Penta, the Berlin-based business banking challenger that also now operates in Italy, has raised €18.5 million, described as the first closing of a new funding round.

Leading the round is new investor RTP Global and existing investor HV Holtzbrinck Ventures. Also participating is ABN AMRO Ventures and Berliner Volksbank Ventures, and Finleap (the fintech company builder that has a majority stake in Penta).

The new investment sees Alex Pavlov, Partner RTP Global, join Penta’s board, which also includes Barbod Namini, Partner at HV, and Michael Hock, CFO at Finleap.

Comments RTP Global’s Pavlov: “We are always searching for exceptional teams who are ready for the sprints, prepare for the marathons and have the tenacity to grow their business and disrupt their respective market. In Penta, we found all of that: a strong team, rapid growth and the mission of solving the problems of their SME customers by thinking outside the traditional banking frame”.

Headquartered in Berlin, with offices in Milan and Belgrade, Penta provides banking for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In April 2019, it was acquired by Finleap, the German company builder that co-founded and also owns a stake in banking platform solarisBank, of which Penta is a customer. Shortly after the deal went through, it was confirmed that Marko Wenthin, who previously co-founded solarisBank, had become Penta’s new CEO, replacing outgoing CEO and Penta co-founder Lav Odorović.

Most recently, the banking fintech partnered with BBVA-backed card reader company SumUp in a bid to attract more offline businesses, such as restaurants, craftsman, healthcare and architects. Businesses can order a SumUp Card Reader via Penta, and in doing so will save money on the initial SumUp setup fee and be able to seamlessly integrate SumUp-powered payments with their Penta account.

They also get access to the existing Penta features, such as being able to open a business banking account entirely digitally, issue multiple payment cards, grant limits and permissions per card for staff, facilitate expense management and integrate with popular accounting tools.

Source: TechCrunch

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