London-based digital payments startup Checkout.com has become one of Europe’s most valuable financial technology firms after hitting a $5.5bn valuation, almost tripling its value in under 18 months.
The company, founded in 2012, said on Monday it achieved this valuation after completing a $150m Series B funding round, intended to push the business towards a new stage of development.
It said it saw a 250% boom in online transactions in the year to 20 May, while its clients include Samsung, Dior, Adidas, and Robinhood.
The round was led by Coatue, a US-based hedge fund focused on technology with more than $20bn in assets under management that is now joining the select club of shareholders who own the startup’s shares, including DST Global, Insight Partners, and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
The British fintech firm plans to use the cash to strengthen its balance sheet and to develop new products it has under its sleeve, as it continues to compete with digital payment processing giants such as the US-based Stripe.
Checkout.com’s chief executive Guillaume Pousaz (pictured) said: “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”.
Checkout’s $5.5bn valuation leaves behind the $2bn valuation it obtained during its Series A funding round in May 2019, meant to infuse capital into early-stage companies, and puts the company in the same scale as the Swedish e-commerce lender Klarna and UK digital bank Revolut, all of which, now along with Checkout, are Europe’s most valuable fintechs.
Checkout.com claims to have achieved profitability since 2012, when it launched, generating a $2.3m profit out of nearly $75m in revenues it produced back then.
Meanwhile, its business has accelerated during the recent coronavirus pandemic, as online payment volume has increased as a result of a higher online sales during global lockdowns.
The company currently employs 750 people working in 13 offices around the world in countries like France, Dubai, Hong Kong, Germany, and Spain, and it is actively seeking to expand its team as a result of this recent round of funding.
