#rocketride: bezahl.de gets off to a successful start in 2022

A strong start to 2022: bezahl.de raises €5 million in seed financing round and impresses with a new appearance and the first Academy event

The pay.de year started with a bang: In the last round of financing, the Cologne-based FinTech raised over 5 million euros and took prominent supporters from the FinTech scene along to its #rocketride. The round was led by embedded/capital, the fund of Finleap makers Ramin Niroumand and Michael Hock, and Marco Schnabel, co-founder of AutomotiveMasterMind.

The successful start was followed by the first bezahl.de academy event on 31.03.2022 in Cologne. The new format creates an interactive platform for the German automotive industry, which will have the opportunity to exchange ideas about the digital future and process optimization in the automotive sector. In front of a booked audience, exquisite speakers shared exciting insights on the topic of “digitization.” The bezahl.de team was delighted with the great interest and consistently positive feedback.

Also in March, the Cologne-based company presented its new corporate identity and the relaunch of the website. This surprised not only with a new design, but also with many new features, such as the developer hub or an integrated help center.

Sustainable and innovative: customer account for major customers and the expansion of the portfolio

The new bezahl.de customer account function was created in cooperation with development partners Koch Gruppe Automobile AG, Autohaus Brunkhorst GmbH and Autohaus Siebrecht GmbH. For the first time, this innovation also made it possible for large and commercial customers to process transactions via our innovative platform and thus benefit holistically from the advantages of digital payment management. All customers receive a customer account, which is automatically linked to outgoing payment invitations. After an outstanding amount has been paid using the individually defined IBAN, all incoming payments are assigned directly to the respective customer account and settled against outstanding invoice amounts. The 24/7 status display in real time allows maximum transparency about open items at all times. After the pilot phase, the bezahl.de customer account has already been successfully integrated with numerous partners.

Another exciting cooperation followed: The German automotive manufacturer Electric Brands is known for its sustainable electric vehicles in an individual module concept. Since July 2022, the intelligent software from bezahl.de has been ensuring convenient payment processing via customers' individual devices. Your own dream vehicle can therefore not only be designed from the sofa according to your own wishes, but can also be paid for directly in accordance with personal preferences.

Fully digital integration of “buy now, pay later” options

Topics relating to the development of digital “BNPL” options (“buy now, pay later”) were undoubtedly of particular interest to the German automotive trade in 2022. Although the use of BNPL products has long been an integral part of other industries, the automotive trade has not yet been able to offer a corresponding function. Although demand was high, it was not possible to integrate a corresponding payment solution into the existing check-out modules for a long time. bezahl.de presented for the first time in summer 2022 a fully digital invoice purchase solution for automotive service and after-sales services, which can be seamlessly implemented into existing systems completely risk-free and without additional effort. Since the potential of the BNPL payment world has not yet been fully exploited, the team continues to work on new products and is now announcing a promising successor. In 2023, retailers can look forward to the introduction of bezahl.de installment payment, which can be fully integrated into the digital bezahl.de process. Installment payment options create trust, strengthen customer loyalty and make even larger purchases available at a low threshold. With the bezahl.de installment payment, you can choose between 3 and 36 monthly installments. After an automated credit check (without an in-depth KYC process), customers can conveniently and flexibly finalize the payment process directly on their digital device. Thanks to 100% default protection, retailers will be able to offer the popular payment method completely risk-free in the future and thus stand out from the competition.

“With bezahl.de installment payment, car dealerships can increase their turnover completely risk-free and at the same time offer their customers the most convenient payment experience possible. ”

Lasse Diener
CEO of bezahl.de

bezahl.de hosts automotive after work events and is happy about the growth

In November, the Cologne-based payment expert hosted the first automotive after work event in Düsseldorf. In cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Herbrand GmbH, bezahl.de presented exciting content on the focus topics of “Digitalization” and “Sustainability.” The fully booked event was attended by numerous representatives of the regional automotive trade, who enjoyed exclusive insights and an interactive exchange. The follow-up event in Hamburg took place on November 16 in cooperation with the team from B&K GmbH & Co. KG and Oliver Bohn and was able to easily build on the success of the first evening. Further after work events will of course not be long in coming: The next events will take place on 02.02.2023 in Munich and on 23.02.2023 in Frankfurt am Main.

It is not surprising that during this strong upturn, the ZAHL.DE family has also grown steadily and now has over 100 members. Not least because of its own high demand for skilled workers, the company welcomed the third generation of trainees in the IT sector on 01.08.2022.

Successful financial statements and exciting prospects for 2023

As successful as the year began, it also came to an end: Following the nomination as “FinTech” of the Year by Payment & Banking, the company was also pleased to be shortlisted for the Fintech Germany Award 2022 shortly before the end of the year and took part in the awards ceremony in Berlin in November.

Of course, the payment experts at bezahl.de are not resting on their laurels: By expanding its embedded finance products, the company wants to score particularly well in the coming year. In particular, the introduction of installment payment options for the service and after-sales sector as well as fully integrated vehicle financing represents another milestone for the bezahl.de product range. The bezahl.de team would like to thank you for a varied year 2022 and is looking forward to a successful year 2023.

Find out more about our innovative platform and our comprehensive offering on our website or get to know our product in a personal product presentation.