Younited closes a round of 140 million to become the leading credit and payment platform in Europe: Younited Europe leading credit payment platform - "The intention is that Spain will account for 25% of our revenue".

The fintech Younited has just raised 140 million euros in its last round of financing with the aim of becoming the leading credit and payment platform in Europe.

Some of the usual partners of the French fintech have contributed to the round, such as Eurazeo, Bpirance, Large Ventures or AG2R La Mondiale, and others have joined such as Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Bridgepoint.

The company, in operation since 2012, has managed to raise approximately 340 million euros and during this time has granted more than 2,600 million euros in loans, its main line of business.

Younited Europe leading credit payment platform

The amount from the latest round of funding will be used to accelerate product innovation and the expansion of its B2B solutions, including the launch of Younited Pay, a payment service dedicated to European retailers and e-merchants.

The company covers a market of more than 265 million consumers. It is present in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Spain, representing 10% of its bank income within the company as a whole.

"Spain has an important role, but there is no definite rule of how the money will be distributed, which is to develop the entire group," explains Xavier Pallàs, CEO of the company in Spain and Portugal. "In Spain we started in 2017 and during this time we have laid the foundations. Then came COVID-19, which meant a brake on credit and consumption, but now we are in a time of strong growth that is very important for Spain, which is next to Portugal one of the countries where greater growth is expected," he explains.

Younited europe leading credit payment platform

Pallàs points out that the intention of the group is for Spain to account for 25% of Younited's revenue. Not in vain for this year they expect to have granted in our country about 200 million euros in consumer loans since they began operating, 5 years ago.

"This year alone we expect to grant about 75 million euros, which is 3 times more than last year. We have accelerated our growth a lot, " he says.

Younited has about 440 employees at the group level, half of them in Paris. In Spain it has an office in Barcelona with more than 70 workers. A workforce that they expect to increase considerably in the coming months.

Younited Europe leading credit payment platform

"With the development we are having, we expect to go from 100 employees in Spain between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. A priori they will all be in Barcelona, because for now we do not intend to open an office in other places, although it is true that with teleworking opens a whole world of possibilities", he points out.

Younited's intention with this round of funding is to get about 5 top-tier partners in each country in which it operates. In the short term they also hope to open their own fund in our country. "We are visualizing it by the end of the year," says Pallàs, who explains how the company's financing model works.

"After opening in a country we launch an investment fund and give access to external investors. In Spain it is not yet open because we wanted to have the burden of an initial learning in each country so that things work as we want, " he says.

Younited Europe leading credit payment platform

Younited is licensed as a credit institution, so they have a banking license to be able to give credits and capture deposits with their own capital. Pallàs does not rule out even opening another fund dedicated only to participate in the interests of the clients themselves.

Younited, which is 100% digital, has been offering loans to unknown customers who find them through the internet. Loans can range from 100 to 50,000 euros and can be repaid in instalments of up to 84 months. They are designed, according to the CEO of the company "to buy a car, make a reform at home, a study trip or obtain liquidity".

However, fintech will launch new lines of business. "Now, thanks to this round, we want to expand our offer in two ways, Younited Pay and the customization of our platform to offer it to third parties," Pallàs says.

The first line consists of financing the purchase of products in e-commerce or physical points of sale, which account for half of the payments with Younited Pay. "The idea is to bring credit to consumption with terms of 48 months, 100% automatic and cheaper than traditional banking both customers and merchants," says the head of Younited in Spain and Portugal.

Younited Europe leading credit payment platform

The idea for the other new line of business came to them a couple of years ago. "We noticed that we were contacted by financial institutions because they found our platform interesting at the software level. Even non-financial actors, such as telecommunications companies and insurance companies, were interested." Younited can collaborate with them thanks to its license to give credits throughout the European Union.

Pallàs says Younited has "the lowest rates in the market by far". Specifically, they have equivalent annual rates (APR) starting at 2.99%, with 30% of their clients funded below 6%. The customer has the option to amortize the credit at any time without incurring any penalty.

"We don't have a fixed price for all customers. We segmented the risk. Our prices have been changing and we are quite sophisticated in identifying risk. We want the customer to have an experience equal or superior to that of a bank, but with equal or more competitive prices," he says.

Younited Europe leading credit payment platform

What they do seek from the company is that "customers are good". "It must have sufficient solvency in our eyes to be able to return it. Then mechanisms, with automatic processes, is where Younited's art is. In technology and innovation, " he says.

Another pillar for Pallàs is "transparency": "One of our founders, Charles Egly, worked in the world of investment banking and once asked for a loan from the institution where he worked. The following year he realizes that he had opened a revolving credit and opens his eyes, because he realizes that if this has happened to him, who is an expert, what would be happening to those who know less?"

The solution to make the world of investment easier for ordinary mortals is to be understood, according to the CEO of Younited in Spain and Portugal.

"We tell the customer the conditions in the most transparent way possible. Instead of talking about APR, we talk about total cost of credit, for example. We want the customer to be able to understand the conditions of the credit, with a very specific start and end that we say in euros, instead of in a percentage," he says.