BERLIN, Germany — FinTech startup finperks has raised €3.4 million ($4 million) in pre-seed funding to modernize the global prepaid payments ecosystem through API-driven infrastructure designed for banks, FinTechs, and HR platforms.
The Berlin-based company is building what it describes as the “Stripe for prepaid”—a single integration layer that enables businesses to launch cashback programs, employee benefits, digital gift cards, and other prepaid products without managing the complex infrastructure typically required behind the scenes.
The funding round was led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures. The fresh capital will be used to expand the engineering team, strengthen partnerships with consumer brands, and accelerate expansion across European markets.
“Banks need cashback to retain and engage users. HR platforms need benefits as a logical extension to upsell clients. None of them want to build prepaid infrastructure,” said Sebastian Seifert, co-founder and co-CEO of finperks. “They want to plug into it.”
Founded in 2025 by Achim Bönsch, Sebastian Seifert, and Andreas Veller, finperks was created by a team with deep experience in financial infrastructure. The founders previously built Barzahlen, later known as viafintech, which became Europe’s largest bank-independent cash payment network before being acquired by NYSE-listed Paysafe in a nine-figure transaction in 2021.
Their latest venture targets a market that remains surprisingly fragmented despite its size. According to the company, the prepaid payments industry is worth approximately €1.2 trillion globally and continues to grow at double-digit rates. Yet the underlying infrastructure often relies on disconnected providers, manual processes, and outdated technology.
Today, organizations seeking to offer prepaid products typically need to integrate multiple vendors covering card issuing, settlement, compliance, and brand relationships. This complexity can slow product launches, increase costs, and limit geographic expansion.
finperks aims to simplify the process through a single API that provides access to more than 1,000 consumer brands across Europe. Through one integration, partners can launch brand-funded cashback programs, distribute employee benefits, and embed digital gift cards directly into financial products and customer experiences.
The platform enables banks and FinTech companies to offer cashback rewards funded by participating brands, while HR software providers can distribute tax-efficient employee benefits without building their own payments infrastructure.
“Like cash was in our first venture, prepaid is often hidden and underestimated,” Seifert explained when announcing the company’s launch. “But it addresses real needs: budget control, easy access to meaningful perks, and financial empowerment. We see a massive opportunity to modernize and expand this space.”
The startup has already gained traction despite launching only months ago. finperks reports that it has gone live with several customers, including payment application Flizpay, which uses the platform to provide brand-funded cashback rewards averaging 5% that are paid directly into users’ bank accounts at the point of purchase.
The company is also working with HR platforms Recardy and Paylo, which leverage finperks’ infrastructure to distribute Germany’s tax-free employee benefit programs without needing additional technical integrations or operational resources.
One of the most attractive opportunities lies in the employee benefits market. Germany’s well-known “Sachbezug” program allows employers to provide up to €50 per month in tax-free benefits to employees. finperks enables HR platforms and employers to offer these benefits digitally through a streamlined infrastructure layer.
The startup believes that prepaid products are increasingly becoming an important component of modern financial services. Digital rewards, employee perks, and embedded incentives are evolving from niche offerings into core engagement tools for banks, employers, and consumer platforms.
As competition intensifies across banking, FinTech, and HR technology sectors, organizations are looking for new ways to improve customer retention, increase engagement, and create differentiated user experiences. finperks is positioning itself as the infrastructure provider that enables these capabilities without requiring businesses to navigate the complexity of the prepaid ecosystem.
With experienced founders, early customer traction, and fresh capital from investors, the Berlin startup is aiming to become a foundational infrastructure layer for the next generation of prepaid financial products across Europe and beyond.
If successful, finperks could do for prepaid payments what Stripe did for online payments—abstracting away complexity and making sophisticated financial products accessible through a simple developer-friendly platform.
