Checkout.com is one of the fastest growing fintechs in the world. Founded by Guillaume Pousaz in 2012, the organisation has grown to be the fourth largest fintech globally with a valuation of $15 billion. The organisation was established in Mauritius and has expanded to 17 locations over 5 continents with more than 1000 employees. Despite the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Checkout.com has continued to drive growth by virtually onboarding 500 new employees in 2020. Checkout.com’s Tom Pattison (Senior Employer Brand Specialist), Jess Houlgrave (Chief of Staff), Andy Cornforth (Engineering Lead) and Laura Bilea (Senior Data Analyst) recently joined OFLS to discuss the company’s success, the current state of fintech, and employment opportunities at the firm.

Despite offering financial services, Checkout.com views itself as a technology, rather than a financial, company due to its innovative nature. They aim to ensure that the payments experience is as seamless as possible for consumers, from when they enter their card details on a merchant’s website through to final processing. Checkout.com uses unified API integration to facilitate its seamless and faster payment experience. This provides the firm with an advantage over legacy payment providers in owning the gateway. The unified API integration provides cutting edge technology built on machine learning and AI which manages risks and lowers fraud. Tom adds that Checkout.com offers merchants quick and easy access to data insights for commercial decision-making, and the ability to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory environment. For these reasons, the organisation has a solid client base which includes major online merchants such as Deliveroo, Samsung, and Adidas.

Online purchases increased in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the U.K, 87% of households made online purchases, an increase from 82% in 2019. In light of this, Checkout.com is continuing to scale rapidly by expanding into new markets. According to Jess, the firm aims to have 1700 employees by the end of 2021 and establish offices in markets such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.

Expansion has been aided by an accommodating regulatory environment. The UK Financial Conduct Authority has created an environment which promotes technological creativity through its regulatory sandbox. However, the team at Checkout.com acknowledged several existing challenges such as the difficulty of further expanding into Africa because of the presence of many small and medium-sized merchants in the region. Furthermore, Andy acknowledged that the company’s rapid expansion might turn out to be its biggest threat, rather than competitors, as it forces them to continuously improve.

From a hiring perspective, Checkout.com continues to scale with 170 roles currently open across its global offices spanning its commercial, finance, executive and operation teams. Its people are driven by the company’s three core values: aspire, excel, and unite. The team advised fresh graduates to be open minded, challenge themselves, and show a willingness to explore different opportunities.