Prepaid platform Recharge raises €45 million to continue mergers and acquisitions

With inflation still stubbornly higher than in previous years, and the siren sounds of subscription services like Netflix and Spotify continuing to tempt consumers, consumers have understandably turned to alternative forms of payment to manage their household bills. As a result, online prepaid platforms have benefited.

This is the bet I placed today Rechargea major European player in the online prepaid payments space, which has secured a €45 million debt facility with ABN AMRO to consider strengthening the market through a round of mergers and acquisitions, as well as moving into Fintech-style services which can compete in Finish with some services. One of the largest payment platforms.

With a range of digital vouchers from brands including Apple, Google, Spotify, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as cross-border money transfers, Recharge is attacking the market from multiple consumer angles.

It says it already has strong cash reserves and claims revenue growth of 30% year-on-year in 2024, while aiming to reach revenues of more than €100 million in 2025.

With the new funding, there will be a significant amount of resources for acquisitions.

In an interview with TechCrunch Recharge CEO, Günther Vogelpoel said: “We see an opportunity to grow faster through mergers and acquisitions and there are a number of opportunities in other markets and sectors that we can strengthen, especially since this industry is still very young.”

The European prepaid cards market increased at a CAGR of 7.6% during the period 2019-2023. Between 2024 and 2028 expected To record a compound annual growth rate of 9.1%, rising from more than $251 billion in 2023 to $395 billion by 2028.

More interestingly, Recharge’s application for an e-money license from the Dutch authorities indicates that it has plans to create a more robust “Fintech”-style platform.

Vogelpoel said Recharge is “very keen” to develop in financial services: “We are in the process of applying for an electronic money license in the Netherlands, which will give us a license for Europe. With this we can launch our own financial services.” He added that they would be in the market for a wallet-like or card-type company “that would fit well with our existing customer base.”

But what about the technology side of this next phase? “We are a profitable company,” Vogelpoel said. “We achieved over 30% growth in 2024 which also boosted our profitability. So we have money in the bank to invest in our platform and technology.

The move to holding more money for customers also makes sense, he said: “If you have a wallet as a central product, you can link other services to that wallet as well as payments or cards that people can use to issue virtual cards… Neobanks we have a really good range of services; But, in particular, we cater to our customers who like budget, control, and privacy and security.

It’s the privacy and security aspects that he believes may give Recharge an edge going forward, as prepaid often offers greater privacy with some services.

In a statement, Bas Janssen, senior digital and consumer banking client at ABN AMRO, said: “We see great promise in Recharge’s growth trajectory as they expand their reach within the global prepaid payments space.”

In 2021 recharge previously It raised a €10 million ($11.8 million) debt financing round led by London-based Kreos Capital, a $35 million Series B round led by new investor SmartFin, and €22 million from Prime Ventures in 2019.