Flatpay, the hyper-aggressive SME payment unicorn from Denmark, has published its 2025 annual report which shows fast growing revenues and widening operating losses.
Founded in 2022, Flatpay claims to be the fastest growing payment business ever and might be right. In June 2026, the business said it had reached €20bn annual volume at €100m annualised revenue from over 100,000 customers. It’s one of the most successful members of the “tap pack” – a group of start-ups focusing on small shops and restaurants across Europe. This includes Dojo, Viva, myPOS, Square and SumUp.
Focusing on the audited statements for 2025, revenue more than tripled to €39m as Flatpay’s fast-paced European expansion began to deliver results.
Here’s a good podcast in which Sander Janca-Jensen, Flatpay’s founder explains the secrets behind its phenomenal growth.
Sander doesn’t mention Flatpay’s innovative, although controversial, policy of offering merchants free processing of business and international cards funded through a consumer surcharge. Competitors think this is one of the key factors behind its growth and one that could soon be replicated by others in the market.
Flatpay’s expansion is made possible by its ruthlessly simple proposition. One payment terminal (a PAX A920) and one distribution model. All sales are direct sales which means there are no partners to manage or pay commissions to.
Looking in more detail, Germany (€15m) has become Flatpay’s largest market although Finland (€6m) and Italy (€4m) have begun to make significant contributions. France, Great Britain and the Netherlands should start delivering in 2026.
Operating losses widened from €20m to €70m. Average FTE jumped from 257 to 957 and staff costs rose by €49m to €69m, almost matching the €50m increase in operating losses. Headcount has continued to rise, reaching 2,000 by June 2026.
Rapid merchant acquisition consumes capital as well as eating operating cash. At year end, Flatpay had €40m of equipment on its balance sheet – presumably including the stock of payment terminals to be leased to merchants – including €14m prepaid for future deliveries.
The total resulting cash burn is startling. Free cash outflow, before financing, was €94m although this was more outweighed by an additional €146m raised during 2025 at a €1.5bn valuation and a €24m loan from Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund.
Flatpay shows every indication of keeping its foot on the accelerator. Management expects revenue to more than double again in 2026 to reach €100-105m but forecasts losses ballooning to €140-150m as the business continues investing heavily in expansion. With customer numbers growing at a remarkable 7% a month, Flatpay is conducting a fascinating experiment in just how quickly a European payments business can be built, and how much capital it takes to do it.
