Ivy, a cutting-edge API for instant bank payments, has secured a significant €7 million ($7.7 million) in seed investment round led by European venture capital firm Creandum. This funding milestone marks a crucial step towards the startup’s mission to revolutionize online transactions by enabling merchants to accept instant bank payments directly at checkout.
The Problem with Traditional Payment Systems
In today’s online transaction landscape, payment systems involve multiple intermediaries such as card networks, gateways, and wallets. These middlemen charge significant fees, which can add up quickly. Ivy’s solution addresses this issue by providing a streamlined API that allows merchants to connect directly with customers’ banks, thereby reducing transaction costs and increasing speed.
A Growing Market
According to co-founder Ferdinand Dabitz, "In ten years, trillions of dollars worth of payments will be paid by bank, not by card – a major shift Ivy will drive. Currently, over 60 countries worldwide are rolling out instant payment systems enabling this." This trend is gaining momentum globally, with many regions embracing account-to-account (A2A) payments as the future of online transactions.
Ivy’s Global API and Regional Availability
Ivy’s global API is currently available in Europe, the U.S., Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Southeast Asia (SEA) regions. This strategic deployment enables merchants to tap into the growing demand for instant bank payments across these markets.
Competitive Landscape
Ivy operates in a competitive landscape dominated by card schemes like Visa and Mastercard. However, Dabitz views A2A companies as peers on a shared mission to drive volumes away from traditional card networks. Startups like Volt and A2A solutions like Trustly are also competing for market share.
Investors and Partners
This seed investment round includes participation from prominent investors such as 10xFounders, Jens Lapinski from Angel Invest, and angels Jeppe Rindom (founder/CEO Pleo), Daniel Krauss, Jochen Engert, and André Schwämmlein (Founders FlixBus), Oliver Merkel (Founder Flink), Christian Grobe, Matthias Knecht (founders Billie), Martin Blessing (Ex-CEO Commerzbank), and Nico Rosberg (F1 World Champion).
What’s Next for Ivy?
With this significant funding milestone, Ivy is poised to drive further innovation in the online payment space. As the startup continues to expand its API offerings and penetrate new markets, it will be exciting to see how Ivy’s technology transforms the way merchants interact with customers’ banks.
Topics
- Creandum
- Enterprise
- Europe
- Ivy
- Payments
- Startups
About Mike Butcher
Mike Butcher is Editor-at-large of TechCrunch. With a wealth of experience in covering European tech startups, he has written for various national newspapers and magazines. He has been named one of the most influential people in European technology by Wired UK.
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