Tallinn-based Montonio has raised €11 million in a Series A funding round as it presses forward with its one-stop-shop checkout solution for e-commerce merchants and consumers mission. In conjunction with the fresh lining of the coffers, the startup has announced the launch of its services in Poland, adding to the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian collections. The new funds will be used, in part, to drive expansion efforts even further afield later this year.
On the consumer front, the company is capitalising on the prevalence of buy now pay later (BNPL) financing and offers consumers the ability to compare offers from multiple lenders in real-time. According to the startup, when compared to bigger players (yes, we’re talking about Klarna here), its solution reduces consumer credit costs by up to 50% and results in higher conversions for the merchant.
For merchants, the company offers a payment solution based on open banking, one that can cut costs by up to a factor of 100x when compared to traditional mechanisms such as Visa or Mastercard.
“Small to midsize merchants get a raw deal from traditional payments and logistics providers. Often they’re unable to accept local payment methods, are charged a premium for lower volumes, and must piece together many different solutions,” explained Montonio CEO and co-founder Markus Lember. “This means they face higher costs, and can’t deliver top-quality customer service. We have decided to change that.”
Montonio’s €11 million Series A round was led by Index Ventures with previous investors Tera Ventures, ffVC, and previously undisclosed Superangel following on.
As for Montonio’s goals to expand into additional markets, you’ll remember that Tera Ventures just picked up Eamonn Carey, so if the U.S. is on the dance card, they’ve got a solid lead to follow.
On the investment, Index Ventures’ Julia Andre commented, “Montonio addresses a really important but underserved piece of the e-commerce infrastructure – handling everything that happens from payment onwards. We’ve been impressed with the organic growth of the business, which is showing real demand and need for their product. This is yet another great example of the strength of Estonia as an entrepreneurial nation.”
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