The fintech Younited announced that it has raised 400 million. The goal: to become the leader in credit and payment in Europe thanks to its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), its business-to-business (B2B) offers and its new business-to-consumer (B2C) offers.
Younited Credit: the French fintech member of the Next 40
Founded in 2009 by Charles Egly, Geoffroy Guigou and Thomas Beylot, Younited Credit went public in December 2011. It offers credit, fractional payments and budget coaching to help its customers realize their projects in a simple and secure way. Today the fintech, a member of the Next40, covers 5 countries representing a market of more than 265 million European consumers and has financed more than €2.6 billion in loans since its launch.
The firm has designed a 100% cloud-based SaaS platform that can take into account data from banking aggregation (“open banking”) accessible since the entry into force of the PSD2 directive. As the brand states, “its cutting-edge technology enables it to build financing channels that are more readable, faster and beneficial to all economic players”.
In addition, since 2018, the firm has been offering B2B deals for companies that want to provide their customers with 100% digital consumer credit or fractional payment solutions. Currently, about 30 structures use these services such as Orange Bank, N26, Free, Microsoft, LDLC, Wizink, Admiral-Conte, HSBC France, Fortuneo or Lydia.
A fundraising of nearly 170 million dollars
Recently, Younited announced the raising of $170 million (€145 million) from Goldman Sachs, Bridepoint, Eurazeo, BpiFrance and AG2R La Mondiale. Charles Egly, CEO and co-founder of Younited, says of the funding:
“This new round of funding of a very significant amount will allow us to invest heavily in our disruptive technology, in data and to launch new unique products on the market. More specifically, it is an opportunity to bring on board two new renowned international investors, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity and Bridgepoint, who, alongside our historical shareholders, will help us to build a global credit and payment technology leader.”
The funds will be used to consolidate Younited’s presence in the European market, in France, but also in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany. The fintech wants to strongly deploy and industrialize its B2B offering to conquer new markets and expand its partner network. It also wants to recruit new experts: if today it has 440 employees, it wants 200 new specialists to join its ranks by the end of 2022.
These arrivals coincide with the launch of Younited Pay, a B2C offer, in the second half of 2021: a payment method that should enable e-retailers and physical distribution players to offer a payment plan spread over 3 to 48 months. Finally, Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Younited, talks about all the future ambition of Younited:
“On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to express our pleasure at welcoming Bridgepoint and Goldman Sachs to our fold in the near future, on the occasion of this capital increase, the largest since the Company’s launch. We are all fully committed, alongside Charles Egly, Geoffroy Guigou and their teams, to support this next ambitious stage in Younited’s development. Already a leading European fintech, I am convinced that Younited has all the assets to become a top-tier leader in the credit and payment ecosystem.”
Translated from La fintech Younited lève 170 millions de dollars dans l’objectif de devenir un leader du secteur du paiement en Europe