About
Built by the people who used to chase the supplier's bank
We ran the payments for a furniture importer from Leeds for eleven years. Kelvern is the tool we wanted and could not buy.
The question we could not answer
Every Friday we paid 40 suppliers across six currencies from a bank portal built for paying the electricity bill. And every week, one of them would email to ask when the money would arrive.
The honest answer was "two to five working days". The bank knew the real date. The payment rails publish their timetables. Nobody had put the two together on the screen where you press approve.
So we did. Kelvern started in 2019 with one promise: the date on the quote is the date the money arrives. Everything since, the approval rules, the accounting sync, the cards, has been built the same way: by asking what the person running the payment run actually needs to see.
Who we are now
Forty-two people in Leeds, most of whom have worked in import, freight or trade finance. Our payments desk is staffed by people who have run a payment run themselves, and answers the phone Mon–Fri, 07:30–18:00 UK time.
From one showroom to 1,900 importers
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2008
Our founders start paying furniture suppliers in Rotterdam, Poznań and Foshan from a Leeds showroom.
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2019
Kelvern opens to other importers with GBP and EUR accounts and SEPA payments.
-
2022
SWIFT, USD and CNY accounts. The settlement date appears on every quote.
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2024
Approval rules, accounting sync and supplier cards. 1,000 customers.
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2025
£2.1bn paid to suppliers in 64 countries for 1,900 importers.
What customers say after a year
- Pays
- £410k a month
- Saved
- £38,200 in FX margin last year
“We used to find out a payment had landed when the supplier emailed to say thank you. Now I tell them the date before I press approve, and the date is right.”
- Pays
- £160k a month
- Saved
- £44,700 against our old bank
“The bank took 2.9% on every euro and a £25 fee we never saw on the quote. Same suppliers, same weeks, and the difference paid for a warehouse hire.”
Rated 4.8 out of 5 from 612 reviews by business customers. Savings are as reported by each customer against their previous provider.
Come and see the payments desk.
We are at Third Floor, Whitehall Riverside, Leeds. Customers are welcome for a coffee and a walk through their account.
Or call the payments desk on 0113 496 0128, Mon–Fri, 07:30–18:00 UK time.