“Can a rebranded German acquirer become the default European PSP for BNPL-inclusive checkout, online and in-store?”
Founded 2003 as German payment processor Heidelpay. Rebranded to Unzer in 2020 to consolidate 13 acquired entities under one brand, evolving from a domestic acquirer into a pan-European PSP with BNPL, POS, and e-commerce coverage. Moved HQ to Berlin in 2022 to underscore the European ambition. Focus is on merchant-facing payments plus a whitelabel BNPL/invoice/installment stack that Unzer underwrites itself.
Unzer processes payments through Unzer (self-operated).
Unzer uses IDnow for KYC and identity verification.
Unzer's lending and capital products are provided by Unzer (in-house) and klarna.
Unzer connects to bank accounts through Unzer Payment Initiation Service (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Unzer's stack: Payments / PSP (Unzer (self-operated)); Lending (Unzer (in-house), klarna, Unzer Invoice, Unzer Installment and 1 other); Open banking (Unzer Payment Initiation Service (in-house)); KYC (IDnow).
Unzer is founded in 2003 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Unzer and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.