Adyen Brings Near-Instant Settlements to SumUp Clients

Adyen Brings Near-Instant Settlements to SumUp Clients
  • SumUp and Adyen have joined forces to bring faster payouts to small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
  • The partnership will help SumUp offer more of its SME clients access to funds within minutes of a sale.
  • Faster access to funds will help reduce SMEs’ reliance on large working capital reserves and will improve their cash flow.

Payment acceptance company SumUp and payments technology company Adyen have joined forces this week to offer near-instant settlements to more small and micro merchants in Europe and the U.K.

The partnership will help SumUp bring same day settlements to even more of SumUp’s small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) clients, offering them the access to funds within minutes of a sale. The companies anticipate that the faster access to funds will help reduce SMEs’ reliance on large working capital reserves and will improve their cash flow.

“This partnership is one of a kind as we join forces as major payments players to give SMEs the ability to settle at incredible speeds,” said Adyen President EMEA Alexa von Bismarck. “Cash flow is of the utmost importance for small business owners, and we are proud of being selected by SumUp as their partner on this mission.”

Adyen was founded in 2006 and brings end-to-end payment capabilities, data enhancements, and financial products in a single solution. The company, which processed $820 billion (€767.5 billion) in volume in 2022, serves a range of businesses across the globe, including Facebook, Uber, H&M, eBay, and Microsoft.

SumUp’s platform includes many of the business financial management tools and services that small businesses need to manage and run their businesses, including in-person and remote payment acceptance, card terminals, point-of-sale registers, a business account and card, online store hosting, and invoicing tools. Founded in 2012, SumUp serves 4 million merchants in 36 markets.

“Over the last 10 years, we established the de facto market standard for card acceptance and financial technology for merchants in 36 markets,” said SumUp Co-founder and COO Marc-Alexander Christ. “This partnership will allow us to keep pushing boundaries and continue providing our merchants with the best solutions to manage their business, be it payments, software or financial services. We are excited to amplify our ecosystem of tools and services for small, medium and even enterprise merchants.”


Photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash

SumUp Secures $1.6 Billion in Private Credit Debt

SumUp Secures $1.6 Billion in Private Credit Debt
  • U.K.-based fintech SumUp has raised $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) in a private credit debt transaction.
  • The deal was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and will enable SumUp to refinance debt and pursue international growth opportunities.
  • SumUp won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2013, a year after the company was founded.

In a deal led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, U.K.-based fintech SumUp has secured $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) in a private credit debt transaction. The financing will enable SumUp to refinance current debt as well as take advantage of growth opportunities around the world.

The deal gives SumUp a set of new investors: AllianceBernstein, Apollo Global Management, Arini, Deutsche Bank AG, Fortress Investment Group, SilverRock Financial Services, and Vista Credit Partners. It also comes six months after the company raised $307 million (€285 million) in equity and debt in a round led by Sixth Street Growth. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Capital also participated in that financing.

In a statement SumUp CFO Hermoine McKee pointed to an evolution in the company’s “requirements from capital markets” in explaining SumUp’s most recent fundraising effort. “Lenders understand and support our mission to create a world where everyone can build a thriving business, and recognize our successful methods of achieving, sustaining, and balancing profitability and growth,” McKee said. “This new financing will support us as we focus on providing best-in-class support experiences for our merchants and giving them the products and tools they need to succeed.”

To this end, SumUp noted in a statement that the company has generated positive EBITDA since December 2022, as well as achieving a “decade of sustained growth.” The company currently counts four million businesses among its partners, who rely on SumUp for services ranging from payments and order processing to customer acquisition and money management.

“SumUp has always enjoyed solid and steady support from the investor community, and it’s this continued backing which has enabled us to grow sustainably over the past 10+ years, serving millions of merchants of all sizes globally,” McKee said.

Founded in 2012, SumUp won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2013. The company began this year with its SumUp Beacon event which introduced merchants to a range of new SumUp solutions. These new offerings included SumUp Business Account, SumUp Invoices, SumUp Kiosk, and SumUp Online Store. SumUp also unveiled a pair of new Point of Sale (POS) solutions: POS Lite to enhance over-the-counter sales, and POS Pro to provide enhanced inventory management.


Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

SumUp Scores $306 Million in Equity and Debt to Power Global Expansion

SumUp Scores $306 Million in Equity and Debt to Power Global Expansion
  • SumUp has raised $306 million (€285 million) in combined equity and debt funding.
  • The round was led by Sixth Street Growth. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Capital also participated in the investment.
  • The funding round does not change SumUp’s valuation which, as of June 2022, stood at $8.5 billion (€8 billion).

London-based fintech SumUp has secured $306 million (€285 million) in growth funding. The round was led by Sixth Street Growth and featured participation from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Capital. The company will use the funding, which includes a combination of equity and debt, to support international expansion.

The round reportedly does not change the company’s most recent June 2022 valuation of $8.5 billion (€8 billion). It follows SumUp’s announcement of a $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital earlier this year.

In a statement, SumUp CFO Hermione McKee credited the merchants on the company’s platform – more than four million strong – for the company’s growth. “(It) is a direct result of the success of the traders we serve and would not be possible without the unwavering trust and support of the investor community,” McKee said. “This funding gives us additional firepower to pursue growth opportunities and accelerate products that empower small businesses.”

Founded in 2012, SumUp provides businesses of all sizes with affordable payment products and financial services. The company won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2013, and has since grown into a major payment solutions and point of sale systems provider active in 36 markets around the world. These markets include Australia, where SumUp launched in August.

More recently, the company introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone for SumUp customers in both the U.K. and the Netherlands. This enables SumUp merchants to accept all types of contactless payments using only an iPhone and the SumUp iOS app. No additional hardware is required. SumUp sees the offering as ideal for new and smaller merchants looking to potentially scale their businesses and broaden payment options for customers. SumUp Senior Strategic Growth Manager Giovanni Barbieri underscored the technology’s ability to support financial inclusion. “I am especially pleased with the exceptional functionality of the product and the fact (that) it lowers barriers to entry, with the potential to fuel entrepreneurship.”

This spring, SumUp launched its multi-product subscription offering, SumUp One. The new solution amalgamates the company’s product suite in a single, unified solution for merchants. SumUp One initially launched in Italy and the U.K.


Photo by Humphrey Muleba

Eight Alums Raised More Than $984 Million in Q2 2022

Eight Alums Raised More Than $984 Million in Q2 2022

We may have missed an alum or two. But with the second quarter of 2022 in the books, here’s a look at our Finovate alumni funding for April, May, and June of this year.

As of our current count, eight Finovate alums have raised more than $984 million in Q2 of 2022. Of the eight alums that received funding in the quarter just ended, two – Allied Payment Network and Chekk – did not disclose the total amount of their investments.

Two of the quarter’s biggest investments were received in June, giving that month the lion’s share of capital raised by Finovate alums in the second quarter of the year.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q2 2021: More than $2.8 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q2 2020: More than $975 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q2 2019: More than $1.8 billion raised by 29 alums
  • Q2 2018: More than $1.5 billion raised by 25 alums
  • Q2 2017: More than $726 million raised by 25 alums

As we noted last year around this time, it is not unusual for second quarters to produce more moderate funding numbers compared to other quarters. And, as with last year, April proved to be an especially “cruel” month for fintech funding – at least as measured by our alums – with only FinovateEurope alum and relative newcomer Crowdz reporting funding that month.

That said, this year’s Q2 haul surpassed that of two of the previous five second quarters – and with significantly fewer alums participating.

Top Equity Investments

  • SumUp: $624 million
  • ThoughtMachine: $160 million
  • Backbase: $122 million

The top equity investment for the quarter was far and away the $624 million raised by London-based e-commerce innovator SumUp. In fact, all three of the top equity investments in Q2 of 2022 were greater than the largest investment in the previous quarter. SumUp’s massive capital infusion rivals all Finovate alum investments since NuBank raised $750 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Backbase’s fundraising of $122 million was notable because it was the first time the company had sought outside capital in its nearly 20 years of existence.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q2 2022.

