BBVA invests in SumUp, Europe's leader in mobile credit card payments

SAN FRANCISCO, July 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Ventures, BBVA Group's corporate venture arm, has backed SumUp. The German startup leads the European market for credit card payments via mobile phone. The investment aligns with BBVA's innovation strategy and puts the bank in a strong position to lead new payment technologies geared toward businesses. BBVA Ventures operates in the U.S. through BBVA S.A.'s San Francisco representative office.

With this transaction, BBVA joins American Express and Groupon as SumUp investors. The German startup operates in 11 countries in Europe, offering solutions for processing credit card payments through mobile devices. Its technology is the leader in Europe and meets all the legal European requirements, such as accepting card payments via EMV chip cards, and it is compatible with all major forms of credit card payments, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

The investment aligns with BBVA's innovation strategy and puts the bank in a strong position to lead new payment technologies geared toward businesses. This is the first BBVA Ventures investment in Europe and, with it, BBVA proves itself one of the few financial institutions in the world with a venture capital fund dedicated to investments in innovative and financial services startups. Meanwhile, SumUp, as it expands its business to Latin America, will be able to draw on BBVA's experience in the banking business and its international presence.

SumUp was founded in 2011 by German entrepreneur Daniel Klein, who has been successful with other financial services startups. It provides independent businesses an alternative way to accept credit card payments to increase sales. SumUp has developed a device that attaches to iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, allowing businesses to accept credit card payments in a simple, transparent and affordable way. Businesses pay a fee of 2.75 percent per transaction.

SumUp is also the pioneer in developing devices that can handle EMV chip card transactions as required by many European countries, including Spain.

"SumUp changes the way point of sale interaction works on a global scale," said Jay Reinemann, BBVA Ventures executive director. "At BBVA we pride ourselves in driving innovation in the financial sector globally. That's why we are very excited about investing in SumUp: In less than a year, the team has proven that they can change an entire industry and enable small merchants to run their businesses more successfully. That's a great fit with what we stand for."

SumUp CEO Daniel Klein said that "we are delighted to bring on BBVA as a new financial investor. Receiving the financial backing from such an important international player of the financial industry is a clear endorsement of SumUp's potential to reinvent the point of sale experience on a global scale. We're looking forward to the great things we will achieve together with BBVA - in Europe and South America."

SumUp has been in operation since August 2011 and is present in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Portugal and Russia. The company has become a leader in the European market for mobile credit card payments.

In addition to being able to accept payments with SumUp's device, businesses can leverage SumUp's accounting tools, check their sales history, group transactions by credit card types and send invoices to customers. Also, SumUp devices offer mobility and agility by processing payments anywhere.

Its capabilities fit the needs of both small businesses, for which a traditional point-of-sales terminal might not be feasible, as well as medium and large businesses that require simple and practical software. For example, a large chain store could streamline customer lines by having attendants process payments throughout the store on mobile devices.

BBVA, through its strategic initiative BBVA Ventures, plans to invest $100 million in startups around the world that aim to transform the financial industry. BBVA Ventures operates in the U.S. through BBVA S.A.'s San Francisco representative office. BBVA's first investment in this sphere came in early 2012 when it invested in the seed-capital fund and incubator program 500 Startups. More recently, BBVA invested in Radius, which provides business insight through data management for small and mid-size businesses, and risk capital fund Ribbit Capital.

The BBVA Group has been has been investing in innovation and technology companies as it anticipates the deep transformation taking place in the financial industry. Investing in highly innovative startups gives BBVA the ability to adapt to the changing financial industry by leveraging technology from startups rather than creating it from scratch.

About BBVA

BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, it is the largest financial institution in Mexico and it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. Its diversified business is biased to high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. BBVA ranks among the leading Euro zone banks in terms of ROE and efficiency. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes.

About SumUp

SumUp (www.sumup.com) empowers local business and is the leading mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) company in Europe. SumUp offers merchants a portable card reader that transforms iOS or Android smartphones or tablets into card acceptance terminals. The company only charges a fee of 2,75% per card transaction. SumUp accepts Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) and PCI-DSS certified, ensuring that payments are processed in accordance with the highest security standards. Founded in 2011 by Daniel Klein, Petter Made, Stefan Jeschonnek, Jan Deepen and Marc-Alexander Christ. It has offices in Berlin, Dublin, London, Milan, Madrid and Moscow. SumUp systems are available Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Portugal and Russia. SumUp is an authorized as a Payment Institution by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

SOURCE BBVA Ventures