Here are the biggest fintech funding rounds in Europe of 2020 so far

It’s safe to say that the first half of 2020 has not been without its ups and downs.

The year started on solid ground, but as the outbreak of coronavirus began to take over, government-mandated lockdowns ensued and we entered a period of economic turmoil unlike we have ever seen.

However, despite all the uncertainty going on in the world, European fintechs have received huge injections of cash suggesting investors are still bullish on the sector.

In fact, the top five investment rounds mentioned on this list equate to a total of £1.3bn.

An honourable mention on this list goes out to Atomico which closed a $820m (£658m) raise in February of this year.

And while this massive raise would put Atomico in first place on this list, we chose to leave it out on the grounds that it is a VC firm and not just a company looking to raise cash.

In this article, we take a look at the five largest fintech funding rounds of 2020 so far.

5. Starling Bank (£100m)

In 2020 Starling Bank has raised a total of £100m from two fundraising rounds.

The first round of funding, worth £60m, was completed in February and the second, worth £40m, closed at the end of May.

Both funding rounds will be used to increase its SME lending capacity and help expand the range of SME-focussed services it currently has on offer.

Anne Boden’s digital bank also announced that it has applied to two BCR grants worth £35m and £25m, in another attempt to raise more capital.

Starling can only be awarded one of the two grants it has applied for, but if successful, it could take the total raised by the digital bank up to £135m and push Checkout.com out of the next spot on this list.

4. Checkout.com ($150m)

The most recent raise on this list comes from French payment solution provider Checkout.com.

Towards the end of June, Checkout.com closed a $150m (£120m) Series B funding round, tripling its valuation to $5.5bn.

Checkout.com’s new valuation places it was the same level as joint-most valued European fintechs, Revolut and Klarna.

The Series B was led by Coatue, along with participation from existing investors, including Insight Partners, DST Global, Blossom Capital, and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, GIC.

The fresh funding comes just over a year after the fintech raised a record $230m Series A round, which remains the largest amount ever raised from an early-round fintech investment in Europe.

According to the firm, its transaction volumes in May 2020 were up 250 per cent on May 2019, as more businesses made the switch to online amidst the pandemic.

Checkout.com now processes over 150 currencies to all international cards, employs more than 750 staff across 13 countries and has added more than 500 merchants to its books in the last 12 months, including the likes of Revolut,Robinhood and Klarna.

3. Grover (€250m)

German technology rental platform Grover secured a €250m (£225m) top-up to an existing debt facility in January of this year.

The German fintech’s asset-backed deal with Varengold Bank places it at fourth on the list and takes its total amount of funding to around €300m.

Grover said the new funding will be used to buy assets and expand its product range, in particular, it will use the funds to develop its e-mobile category, like electric scooters, to make micro-mobility vehicles accessible to the public on a flexible, monthly basis.

The firm has over 300,000 customers, relationships with several major electronics retailers and currently offers products in over 500 physical stores in Germany.

2. Revolut ($500m)

Digital banking service Revolut made headlines back in February when it closed a $500m (£401m) Series D funding round.

The round was led by TCV, a US-based investment firm, as well as several other unnamed, but existing, investors.

Following the record raise, Revolut’s valuation also jumped to $5.5bn, placing it on par with fellow European fintechs Klarna and Checkout.com.

Earlier reports indicated that Revolut was also working on securing a $1bn convertible loan, however, whispers of this seem to have since disappeared.

To date, the total raised by the e-money institution now sits at a cool $836m.

1. N26 ($570m)

Sitting at first place on this list is German digital challenger bank N26, which extended its $570m (£457m) Series D fundraise in May.

Technically, the digital bank first announced its Series D funding round back in 2019, but it extended the round by $100m in May, taking the total raised so far in this round to $570m.

The extra cash came from the fintech’s existing major investors including, Insight Venture Partners, GIC, Tencent, Allianz X and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.

N26 said it would use the money to continue investing in the US and its 24 European markets, with the notable exception of the UK, where it suddenly left in February.

Following the raise, the German bank is now valued at $3.6bn, placing it in the top highest valued fintechs in Europe.