April: $10 million raised by one alum

May: More than $178 million raised by three alums

June: More than $796 million raised by four alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second quarter of 2022 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Pixabay

Payments Solution Provider SumUp Raises $624 Million at a Valuation of $8.5 Billion

Payments Solution Provider SumUp Raises $624 Million at a Valuation of $8.5 Billion
  • E-commerce payments enabler SumUp raised $624 million (€590 million) in a combination of equity and debt financing this week.
  • The funding round was led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities.
  • This week’s investment gives SumUp a valuation of $8.5 billion (€8 billion).

In a round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities – and featuring participation from funds managed by BlackRock, btov Partners, Centerbridge, Crestline, Fin Capital, and Sentinel Dome Partners – e-commerce payments innovator SumUp has secured an investment of $624 million (€590 million). The funding gives the London-based company a valuation of $8.5 billion (€8 billion). SumUp co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ said in a statement that the capital will “enable us to continue to build out our product ecosystem, expand into new markets, (and) pursue value-adding acquisitions.”

The funding was a 50/50 mix of debt and equity and includes SumUp’s first equity infusion since 2017. The company’s total funding stands at $1.6 billion – most of which is debt financing. SumUp secured €750 million in debt funding in 2021.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Christ called the company’s new valuation “true and fair”. This statement comes months after it was reported that SumUp was seeking an investment that would give the company a significantly higher valuation – to the tune of $21 billion (€20 billion). Christ suggested that the current valuation reflects “the price people put on the company in the worst of markets” and that SumUp’s valuation was unlikely to move any lower in the future.

SumUp won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. In the years since, the company has grown to serve more than four million businesses with its payment solutions that range from card readers and point of sale solutions to business accounts and invoicing. The company began this year teaming up with Worldpay from FIS to support its global expansion efforts. SumUp will use Worldpay’s global acquiring services, including authorization, clearing and settlement, dispute management and data insights.

Also this year, SumUp announced a referral deal with Latin American and European e-commerce platform PrestaShop. The partnership gave “hundreds of thousands” of merchants on the PrestaShop platform access to SumUp’s product suite of payment solutions and business tools. Nearly 300,000 websites rely on PrestaShop’s technology, and the company sees its collaboration with SumUp as part of its strategy to enable more merchants to launch and scale their businesses.

“By partnering with PrestaShop, we will continue to expand our support for digital transformation of small businesses, by ensuring their products and services are also available online for their customers,” SumUp Head of Sales and Partnerships James Henry said. “Our partnership will enable merchants with a seamless and secure payment experience for all major credit and debit cards, an important tool in enabling small business success in today’s environment.”

Founded in 2012, SumUp is headquartered in London. Daniel Klein is founder and CEO.


Photo by Artem Beliaikin

SumUp Acquires FiveStars to Enter U.S. Market

SumUp Acquires FiveStars to Enter U.S. Market

Just days after relaunching its online store and appointing a new CEO for its European operations, point of sale (POS) technology provider SumUp announced the acquisition of customer loyalty startup Fivestars for $317 million. The purchase marks SumUp’s sixth overall acquisition but its first in the U.S.

“Our global community of merchants has battled through lockdowns and volatility and we’re confident that this acquisition will further energize the U.S.’s recovering small business economy,” said SumUp Co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ. “Now is the time to make sure our presence is as strong in the U.S. as it is in Europe and, by acquiring Fivestars, SumUp will deliver for U.S.-based merchants as it has in other international markets.”

SumUp launched in 2011 and now helps three million merchants across the globe get paid. The company offers card reader, QR code and POS payment technologies, along with management and reporting tools and invoicing capabilities. Lacking in this product lineup, however, are loyalty and rewards offerings. This is where the integration of Fivestars’ technology comes in. Providing small business clients a way to reward their customers and build loyalty will help SumUp compete with other POS technology providers such as Square, Shopify, PayPal and Zettle.

Founded in 2010, Fivestars helps businesses set up a digital rewards program that gives customers points and gifts for their purchases. The technology automatically sends campaigns to welcome new customers, celebrate their birthdays, and bring back customers who haven’t visited recently. Fivestars also offers enterprise loyalty programs for larger franchises; clients include brands such as Play it Again Sports, Super Cuts, and Orange Leaf.

The acquisition will also help SumUp launch operations in a new geographical market. The U.K.-based company will now have access to Fivestars’ 70 million consumer members and 12,000 small businesses; a network which drives $3 billion in sales and 100 million transactions each year. Fivestars’ San-Francisco-based team, along with its CEO, Victor Ho, will remain in their roles and continue to operate Fivestars.

