The funding catapults the payments startup into the ranks of the most valuable European fintechs.

Checkout.com has done it again. Last year it made waves with its Series A round worth $230 million, gatecrashing the unicorn party with a valuation tag of $2 billion. Today, it followed that up with an announcement of a Series B round, picking up $150 million at a stunning $5.5 billion valuation. (Finance Magnates)

Today’s round thus nearly tripled Checkout.com’s valuation from last year. That round was notable for being Europe’s largest fintech Series A round of funding ever.

The current round B has been led by Coatue while existing investors including Insight Partners, DST Global, Blossom Capital, and GIC, Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund also participated.

Why investors were happy to crank up Checkout’s cash register

Founded in 2012, Checkout.com is a profitable payments processor for businesses. Its online transactions volume surged 250% during the period between May ‘19 and May ‘20.

New enterprise accounts included Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab, US stock trading innovator Robinhood, Revolut, Careem, Glovo, Farfetch, Klarna and Remitly.

Along the way, Checkout.com acquired  ProcessOut in February and Australian start-up, Pin Payments, in May.

“With an exclusive focus on online payments, global lockdowns have further accelerated Checkout.com’s growth as businesses have rapidly pivoted online,” the company said in a statement.

The payments processor offers transactions in over 150 currencies, all international cards, and local payments to merchants through its platform.

Use of new funds

Checkout.com said the new funding will boost its cash reserves to over $300 million, strengthening its balance sheet. It will also use round B proceeds to develop new products.

Checkout.com already employs over 750 employees across 13 global locations.

CEO and Founder, Guillaume Pousaz 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. At Checkout.com, we’ve built a technical architecture that enables pioneers to reinvent industries and redefine their relationship with consumers.”

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