FLIZpay Gets Pre-Seed Funding for Fee-Free Payments
The FLIZpay founders, Konrad Holtkamp and Roberto Ammirata - © FLIZpay
Berlin-based fintech startup FLIZpay has closed a $1 million pre-seed funding round led by early-stage investor Antler, with backing from prominent fintech business angels. The company aims to slash transaction fees and establish a European alternative to global payment providers, according to reporting from Startbase.
The startup, founded in October 2023 by Konrad Holtkamp and Roberto Ammirata, is developing a mobile payment method that promises to be fee-free for approximately 90% of businesses. This ambitious goal targets a massive market: Germany alone represents 50 million potential private customers and an annual volume of around €800 billion in card and cash payments.
Among the investors are Johannes Schaback (former CTO of SumUp), the founders of viaFinTech (Sebastian Seifert, Achim Bönsch, and Andreas Veller), Manuel Sandhofer (EMEA Head of Wise Platform), and Philipp Kreibohm, founder of home24.
Cutting Out the Middlemen
FLIZpay's technology eliminates unnecessary intermediaries in the payment process that currently drive up transaction costs. "Payment fees are enormous, but invisible to consumers," explains co-founder Konrad Holtkamp. "With FLIZpay, we make payments more accessible for businesses and give consumers the ability to better influence the costs of their purchases."
The platform keeps all data within the EU, positioning itself as an independent European solution. Over 500 merchants and more than 50,000 users already rely on FLIZpay, with Trade Republic as one of the first major partners.
Founders with Deep Fintech Roots
The idea emerged when the two founders met while surfing and later refined their concept during an Antler residency in Berlin. Holtkamp brings experience from investment banking at BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley, plus a study commissioned by Olaf Scholz on European payment systems that revealed dependence on US systems. Ammirata contributes over seven years as a full-stack developer in financial services at PwC, Accenture, and UBS.
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