SumUp raised $869 million (€750 million) earlier this year, bringing its total funding to $1.4 billion. The company supports over three million merchant users in 34 markets.

SumUp Enhances Online Store; Adds New European CEO

SumUp Enhances Online Store; Adds New European CEO

London-based digital payments innovator SumUp announced the relaunch of its online store and the appointment of a new CEO for Europe: Michael Schrezenmaier.

The decision to enhance the SumUp Online Store is part of a strategic pivot toward online retail, an industry that grew significantly during the pandemic. “E-commerce has completely changed since we first launched the Online Store,” SumUp Vice President of Growth, Mark Wang said. “This shift has meant that an exponentially growing number of people now prefer to shop online.” The SumUp Online Store was initially launched in May 2020.

Among the new features offered are tools to enable business owners to set up a store in minutes due to a simplified signup process, a theme editor to customize storefronts, and a learning hub to support both new and veteran business owners. The upgraded platform also will no longer charge subscription fees, making it that much accessible to more small businesses.

“At SumUp our mission with the new Online Store is to provide a better platform for small businesses to reach customers anywhere in the world,” Wang added. “We are constantly working to build innovations that empower anyone to become an entrepreneur.”

Moving from platforms to people, SumUp also announced today that it has appointed Michael Schrezenmaier as its new CEO of Europe. Schrezenmaier comes to SumUp after serving as Chief Operating Officer and interim co-CEO for CRM platform Pipedrive and nearly seven years as COO at international dating company Spark Networks.

“SumUp is a company known for its entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to embrace change which, combined with its growth journey and continued upward trajectory, makes this an exciting time to join,” Schrezenmaier said, adding praise for the company’s innovation, “dedication to merchants,” and its leadership in the payment space overall.

Marc-Alexander Christ, co-founder of SumUp underscored the “quirks” and regional differences in Europe – and the unique aspects of the average European’s relationship with money – in explaining why Schrezenmaier was the right pick for the CEO spot. Christ called Schrezenmaier “a prime example of the type of person who will drive the company forward as we look to uphold our strong position in Europe – and deliver for our merchants.”

Founded in 2012 and making its Finovate debut a year later at FinovateEurope, SumUp has grown into a global digital commerce enabler and payments company. SumUp supports more than three million merchants around the world and boasts a workforce of 2,600+. The company has raised $1.4 billion in funding, most recently securing $893 million in debt financing in March of this year.


Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

SumUp Partners with Google Pay to Facilitate Business Payments

SumUp Partners with Google Pay to Facilitate Business Payments

Global payments company SumUp announced this week that it is collaborating with Google Pay. The two have partnered to help merchants make business transactions safer and easier using their SumUp card, which was launched in February of last year.

The partnership will enable SumUp’s 125,000 business cardholders in the U.K., France, Italy, and DACH to add their SumUp payment card to their Google Pay mobile wallet. Google Pay will also support virtual cards, which will allow merchants to make purchases from suppliers without having their physical card. It will also allow new cardholders to start using their SumUp card immediately after it is issued, instead of waiting for the card in the mail.

“At SumUp, we’re always looking to help our merchants find new ways to improve their businesses, particularly as we move out of this pandemic and hopefully towards a more economically positive future,” said SumUp VP of Banking Dimitri Gugunava. “Collaborating with Google Pay is a really important development for us, because it means we can remove layers of friction for small businesses who need to make quick (but safe) payments on the go.”

SumUp was founded in 2012 and helps three million merchants accept card payments using a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) device and a Mastercard-branded small business payment card. The U.K.-based company also offers small business tools including invoice-creation software, inventory management, customer loyalty features, employee time roll, and reporting technology.

The collaboration announcement comes after SumUp pulled in $895 million in debt funding from Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Bain Capital Credit, Crestline, and others. SumUp Co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ said that the cash will help the company grow its customer base and drive the development of new services for its small business clients across the globe.

Coinciding with today’s news, SumUp released a new TV ad today that promotes the company’s mPOS device for small and micro merchants. Check it out below:


Photo by Oli Dale on Unsplash

SumUp Scores $895 Million in Debt Financing to Speed Growth

SumUp Scores $895 Million in Debt Financing to Speed Growth

Courtesy of Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Bain Capital Credit, Crestline, and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, international payments company SumUp has secured a $895 million (EUR 750 million) debt facility.

“As one of the fastest growing technology companies in the world, this cash injection – in addition to having the built-in option to expand the financing – will significantly accelerate the growth of our customer base, enhance SumUp’s technology leadership position, and drive the development of new services to support our merchants globally,” SumUp co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ said.

SumUp’s funding news comes at a time when the company is adding to its product portfolio in both Europe and the U.K. Much of this growth has come through acquisitions of POS software providers like London-based Goodtill, as well as Tiller, a digital service provider for gastronomy merchants. Separately, SumUp’s recent acquisition of Paysolut, a Lithuanian cure banking system provider will enable the company to fortify the banking services that it offers to its merchants.

SumUp supports more than three million merchants around the world. In addition to its expansion in Europe – going live in Romania to bring the total number of its European markets to 29 – the company has added to its interests in the Chilean market and launched operations in Columbia – the fourth largest economy in Latin America.

At the beginning of this year, SumUp announced that it was working with Shutterstock to give merchants the ability to add high-quality visual images to enhance their online storefronts.

“It’s important now more than ever that small businesses have the means to trade in the e-commerce space in order to take on larger competition,” SumUp European EVP Alex von Schirmeister said. “This partnership with Shutterstock will do just that, giving them more visibility to grow their customer bases.”

Founded in 2011, SumUp made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2013. Daniel Klein is CEO.


Photo by Nathan Cowley from Pexels

A Look at the Top 50 Fintech Companies in Europe

A Look at the Top 50 Fintech Companies in Europe

The following is a guest post from Scott Raspa, Head of Marketing, Hydrogen.


The European fintech scene has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years. One of the key drivers of this growth is open banking. This is causing financial institutions and fintechs to partner together to provide more innovative, user-friendly solutions for consumers throughout Europe.

European consumers are receptive to the idea of non-financial players offering financial products, according to EY’s Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019. The survey finds that fintech adoption throughout Europe, especially in countries such as the Netherlands, U.K., Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, are well above the global average of 64%, and aren’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon.

Below is a list of the top 50 fintech companies in Europe, based on their valuations.

RankingCompanyFundingValuationCountry
1Adyen$266M$22BNetherlands
2NexiPublic$8.2BItaly
3Klarna$1.4B$5.5BSweden
4Checkout$380M$5.5BU.K.
5Revolut$917M$5.5BU.K.
6Transferwise$1.1B$5BU.K.
7Greensill$1.7B$3.5BU.K.
8N26$782.8M$3.5BGermany
9Oaknorth$1B$2.8BU.K.
10IZettle€273.2M$2.2BSweden
11MetroBankPublic$1.92BU.K.
12Wefox$268.5M$1.65BGermany
13Funding Circle$746.4M$1.5BU.K.
14Monzo£384.7M$1.24BU.K.
15Rapyd$170M$1.2BU.K.
16Ledger$88M$1.2BFrance
17AvaloqCHF350M$1.1BSwitzerland
18Deposit Solutions$198.9M$1.1BGermany
19Ivalua$134.4M<$1.0BFrance
20Sumup$425.6M$1.0BU.K.
21Radius Payment£150M$1.0BU.K.
22Numbrs$78.8M$1.0BSwitzerland
23Monese$80.4M$1.0BU.K.
24Worldremit$407.7M<$900MU.K.
25Ebury$123.5M>$900MU.K.
26Oodle Car Finance£160M>$850MU.K.
27Qonto$151.5M>$770MFrance
28Starling Bank£363M>$600MU.K.
29Atom Bank£429M$590MU.K.
30Raisin$206M<$550MGermany
31Tradeplus24$103.5M>$550MSwitzerland
32Kreditech$347.5M<$500MGermany
33Pleo$78.8M$500MDenmark
34Smava$188.7M$500MGermany
35Tink$205.5M>$500MSweden
36Pagantis€76.2M>$400MSpain
37Gocardless$122.3M>$400MU.K.
38Wynd$123.5M>$400MFrance
39Moneyfarm$127.3M>$400MU.K.
40Soldo$83.2M>$400MU.K.
41Ratesetter£43M$360MU.K.
42solarisBank€155.1M$360MGermany
43Bitstamp$12.4M$350MU.K.
44Tinubu Square€79.3M>$350MFrance
45Nutmeg$153.6M$318MU.K.
46Banking CircleN/A$300MDenmark
47BIMA$170.6M$300MSweden
48LendInvest$1.3B>$300MU.K.
49PayFit$101.1M>$280MFrance
50Curve$74.2M$250MU.K.

