Sumup
“Can a card-reader company for micro-merchants become the all-in-one financial OS — combining payments, banking, lending, and expense management — for small businesses globally?”
Founded2012
HQLondon, England, United Kingdom
Latest roundDebt Financing
IndustryFintech / SMB banking
The story
Founded in 2012 as a simple card reader company for micro-merchants, SumUp steadily expanded from hardware into a full financial OS for small businesses. The launch of SumUp Business Account and the Mastercard business card moved the company into BaaS-adjacent territory, while SumUp Cash Advance (2020) marked a deliberate push into embedded lending. The 2024 Adyen partnership signals SumUp is now competing on settlement speed and banking infrastructure depth, not just payment acceptance hardware.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2012
SumUp founded as a card reader / mPOS company for small merchants, initially focused on Europe.· pivot
2020
SumUp Cash Advance first launched in the UK as a merchant cash advance product repaid via card reader transactions.· lending
2021
SumUp Business Account launched, offering a free business current account with next-day payouts and a Mastercard debit card.· banking
2023
SumUp raises US$100M credit facility from Victory Park Capital to scale Cash Advance product across Europe.· lending
2023
SumUp Cash Advance expanded to Germany, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands.· lending
2024
SumUp and Adyen announce strategic partnership for accelerated settlements and faster payouts to SME merchants across Europe and the UK.· banking
2025
SumUp launches Expense Management product integrated with its Business Account and Mastercard, providing automated expense tracking and receipt capture.· banking
Regulated entities
EMI
UK FCA
SumUp Payments Limited
EMI
EU
SumUp Payments Limited (EU entities)
EMI
Australia
SumUp Payments Pty Ltd ACN 645 440 772
The stack
Payments / PSP
Card issuing
Lending
Accounting
Accounting gap: significant