Behind the Idea: Recharge.com | The Fintech Times

Disrupted by digital and accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic, branded payments is a fast-growing industry worth over $3 trillion. Rising consumer demand for alternative payment methods, online privacy, and seamless digital transactions across borders are also driving this growth. recharge dot com It has emerged as a significant leader in this field.

Serving over 3 million customers and generating over $500 million in revenue, Recharge.com is led by a CEO. Gunther vogel poleAfter working in the telecom sector for 15 years, Vogelpoel joined the Dutch start-up when it had 20 employees. There are now over 150.

Recharge.com’s service allows merchants and consumers to make alternative payments through prepaid branded digital cards. This includes issues with retail gift cards and mobile top-up services.

The latest Series B round is $35 million New investor-led fundraising smart fins and existing investors Prime Ventures and Creos capitaland one of the fastest growing companies in the Netherlands, the company is believed to have raised $71.8 million to date.

In this latest Behind the Idea, Fintech Times We interviewed Vogelpol to learn more about the company.

Tell me more about Recharge.com and its services

Recharge.com is the leading one-stop shop for your branded payment needs. Branded payment is a type of alternative payment method and a flexible way to participate in the service. In addition to gifts and support, people are turning to branded payments to control their online spending and privacy.

Our goal from the beginning has been to make payments for brands fast, secure and easy. We’ve continued to do so as we scale to connect millions of people around the world to over 750 brands. These include the world’s largest brands such as: apple, Google, Spotify and netflix.

What problem was Recharge.com founded to solve?

When it comes to branded payments, consumers are underserved by inconvenient and expensive offline brick-and-mortar selling points. Branded gift cards and top-up his calling cards come in many varieties, but it can be complicated for consumers to obtain them. Consumers must purchase in person at a store or kiosk. Or you can buy it online, but there aren’t many reliable and secure websites where you can get the specific credit you need and pay with that payment method. Selection.

Recharge.com solves all of these. With a variety of card options, you can buy any kind of credit in just 3 easy steps and it will be delivered to your email inbox instantly. Not only is it seamless, but it provides a safe and secure way for consumers to access their favorite services.

Many digital platforms ask consumers for unnecessary details. Branded payments, on the other hand, allow consumers to protect sensitive data such as date of birth and billing address. As consumers become more and more protective of their personal data, we’ve found that paying for brands alleviates these privacy concerns.

How has the company evolved since its inception?

we have come a long way. I am proud to have contributed to building Recharge.com. I joined over 7 years before him, working on a team of 20 people, and now he has 150 employees. These days, we not only offer international mobile top-ups in 150 countries, but also a range of digital goods and gift cards.

Our customer base is increasingly international. Germany and France have been the most successful markets so far, but there are still many possibilities in other parts of Europe. His GCC regions (Saudi Arabia and he UAE), which launched services a few years ago, also have a lot of growth potential.

In addition to our global expansion, we have also considered how we continue to serve and delight our customers as a mobile-first company. Our app is a constant focus of ours as we find ways to enhance and offer better service options. In a world rich in banking and wallet functionality, we are fascinated by the possibilities of integrating them into our platform in the years to come.

What was your biggest challenge or most hard moment to overcome?

I have to say, like most business leaders, the pandemic has been an interesting time for us. On the one hand, as a business, we accelerated our growth as we accelerated our digital transformation and alternative payment methods. But as a team, we had to figure out how to respond to a new set of challenges.

What is your greatest accomplishment or proudest moment so far?

There were so many highlights, but bringing in the resources necessary to reach our global potential was a major achievement. In 2021, we will raise $35 million led by new investor SmartFin. has raised a funding round, with participation from existing investors Prime Ventures and Kreos Capital. This sets the stage for international expansion.

This means we are in a stronger position than ever to achieve our goals as an international team working on a unified mission to unify brands and payments while providing maximum flexibility to our customers. To do.

How would you describe your company culture?

As we are expanding rapidly across new markets, it is very important to hire the right people so that we can scale effectively. To me, the “right person” is someone who not only has the right skills and knowledge, but also the right mindset.

These are consistent with our commitment to being a safe company for our employees, including protecting their health. We do not tolerate harmful or bullying behavior, backbiting or judgmental behavior. Many of our employees are far from home, so their colleagues are like family.

These days, we have team members representing over 30 nationalities, ensuring that we are as relevant in every corner of the world as possible. Our team reflects the diversity and culture of the regions and customers we serve. The feedback I’ve gotten is that people appreciate the culture we’ve built.

What is in store for the future?

Our overarching goal is to continue to build a truly global marketplace, the world’s leading one-stop-shop for branded payments. Now, this means we are looking at further expansion into North and South America. We are investing in the US, Canada and Mexico markets due to their significant growth potential. While Latin America is rapidly digitizing services, North American culture tends to focus on prepaid credit and gift cards.

We are also spreading the word about pay now buy later (PNBL for short). This means paying in advance up front so that consumers can purchase products or assets in the future. In a world where BNPL payments are becoming more controversial and more accessible, I believe promoting the PNBL approach is more essential than ever. This goes hand in hand with the core philosophy of branded payments.

The PNBL approach encourages consumers to build a solid foundation for themselves and their credit scores for decades to come. Consumers have greater control over money management and financial visibility with an accurate view of their monthly income and expenses. Ultimately, it’s about economic empowerment, and basically because people want to have as much power over their financial lives as possible.