
By simplifying prepaid infrastructure, Finperks enables banks, fintechs and HR platforms to launch cashback and benefit programs quickly, unlocking growth in a €1.2 trillion market.
The prepaid payments sector, valued at roughly €1.2 trillion and growing at double‑digit rates, remains one of the most fragmented corners of digital finance. Traditional workflows require banks, fintechs and HR platforms to stitch together multiple vendors for card issuance, brand partnerships, settlement and compliance, often resulting in slow roll‑outs and sub‑par user experiences. Finperks, founded by the team behind the former Barzahlen/viafintech cash network, seeks to collapse that complexity by delivering a single‑API layer that abstracts the entire prepaid stack.
Finperks’ API gives partners instant access to more than a thousand European brands, enabling use‑cases such as brand‑funded cashback, tax‑free employee perks like Germany’s €50 monthly Sachbezug, and on‑demand digital gift cards. Early adopters illustrate the model’s speed: payment app Flizpay now routes 5 % cashback directly into users’ bank accounts at checkout, while HR platforms Recardy and Paylo distribute tax‑free benefits without building any backend infrastructure. By handling issuance, settlement, compliance and brand relationships under one roof, the platform reduces integration time from months to weeks and cuts operational overhead for its clients.
The €3.4 million pre‑seed round, led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures, signals strong investor confidence in a solution that could become the “Stripe” of prepaid finance. As banks chase higher retention through cashback and HR suites look to monetize benefits, a unified API lowers barriers to entry and creates new revenue streams for both incumbents and fintech challengers. If Finperks can sustain its rapid go‑to‑market pace across Europe, it may force legacy prepaid providers to consolidate or partner, reshaping a trillion‑dollar ecosystem and setting a template for API‑first financial infrastructure.
Berlin-based fintech Finperks, building an API infrastructure for the prepaid market, closed a €3.4 million ($4 million) pre‑Seed round. The round was led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures, with funds earmarked for expanding the engineering team, brand partnerships and scaling across Europe.
Comments
Want to join the conversation?
Loading comments...