FlatPay, which makes card payments easier for small and medium-sized businesses, has joined the ranks of Europe’s fintech unicorns, or startups valued at more than $1 billion, a milestone that sparked the region’s biggest corporate exit. These include competitors like Dutch payment processing giant Adyen, which is still far superior in scale. But Flatpay’s new funding could help close the gap.
Flatpay’s bet is that it can challenge large companies by charging small merchants a flat transaction fee for the use of card terminals and POS systems. The focus on a segment that accounts for 99% of European businesses has created rapid momentum, with the startup’s customer count now at around 60,000, up from 7,000 in April 2024.
Flatpay’s own valuation is growing at a similarly fast pace. Currently valued at €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion), the Danish startup has reached unicorn status in just three years. But while CEO and co-founder Sander Janka Jensen is proud of this achievement, he also focuses on another metric: annual recurring revenue (ARR).
“ARR exceeded 100 million euros in October,” Janka Jensen told TechCrunch. He added that this amount (about $116 million) was increasing by nearly 1 million euros ($1.16 million) per day. “Our plan for 2026 is to grow another 300%, so we hope to end this year with an ARR of between €400 million and €500 million.”
To fund this ambitious growth, Flatpay raised €145 million (approximately $169 million) in its latest round, as the startup is still unprofitable. The round was backed by AVP Growth, Smash Capital, and Dawn Capital, which led the startup’s €47 million Series B. German soccer player Mario Götze also participated in the previous round.
The new funding will support FlatPay’s continued growth in its current markets (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the UK) and further expansion into one or two new markets over the next year. Janka-Jensen declined to say which company, but job listings suggest the Netherlands could be next.
Flatpay currently has 1,500 staff, or “flatpayers,” and plans to double that number by the end of next year. The company is targeting employee growth to the same level as revenue, and stated in a press release that it aims to grow employee headcount tenfold by 2029. This may seem unusual, but for a company that onboards customers directly, they go hand in hand.
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This stems from the hypothesis that SMB owners actively seek new solutions, even if their current systems are too expensive or inadequate. “That’s where we come in,” Janka-Jensen said. He means this literally. Flatpay shows up with a pen and paper to explain pricing and a card terminal for an impromptu demo. “Every salesperson has that suitcase.”
This hands-on approach could help Flatpay increase its share in a market coveted by traditional providers, large fintech companies such as PayPal, Stripe, and SumUp, and even new entrants focused on specific sectors such as hospitality. But the real differentiator may be the insight behind it. SMBs want simplicity and Flatpay brings them “out of the box.”
This makes customer acquisition costs higher than average, especially when combined with 24/7 customer support, but creating demand allows startups to grow much faster than they would otherwise, Janka Jensen said. This triple-digit growth makes Flatpay’s emphasis on human interaction more palatable to investors, even in today’s AI-obsessed investment cycle.
The company isn’t ignoring AI completely. We are using this technology for real-time capabilities and experimenting with voice AI agents. Flatpay also plans further expansion into fintech with a banking suite that includes cards and accounts. For Janka Jensen, the key is to introduce it gradually, so small business owners can “eat the elephant one bite at a time” rather than being overwhelmed.
