Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Satispay, a Europe-based mobile payments startup that cuts out the credit card, raised €320 million at €1 billion valuation.
Why it matters: The business is now Italy's second most-valuable startup behind BNPL provider Scalapay, according to data from CBInsights.
Driving the news: Lee Fixel's Addition led the now rarely seen mega round, with participation from Greyhound Capital, Coatue, Lightrock, Block, Tencent and Mediolanum Gestione Fondi SGR.
- Satispay, which enables person-to-person payments as well as payments between retailers and consumers, pitches customers on its ability to reduce transaction fees.
- The company says it now has 3 million users and 200,000 merchants.
The bigger picture: Though it is the third-largest economy in the Eurozone, Italy has been beset by stretches of lackluster growth. The European Commission is expecting that the country will have the slowest economic growth next year among its member states.
- Satispay, however, has been seeking to grow throughout Europe, having opened its Luxembourg office in 2020.
