Based out of London, Checkout.com develops software for businesses to process online payments in multiple currencies. Recently, the fintech company announced a $150 million (approx €133.2 million) Series B funding round, tripling the value of the online international payments business. As a result, Checkout.com has become one of the most valuable fintechs globally.
Strengthen the balance sheet!
The funding round was led by Coatue, along with participation from existing investors, including Insight Partners, DST Global, Blossom Capital, and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, GIC. The company will use this funding to further strengthen its balance sheet, bringing available cash to over $300 million (approx €266.3 million).
A part of this funding will go to the development of new innovative products, including its upcoming advanced Payouts solution and the capability to accelerate settlement times.
CEO and Founder, Guillaume Pousaz said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Coatue to our cap table. As meaningful investors in late-stage tech companies such as Instacart, DoorDash, Bytedance, and Chime they bring a wealth of experience in building world-class businesses driven by operational excellence. They share our vision for a future of connected payments which made them an obvious choice as partners for us.
Valued at $5.5 billion!
The $5.5 billion (approx €4.9 billion) valuation reflects a growing business demand for transformative online payment solutions that perform across all geographies and channels. It’s worth mentioning that the company’s online transaction numbers had already increased by 250% comparing May ‘19 and May ‘20.
Pousaz added: “The way money moves into and out of businesses is changing rapidly. I believe that by solving financial complexity, you can radically unlock innovation — starting with digital payments. At Checkout.com, we’ve built a technical architecture that enables pioneers to reinvent industries and redefine their relationship with consumers. Now more than ever, we are confident of our mission to build the connected payments that businesses deserve.”
How Checkout.com was born?
Born and raised in Switzerland, Guillaume Pousaz has set his sights on a career in investment banking initially, pursuing Economics at HEC Lausanne. However, he later re-evaluated his life goals, changed a few jobs and started his payment brand with a mission to use its own technology rather than working with any middlemen.
Founded in 2009 as Opus Payments, it has evolved into Checkout.com in 2012. The business has been bootstrapped for a very long time which has allowed the company to grow organically and steadily. As per the company claims, the available cash has been reinvested into proprietary technology.
Last year, the company announced its first funding round led by Insight Partners and DST Global, with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, and others also contributing. The investment was one of the largest ever Series A and fintech rounds in Europe.
Competes with Stripe and Adyen!
London-based Checkout.com competes directly with Stripe and Dutch payment firm Adyen, which listed on Amsterdam Stock Exchange last year. Also, the fintech company has managed to harness this momentum for its growth and expansion.
Despite the heavy competition, the company managed to sign up for Deliveroo, Virgin Active, and TransferWise earlier. Every time one of their users makes a transaction, Checkout.com takes a small fee for processing. Thus it processes over a billion dollars every year in 150 currencies.
500+ merchants in last 12 months!
At present, the company works with many of the world’s leading enterprises, adding 500+ merchants to its books in the last twelve months including Grab, Revolut, Careem, Glovo, Robinhood, Farfetch, Klarna and Remitly.
Furthermore, the company processes over 150 currencies and offers access to all international cards and popular local payment methods to merchants through its proprietary integrated platform. At present, the UK company employs over 750 staff across 13 offices globally.
Kris Fredrickson, the Managing Partner at Coatue, said: “We have followed the business’ explosive growth and are inspired by Guillaume’s vision for the future of payments. We’re incredibly excited to partner for the next phase of the Checkout.com journey.”
Main image credits: Checkout.com
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