model that allows software companies to integrate payment acceptance, payouts, risk monitoring, and customer verification directly into their existing workflows.

Investors

The funding round was led by Fifth Third Bank, a prominent financial institution with significant expertise in the payments sector.

Payload Use of Funds

Payload plans to utilize the capital to expand its engineering and go-to-market teams, accelerate the development of next-generation payment-rail integrations, and enter additional software ecosystems and industry verticals.

About Payload

Founded in 2019 by Ryan Rybolt and Ian Halpern, Payload was established to solve the inefficiencies in business-to-business money movement. The company aims to make payments invisible by embedding them directly into the software applications that businesses already use to operate, avoiding the common trade-off between simplicity and complexity.

Funding Details

Company Website: https://payload.com

Company: Payload
Raised: $9M
Round: Series A
Funding Date: August 19, 2026
Lead Investor: Fifth Third Bank
Software Category: Fintech
Source: https://www.ohiotechnews.com/fifth-third-leads-9m-series-a-in-payload/