A Spanish fintech closes one of the largest rounds of financing in the sector so far. Pagantis, former Digital Origin, has raised 66 million euros from three funds to finance its international expansion. Son Prime Ventures, SPF Investment Management, a recent spin-off of Credit Suisse and Rinkelberg Capital Group.
This firm was founded in 2011 and sealed its first round in 2015 which is 15 million. It was done to obtain a license from the Bank of Spain and to grow in consumer finance. Since then, it has established itself as a leader in this segment within the fintech. The next step is to internationalize with a medium-term goal. A possible agreement with a large platform such as Amazon, eBay or Alibaba, explains Rolf Cederstrom, CEO and co-founder of the group.
Objective: Amazon
“The big digital platforms are annoyed to work with a platform in each country. That’s why we want to be the first Pan-European firm. Amazon and Alibaba are going to have to find an agreement with a player like us,”adds Cederstrom.
Pagantis is already in Italy with an office in Milan, led by a financier registered in Spain. Emanuele Bona, ex-director of Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Apax and who currently led the landing of Banca Farmafactoring in Spain. The following international objectives will be France and Portugal.
Banking’s commercial offensive to grow in mortgages and consumer loans Óscar Giménez Banks have softened credit conditions for families. The key is to attract customers to offer a mix of products
Pagantis is specialized in the financing of electronic commerce. In Spain, it already has 3,000 commercial agreements and has loaned 500 million in recent years. The objective after the financing round is to reach a balance of 1,000 million. Their loans average 16% APR.
Pagantis, which until now had the Paga+Tarde brand and has another one on the sidelines of the round QueBueno. It has as a hook the possibility of giving loans automatically, without intermediaries, and digitally, thanks to an algorithm created by its founders. The group already has 100 employees, many specialized in regulation, compliance and prevention of money laundering. This algorithm is updated every month or two months and adapts to circumstances such as the economic slowdown, explains Cederstrom.
Competition
The chief executive sees WiZink and Cetelem as the main competitors. And believes that their main threats are Google and Facebook, which are already licensed in Europe, before traditional banks.
After the financing round, the capital of Pagantis is led by Prime, followed by the other co-founder, Pascal Pegaz, and by Cederstrom and SPF.