During the pandemic, the digital economy drastically grew. A lot! And for a pile of digital stakeholders, this was really a “blessing in disguise”.

Long before the invention of debit and credit cards, payments were made with currency equivalent cash or checks. Alternative payment methods are now becoming more popular among clients all around the globe.

The world is not the same as it was before 2020, but the security, improvement, and online payments trends should continue.

With improved performance, configurable solutions, actionable data, and committed partners in every region market, payments can possibly fuel the development.

And this is all made possible thanks to Guillaume Pousaz, the founder of Checkout.com. In this story, you’ll read about a shy, local surfer, motivated to succeed, creating the most crucial connection for online payment, making a killing in the financial industry.

The story behind Checkout.com is one for the books, so make sure to read it all the way!

From a Quiet Surfer to Riding the Lucrative Fintech Wave

Guillaume Pousaz was born and raised in Switzerland. Аt the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne, Guillaume was invested in studying mathematical engineering before he transferred to the HEC Lausanne to pursue a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Guillaume had intended to go into investment banking, but his father’s cancer diagnosis forced him to leave the university and abandon his plans to become an investment banker. He relocated to California to pursue his dream of becoming a professional surfer.

His hobbies included going to school, surfing the waves of California, and working at the International Payment Consultants as a payment processor.

To make matters worse, this transaction path was too complicated for the beachhead, Guillaume. As a result of the payment disconnections and silos, business potential went mostly unexploited. The design wasn’t properly suited for today’s fast-paced, global economy.

So, in order for that to no longer be the case, Guillaume took matters into his own hands, and moved to the UK, in London. Guillaume became inspired to start his own firm and quit working for the IPC. He says that payments chose him, it was not the other way around.

However, Guillaume was the one who founded Opus Payments in 2009, allowing Hong Kong-based companies to accept payments from customers all around the globe. This same startup, in 2012, changed its name to Checkout.com.

Preparing to Check Out

While doing online shopping, have you ever considered the path of the money, from your bank account to the service provider you’ve made a purchase from? What about when you order takeout or a cab ride through an app? Well, all of those questions will be answered now!

Checkout.com was established in 2012 in London and handles virtual payments. It’s Paypal’s main online payment processing service. The main goal of creating Checkout.com was to assist merchants like Samsung Express and their purchasers with the growing challenge of online payment processing. To streamline payments, but also to provide customers with a lot of extra value.

Online payment solutions that enhance and simplify users’ experiences are provided by Checkout.com, an API-based company, and a superior payments performance that fuels any business’s growth.

Even though we take it for granted, online shopping has completely altered the way we purchase things. Hence, more non-cash transactions are predicted in the next years, with an increase of approximately 11%.

Checkout.com is giving the world’s top brands like Deezer, Samsumg, EasyGroup, MoneyGram, and more, the proper tools they need to earn more money. Also, improving the performance of payments, and helping companies generate more income to easily grow their business everywhere is another perk offered by Checkout.com.

With this platform, users may benefit by tracking their payments in real-time, accepting payments online, and getting worldwide payments coverage.

Checkout.com provides companies with the tools they need to be flexible and creative. Because of the company’s innovative technology, transactions are instantaneous. Global companies may introduce new goods in new areas and create great customer experiences with flexible solutions, granular data, and immediate insights.

Users are allowed to pay in more than 150 currencies using Checkout.com’s quickest and most reliable payments, which are supported by a local acquirer, world-class fraud filtering, and reporting via a single API. Checkout.com accepts all major credit and debit cards from across the world, as well as a variety of other popular payment options.

Checkout.com’s technologies are already being used by several of the world’s biggest fintech companies to provide their consumers with the best possible payment experience. Because of the company’s relationship, account financing for fintech and merchants is much easier, more frictionless, and safer for anyone.

The company is working with improved data, and adaptable modular systems with a possibility to be customized to meet many different and specific requirements. Getting as versatile as possible!

Riding the Financial Wave to Success

Insight Partners and DST Global led the company’s initial investment round, which included contributions from Singapore’s government wealth fund GIC, Endeavor Catalyst, and Blossom Capital, among others. In series A, Checkout.com raised around $320 million. Series A investment for a European fintech business has never been so huge before.

Series B funding for this company has been raised to the tune of $150 million. Coatue Companies, Insight Partners (Cayman) XI, Greenoaks Capital, Tiger Global Ltd, L.P., invested $15,000,000,000 in Checkout.com’s series C financing.

Checkout.com raised an additional $450 million in January 2021, at a $15 billion value. Therefore, Forbes valued the net worth of Checkout.com’s founder, Guillaume at $9 billion.

Checkout.com has appointed a new chief sales and marketing officer, Leela Srinivasan, and chief human resources officer, Kerry Van Voris, and it plans to go public in the near future. Guillaume Pousaz stated that the company would ultimately go public, but that it may need to acquire more funds first. This is not an immediate priority.

The firm has been prosperous over several years and does not have an urgent need for finance.

Checkout.com Today

One of the first billion-dollar fintech unicorn startups is here, pooling their resources to shape the financial services industry’s future. Checkout.com's CEO and majority shareholder, Guillaume controls around two-thirds of the firm. Through a single integration, and with a dedicated professional team spanning five continents, Checkout.com is an employer of over 1100 employees spread across 18 locations in 18 countries. The firm has grown rapidly since its modest beginnings in 2012, and can now provide local support wherever it is required.

Checkout.com handles the payments quickly and securely, by using the latest cloud-based technology. With the help of these flexible solutions, users are even able to perform the most difficult tasks with ease.

Customers can act on the end-to-end data, offering a clear view of the way money is entering and leaving their company. Consequently, users are in a position to make more informed judgments and act rationally.

Novi Financial is Checkout.com’s payment partner, making it possible for users to send and receive money securely, swiftly, and without any costs incurring. As the partners themselves stated, this is only the beginning of what they can do together to help the unbanked.

Checkout.com cuts through the clutter, giving companies the freedom to disrupt the current quo, develop markets, and make a difference. Clients can get access to the adaptable tools, which help with risk control, rendering clients one step ahead of danger in real-time.

With Checkout.com’s innovative approach to the fintech industry, the ease of access and smooth payment processing, the company’s client base is growing bigger by the day.

With many insecurities today, however, one thing is for sure when it comes to Checkout.com ー there is no end to the possibilities.