These companies have raised over $16.8B (€14.3B) in venture capital funding and are valued, collectively, at over $92B (€78B).

The U.K. fintechs are valued at nearly $40B (€34B). The Netherlands are second, all thanks to Ayden, the most valuable fintech in Europe.

The U.K. has also invested the most money, nearly $11B (€9.4B), almost 65% of the funding of these top 50 fintech companies. After the U.K., Germany and Sweden have invested the most with 12.9% ($2.1B / €1.78B) and 12.4% ($2.0B / €1.7B) of the overall funding, respectively.

Fintech Enablement in Europe

Here at Hydrogen we work with companies all over the world. Our award-winning fintech enablement platform enables organizations to quickly and easily build fintech products and components. Whether you want to offer a PFM app in France, a challenger bank in the U.K., or issue cards in Germany, Hydrogen is here to help. Hydrogen has pre-built integrations, workflows, business logic, and UI already built in and available in white labeled/no-code modules or through our robust API.

It’s free to get started, so start building with Hydrogen today!


*Note: Funding information was provided by Crunchbase.com and the Euro, Pound, and US Dollar conversions were based off of today’s conversion rate. Also, total funding amounts didn’t include public companies or companies where we couldn’t identify the funding received.


Photo by H. Emre from Pexels

New SumUp Card Empowers SMEs as Business Payment Makers and Takers

New SumUp Card Empowers SMEs as Business Payment Makers and Takers
Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels

The company that has helped bring fintech innovation to e-commerce with its mobile point-of-sale (mPOS), card reading solutions now offers merchants a card of their own.

SumUp announced this week the launch of the new SumUp Card. In partnership with Mastercard, the new card will make business payments easier for merchants, giving them both faster access to their funds, as well as enhance their ability to monitor their accounts.

When merchant cardholders accept payments via their SumUp readers, the payments will now flow directly to their SumUp Card. The card guarantees next-day payouts including on weekends, has no upfront cost or monthly fee, and offers free overseas payments. Available initially in the U.K., Italy, Germany, and France, the SumUp Card will be expanded to other markets over the course of the year.

The card comes in the wake of consultations with the company’s SME partners, as well as a successful beta-test with more than 25,000 merchants. The partnership with Mastercard reprises a collaboration the two firms undertook last summer which was designed to boost the number of electronic payment acceptance locations in 27 markets in Europe. The company noted in its statement that the card makes SumUp a more comprehensive solution for SMEs by facilitating “both the making and taking of payments.”

“Since launching our first reader, we have been dedicated to empowering merchants so they can focus on making their business as successful as possible,” SumUp co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ said. “We had this in mind when we designed our latest product, with the SumUp Card being a smart solution so we can continue being the driving force behind small businesses across the globe.” He referred to the new offering as “a small card for big ideas.”

SumUp was founded in 2001. The small business payments facilitator offers a variety of solutions that provide merchants with inexpensive payment acceptance options wherever their business is. The U.K.-based company has raised more than $425 million in total funding, most recently securing €330 million ($356 million) in debt financing. An alumni of FinovateEurope 2013, SumUp forged a partnership with German challenger bank Penta in December, and collaborated with U.K. challenger bank Starling Bank in July.


Read more about challenger banks in Europe in our recent features on top challenger banks in Germany and how venture capital is impacting the growth of the industry across the continent.

Finovate Alumni News

Around the web

  • Move Your Business to the United States podcast features Aire CEO Aneesh Varma.
  • SumUp partners with donation software company to help charities to go contactless for Christmas.
  • TransferWise partners with Visa to enable real-time transfers to debit cards.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.