London-based Checkout.com, a company that works with global businesses to optimise their payments with real-time data, announced that it has acquired Estonian software development company, Icefire. Checkout.com claims this to be its largest acquisition to date.
Checkout.com claims to have witnessed a huge demand for its payment solution, wherein its transaction volume tripled in the past year. The company helps enterprises achieve better performing payments to drive more revenue and deliver better customer experiences through a customisable platform. Some of its clients include Europe’s top companies like Klarna, Revolut, and Wise.
Here’s why
Ott Kaukver, CTO of Checkout.com, says, “Icefire has an outstanding track record of building complex, modular financial systems over the past 18 years. Their proven experience is complementary to what we are building at Checkout.com, to empower the enterprises with better payments.”
The acquisition will see Icefire and its 110 technology engineers absorbed by Checkout.com’s global technology teams in order to accelerate the delivery of key products and features. Additionally, the Tallinn office will become Checkout.com’s second-largest engineering hub, after its headquarters in London, UK.
Besides, the investment will also serve Checkout.com’s merchants with in-market expertise to empower Checkout’s merchants to scale easily in global markets and achieve optimal payments performance. Some of Checkout.com’s Estonian technology businesses include Wise, Monese, and Bolt.
About Icefire
Founded in 2002, Icefire is a tech company that designs and builds transformative technologies for businesses. The company is mainly known for its banking solutions. Icefire has about 18 years of experience in developing financial services solutions for both the public and private sectors.
Speaking about Icefire, CTO of Checkout.com, Ott Kaukver, says, “Icefire has an outstanding track record of building complex, modular financial systems. Their proven experience is complementary to what we are building at Checkout.com, to empower the enterprises with better payments.”
Icefire has worked for brands such as Skype, OP Financial Group, LHV, Bigbank and the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, among others. Most recently, it supported the development of Estonia’s COVID-19 app, HOIA.
Checkout.com’s “Flexible payment technology”
Founded in 2012 by Guillaume Pousaz, the London-based company sells a software platform that makes it easier for businesses to process and take payments over the web. The company claims its flexible solutions, granular data, and instant insights help enterprises launch new products in new markets and create customer experiences.
Checkout.com also provides fintech companies with a cross-border payment solution for digital commerce. The business offers direct access to domestic acquiring across payment methods and geographies, including all major credit and debit cards, online banking, PayPal, Apple Pay, and other eWallets. It provides payments in more than 150 currencies.
All this is achieved through a unified integrated platform that also provides fraud management tools, analytics, and comprehensive reporting features.
Currently, the company has a team of 1300 people across 19 offices globally, offering its services. As mentioned earlier, the company has been seeing accelerated growth over the past 12 months as merchants shift their attention to digital commerce. To boost this product and market growth, Checkout.com has invested in its technology teams, targeting a 60 per cent increase in technology and product employees in 2021.
Back in January this year, the unicorn raised $450M (approx €368.9M) in its Series C round of funding. Post this round, the company has tripled its valuation to $15B (approx €12.3B). This round made it EMEA’s most valuable venture-backed business and fourth-largest fintech globally.
The Series C was led by Tiger Global Management, a New York-based technology investor that partners with dynamic entrepreneurs operating market-leading growth companies, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify, ByteDance, and JD.com.
In addition, Greenoaks Capital also joined the round along with participation from existing investors Insight Partners, DST Global, Coatue Management, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC.