Move over Klarna, Checkout.com just became Europe’s most valuable FinTech

Payments solutions provider Checkout.com has closed a $450m Series C funding round at a $15bn valuation, making it Europe’s most valuable venture-backed FinTech.

Checkout.com becoming EMEA’s most valuable privately-owned FinTech means that Klarna has been pushed down to second place after the Swedish buy now pay later venture raised a $650m funding round in September at a $10.65bn valuation.

Bragging rights aside, Checkout.com also plans to use the new cash injection to scale its operations around the world, focusing predominantly on the US.

Tiger Global Management, a New York-based technology investor that has previously backed the likes of Facebook and Spotify, led the raise.

“We believe the shift to digital commerce is still in the early stages and Checkout.com’s focus on developing a best-in-class technology platform has positioned them to be a leader in the industry for years to come,” said Scott Shleifer, partner at Tiger Global Management.

Greenoaks Capital, Insight Partners, DST Global, Coatue Management, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC also participated in the raise.

The Series C investment round brings the total raised by Checkout.com in the past two years to $830m after it secured a $150m Series B funding round in June 2020 at a $5.5bn valuation and a $230m Series A round in May 2019.

Apart from securing the title of being Europe’s most valuable FinTech and possibly the world’s fourth most valuable FinTech, the funds will also enable Checkout.com to make new strategic investments and product developments, like the Checkout.com Payouts solution which apparently saw exponential growth over the last year.

More importantly, the capital influx will also be used to fund its new American offices in New York City and an announced third office in Denver, adding to the San Francisco office it opened in 2017. Checkout.com also announced plans to hire 700 new employees across the board in 2021.

The offices and the topping up of its coffers will enable Checkout.com to boast its ability to meet the growing demand in the US for connected payments solutions and to better provide American enterprises with domestic, global and cross-border services.

News of the Series C round comes on the back of the coronavirus pandemic having accelerated the trend towards online shopping. At the same time, over $20bn in revenue is lost every year due to legitimate payments being deemed as fraudulent, according to Checkout.com’s own research.

As such, Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and founder of Checkout.com, has noted an increased demand for the venture’s services.

“Payments affect everything from the customer journey to a business’s ability to enter new markets or launch new products,” he said. “This latest fundraise reflects our market-leading position and the size of our aspirations as we accelerate in our mission to empower merchants to build better products, drive more revenue and create innovative business models by reimagining interactions with financial services.”

Businesses like Klarna, Revolut, Transferwise, Coinbase, and eToro already are among the companies already using Checkout.com’s services.

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