Canadian online business banking and money management fintech Relay has secured a $50 million investment from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF) as it looks to “ramp up customer acquisition”, according to a company statement.

Created by Karanveer Mohan, managing director at General Catalyst, CVF provides capital to cover sales and marketing spend and customer acquisition costs, without firms needing to give up equity. In return for the investment, General Catalyst receives a capped portion of any revenue generated by new customers.

If the firm does not generate any income from new customers, General Catalyst states it “owns the downside”, adding “GC only gets paid if and when the company gets paid. The company never comes out of pocket to pay GC back”.

As a result, Relay says that the new capital eliminates the “growth-vs-burn tradeoff” businesses typically face with a traditional equity investment. With the funds, Relay will focus on existing investment and product innovation while simultaneously accelerating its customer acquisition.

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Since 2018, Relay has served over 110,000 businesses and manages more than $1 billion in customer deposits, according to its website. The fintech offers business checking and savings accounts, alongside a financial operations platform featuring accounts payable and receivable, payment request, and expense management solutions.

The latest funds strengthen Relay’s treasury which last saw an influx in 2024 with $32.2 million Series B funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures.