Alma

What Alma does

Alma is a French fintech founded in 2018-2019 (firmographic vs. company history sources disagree) that provides buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) installment payment solutions to merchants and their customers across eight European markets: France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal. The company operates a single integrated platform offering three core products — interest-free payment in 2, 3, or 4 installments, longer-duration financing in 10 or 12 monthly installments, and a Pay Later option with 15- or 30-day deferral — delivered through online checkout, in-store point-of-sale terminals, and cross-border European expansion channels.

The underlying technology centers on a proprietary real-time credit evaluation algorithm that combines buyer age verification, credit card validity and type classification, and Open Banking data queries (returned in under five seconds) to approve or decline installment requests in under ten seconds, with 3D Secure authentication layered on every transaction and PCI DSS Level 1 compliance maintained via certified PSP partners. The platform is exposed through a documented API (docs.getalma.eu), 20+ technology integrations, and embedment inside major European payment service providers Stripe, Adyen, and Mollie, with a merchant analytics dashboard tracking over 30 KPIs.

Commercially, Alma generates revenue purely through transaction commissions on each purchase — there are no monthly subscription or setup fees — and merchants may absorb the fee or share it with the customer. Distribution combines self-serve SMB onboarding, dedicated account management for enterprise and mid-market merchants, and PSP-driven mid-market distribution. By 2025 the platform processed €2.5 billion in transaction volume for 23,000+ merchants and reached €114M ARR (32% YoY growth) with first-time profitability, backed by a total of approximately €210M raised across equity and debt in 2022.

Name

Alma

Legal name

Alma

Website

https://getalma.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Alma is a French BNPL fintech that lets European merchants offer interest-free installments (2/3/4 and 10/12 month) and Pay Later via its real-time credit-evaluation platform, embedded through Stripe, Adyen, and Mollie across 8 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Payment Platform

NAICS

Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Platforms (BPAMAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Online Checkout) (FSAKACAA), In-Store / In-Person BNPL (POS) (FSAKACAB), BNPL for High-Ticket / Longer-Term Installments (FSAKACAN), International / Cross-Border BNPL & Multi-Currency POS Financing (FSAGAIAN), BNPL Consumer Apps & Wallets (Discovery, Management) (FSAGAIAG)

Keywords

• Installment payments
• Buy now pay later
• Merchant payment processing
• POS financing
• Retail credit solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuilly-sur-seine

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Transaction Commission: Alma charges a commission for each purchase made through its platform. There are no monthly subscription fees or hidden costs. Merchants can choose to share part of the costs with customers or cover the entire amount themselves to increase conversion rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alma provides a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform that enables merchants to offer customers interest-free installment payments (2, 3, 4, 10, or 12 installments) and deferred Pay Later options (15 or 30 days), both online and in-store, while guaranteeing merchants 100% upfront settlement. The platform integrates through PSPs such as Stripe, Adyen, and Mollie and serves over 23,000 merchants across eight European countries with real-time credit assessment and Open Banking verification.

Product overview

Alma is a French fintech offering a unified BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) platform with three core payment products: Payment in 2, 3 or 4 Installments (interest-free short-term installments), Payment in 10 or 12 Installments (financing for larger purchases), and Pay Later (15 or 30-day deferred payment). These products are delivered through three sales channel solutions: Online (e-commerce integration), In-Store (POS/terminal integration), and International (cross-border European expansion). The platform is complemented by a merchant dashboard with 30+ KPIs for performance tracking and premium account management support. Alma operates across 8 European markets (France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal) and connects with major payment service providers (Stripe, Adyen, Mollie) and local payment networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payment in 2, 3 or 4 Installments Core BNPL product that lets customers split a purchase into 2, 3, or 4 interest-free installments, processed in under a minute, with the merchant receiving guaranteed full settlement. Designed for online and in-store retailers across Europe seeking to lift conversion.
• Payment in 10 or 12 Installments Longer-term installment financing product that lets customers spread higher-value purchases over 10 or 12 monthly installments, with merchants again paid upfront and guaranteed by Alma.
• Pay Later Deferred payment product that lets customers pay 15 or 30 days after purchase while the merchant is paid instantly in full, providing short-term credit optionality without interest to the consumer.
• Alma Online Solution E-commerce checkout integration that lets customers pay in installments on a merchant's website in under 30 seconds without leaving the site, available via modules and APIs.
• Alma In-Store Solution Point-of-sale solution enabling customers to pay in installments in physical stores via a payment link sent to their smartphone or directly on the merchant's payment terminal.
• Alma International Solution Cross-border solution that lets merchants offer Alma installment payments across eight European markets (France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal), supporting international expansion with local payment methods.
• Alma Consumer App Consumer-facing mobile application that lets end users manage, track, and control their Alma installment and Pay Later payments on the go.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to more conversions with Alma installments (specific percentage redacted in source)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is a payment service provider that integrates Alma's BNPL solution into its payment stack, enabling merchants using Stripe to access Alma's installment payment options.
• AdyencoreTechnology or IntegrationAdyen provides payment infrastructure that integrates Alma's BNPL offerings, allowing merchants on the Adyen platform to offer flexible installment payments to customers.
• MolliecoreTechnology or IntegrationMollie is a European payment service provider that embeds Alma's BNPL solutions in its payment platform, enabling seamless integration for Mollie merchants.
• 20+ Technology PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationOver 20 technology partnerships for simple integration online and in-store, including major European payment service providers and e-commerce platform integrations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Klarna: Swedish BNPL leader operating across Europe and globally with installment and pay-later products. Closest large-scale competitor to Alma, competing head-to-head for European merchants and PSP integrations.
• Floa Bank: French digital bank offering BNPL and split-payment products to merchants across Europe. Competes directly with Alma on merchant-integrated installment solutions.
• Scalapay: Italy-founded BNPL provider focused on Southern Europe with merchant-integrated installment payments. Directly competes with Alma in Italian, Spanish, and French retail BNPL.
• Oney: French BNPL and consumer credit provider owned by Auchan, offering installment payments at retail and online checkout. Direct competitor in Alma's home French market.
• Riverty: Germany-headquartered BNPL and consumer credit provider operating across Europe (formerly Arvato Financial Solutions). Direct competitor in DACH and broader European merchant BNPL.

Broad incumbents

• Cofidis: Large French consumer credit provider (Crédit Mutuel group) with installment and personal loan products. Broader incumbent in French BNPL/credit space, including retail partnerships.
• Afterpay (Block): Global BNPL pioneer now owned by Block, with broad merchant reach and Pay-in-4 products. Competes with Alma in cross-border merchants and through PSP integrations like Stripe and Adyen.
• Affirm: US-listed BNPL provider with longer-duration installment products and merchant integrations. Competes with Alma's higher-ticket 10/12 installment product for international merchants.

Emerging players

• Splitit: Merchant-integrated BNPL that uses existing credit card limits rather than new underwriting. Adjacent model to Alma's installment platform, focused on issuer/PSP partnerships.
• Billie: Berlin-based B2B BNPL provider offering invoice-based trade credit at checkout. Adjacent fintech peer serving merchants with installment/credit solutions across Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AlmapayOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alma-alma-alma

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alma