Satispay raises EUR 320 million and becomes a fintech unicorn

Italy-based Satispay has raised EUR 320 million in a new investment round and is now valued at more than EUR 1 billion or USD 960 million.

The main investor in the Italian mobile app payments startup is now US investment firm Addition, but venture capital firm Greyhound Capital, a shareholder since 2018, also increased its stake. Other existing shareholders who participated in the new funding round include hedge fund Coatue Management, private equity firm Lightrock, Tencent, Block Inc., and Mediolanum Gestione Fondi Sgr. 

Since Satispay is now worth more than EUR 1 billion, it has achieved fintech ‘unicorn’ status. Unicorns are late-stage startups that have a valuation of more than EUR/USD 1 billion and are either private or have gone through an IPO. Satispay was founded in 2013 and offers a mobile app that allows users to pay in stores, exchange money with friends, and pay fines. 

Officials from the company cited by reuters.com expressed their hope that these new investments will enable Satispay to become the next leading payment network in Europe, especially since the entity has doubled its customer base and expanded in three more European countries in the past two years.

Satispay partnered with Shopify in 2021 

In 2021, Satispay partnered with Canada-based ecommerce company Shopify in order to integrate as a payment method on the Shopify dashboard. When concluding an online payment with Shopify, users must select Satispay as a payment method when checking out online, or scan the QR code that is presented to them on the screen or at the POS.  

Users can also enter their telephone number and confirm the purchase directly in the app. The transaction takes place immediately and the receipt is available in the profile area of the app without having to enter passwords.

Does Italy have other unicorns? 

Satispay has become Italy’s second unicorn following this Series D funding round. According to siliconrepublic.com, fintech start-up Scalapay has become Italy’s first unicorn with a valuation of more than USD 1 billion after raising USD 497 million in Series B funding in February 2022. 

Founded in 2019, Scalapay offers a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service for ecommerce companies around the world. This service allows customers to purchase a product without paying up-front, instead splitting the payments evenly usually over a 14-day period. 

In order to address cart abandonment on digital check-out pages, Scalapay also launched a new platform called Magic, which focuses on the checkout experience of customers.