Aslan Secures $5m to Supercharge Employees’ Pay
22 January 2025
Aslan, the next-generation financial wellbeing solution, today announces its oversubscribed $5m (£3.9m) seed funding round. The round was led by Notion Capital, a leading European software and cloud venture capital investor, alongside Redstone, and an impressive roster of angels. Stephen Chandler, Notion’s Managing Partner, will join the Board.
Aslan exists to make employees’ pay go further, with a highly engaging benefit that they use every single day.
- Employees get Aslan reward cards, offering tax-efficient cashback on all spend, even on holiday.
- Aslan users are also empowered to choose when and how to get paid, within limits set by clients. This provides employees with responsible control over their own finances, enabling tangible monthly budgeting.
Employee compensation is the single largest expense for most businesses, costing employers £1 trillion in the UK alone. Pay is notoriously hard for companies to get right, and it remains employees’ no.1 focus. Just as the higher payroll costs introduced in the UK’s Autumn Budget bite for businesses this spring, many will be implementing their annual pay rises. Most will now find that getting an extra £100 to an employee’s bank account will cost the business £200 or more.
To date, fixed payroll dates have been a fact of life. This month, many employees will be paid a full 6 weeks after they were last paid in December. Combined with the continuing cost of living crisis, it is no surprise that UK personal debt has reached an all-time high. 30% of the UK population is going into overdrafts every month, while the average household now owes over £2,500 on credit cards. With Aslan, employees can avoid using overdrafts and credit cards, and save the 25-40% interest they charge. Aslan makes them money with cashback rewards instead - so their pay goes that much further.
The company is gaining rapid adoption in the UK market. Since launching in April last year, Aslan has onboarded high profile clients in a wide range of industries from financial services to luxury goods, and achieved strong employee uptake. Employees already use Aslan daily. Both the rewards and the flexible pay features have proved popular with employees across all salary levels, with the average salary of an Aslan user close to £50k a year, and a significant proportion earning over £100k.
Investing in the Aslan team, product and customers, this funding will enable Aslan to:
- Launch a suite of budgeting, financial education and rewards features designed to enhance user experience and drive even higher employee engagement
- Invest in top talent across product, engineering, and customer success to support the company’s ambitious growth plans
- Transform how employers approach workforce engagement and financial wellbeing
James Gozney, Founder and CEO of Aslan, said:
“We are incredibly excited to have the support of such highly respected Fintech investors as we enter this next phase of growth. This investment is a testament to the progress we’ve made, working with forward-thinking clients across multiple sectors within the UK workforce. But we are just getting started; Aslan will fundamentally change the way that we all get paid, and how companies reward their people.”
Stephen Chandler, Managing Partner at Notion Capital, said:
“We are delighted to lead this investment round in Aslan, and to support its ambitious and passionate team. Aslan is bringing a significant innovation to market, in enabling flexible pay and rewards for salaried employees. It provides game-changing benefits for both employers and their staff, and we are excited about its next stage of growth.” Companies in this story: Aslan, Notion Capital
People in this story: Stephen Chandler, James Gozney