Danish startup FlatPay joins the membership of European fintech unicorns to trace

Flatpay, which facilitates card funds for SMBs, has joined the ranks of European fintech unicorns — or startups valued at greater than $1 billion — a milestone that has pushed a few of the area’s greatest exits. These embody rivals like Adyen, a Dutch cost processing large that continues to be far forward in scale. Nonetheless, Flatpay’s contemporary funding might assist it slim the hole.

Flatpay’s wager is that it might problem bigger gamers by charging small retailers a flat transaction price to make use of its card terminals and point-of-sales methods. This deal with a phase that accounts for 99% of European companies has pushed fast traction: the startup now claims round 60,000 clients, up from 7,000 in April 2024.

Flatpay’s personal valuation has grown at a equally quick tempo. Now valued at €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion), the Danish startup reached unicorn standing in solely three years. However whereas CEO and co-founder Sander Janca-Jensen is pleased with this accomplishment, he has his eyes on one other metric: annual recurring income (ARR).

“We crossed €100 million of ARR in October,” Janca-Jensen advised TechCrunch. He added that this quantity (roughly $116 million) is growing by almost €1 million a day ($1.16 million). “The plan for 2026 is to develop one other 300%, so hopefully go away the yr with between €400 and €500 million of ARR.”

To fund this formidable development — because the startup remains to be unprofitable — Flatpay raised €145 million in its newest spherical (roughly $169 million). The spherical was backed by AVP Development and Smash Capital, in addition to Daybreak Capital, which had led the startup’s €$47 million Sequence B. German soccer participant Mario Götze additionally participated in that earlier spherical.

The newly raised capital will help continued development in Flatpay’s present markets — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and the U.Ok. — in addition to additional enlargement into one or two new markets subsequent yr. Janca-Jensen declined to disclose which of them, however job postings counsel that the Netherlands could also be subsequent.

Flatpay at the moment has 1,500 staffers — or “flatpayers” — and plans to double by the top of subsequent yr. Growing headcount is a objective the corporate places on the identical degree as income, stating in a press launch that it goals to develop each by 10x by 2029. This will likely appear uncommon, however they go hand-in-hand for the corporate, which onboards its clients in particular person.

This stems from its speculation that SMB house owners actively search for new options, even when their present methods are overpriced or inadequate. “That’s the place we come within the door,” Janca-Jensen stated. He means this actually — Flatpay reveals up with pen and paper to elucidate its pricing, and with card terminals for immediate demos. “Each gross sales particular person has that suitcase.”

This hands-on method is what may assist Flatpay improve its share of a market that can also be coveted by legacy suppliers, giant fintech gamers like PayPal, Stripe and SumUp, in addition to new entrants specializing in particular sectors, resembling hospitality. However the actual differentiator may be the perception behind it: SMBs need simplicity, and Flatpay leaves them “able to go.”

Whereas this makes for greater buyer acquisition prices than common, particularly when mixed with 24/7 buyer help, Janca-Jensen stated that creating demand permits the startup to develop a lot quicker than it might in any other case. In flip, this triple-digit development makes Flatpay’s emphasis on human interplay rather more palatable to traders, even throughout as we speak’s AI-obsessed investing cycle.

The corporate isn’t ignoring AI completely — it makes use of the know-how for real-time options and is experimenting with voice AI brokers. Flatpay can also be planning to develop additional into fintech with a banking suite that would come with playing cards and accounts. For Janca-Jensen, the hot button is gradual adoption — in order that as an alternative of getting overwhelmed, SMB house owners can “eat the elephant one chunk at a time.”