Swikly
Swikly is a Lyon-based fintech that provides a digital security-deposit platform using credit-card pre-authorization (the "Swik") to secure vacation rentals, campsites, vehicle rentals, equipment rentals, and healthcare co-payments without debiting customer funds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLyon, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Swikly does
Swikly (legal entity SWIKLY SAS, RCS 819 514 076) is a French fintech founded in April 2016 and headquartered in Lyon, France. The company operates a digital security-deposit platform built around a proprietary banking transaction called a "Swik" — a credit-card pre-authorization that secures a rental or reservation without debiting the customer's account, without blocking funds, and without impacting the cardholder's available credit limit. Identity verification is enforced via 3D Secure 3DS2 in line with PSD2/SCA, and deposits can be partially or fully cashed in by the professional upon damage or cancellation, or automatically released when the commitment is honored.
The platform is delivered via a self-serve web application (app.v2.swikly.com), a public REST API (api.v2.swikly.com), and a WooCommerce plugin, and is distributed primarily through deep integrations with 20+ property management systems, channel managers, and ERPs (Avantio, Guesty, Smoobu, Smily/BookingSync, Hostaway, Lodgify, Beds24, Hostify, Arkiane, RentalReady, myrentcar, among others). It serves five vertical go-to-markets — vacation rentals (primary), outdoor hospitality/campgrounds, vehicle rental, equipment rental, and healthcare — with multi-language support across French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.
Swikly monetizes through per-transaction fees on each deposit request (pay-as-you-go, with a 30-day free trial covering the first 3 requests and a 10-request promo via code ETE10), supplemented by a Premium tier that adds an insurance-backed guarantee against customer payment default on a subscription basis, with custom enterprise pricing for high-volume clients. To date, the company has secured over €400M in deposits across more than 1 million swiks for 18,000+ professional customers, and raised a €1.5M seed round in 2019 led by Evolem Start alongside Crédit Agricole, Aerion Partners, B612 Participations, HUB612, and KREAXI.
Swikly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Swikly
- Legal name
- SWIKLY
- Website
- https://swikly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Swikly is a Lyon-based fintech that provides a digital security-deposit platform using credit-card pre-authorization (the "Swik") to secure vacation rentals, campsites, vehicle rentals, equipment rentals, and healthcare co-payments without debiting customer funds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Swikly industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Deposit Management Software
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Card Issuing & Virtual Cards (lodge cards, single-use, tokenization) (THALAHAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fraud Prevention, Controls & Compliance (MCC controls, AML/KYC, SCA) (THACAJAG), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK)
Keywords
Where Swikly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lyon
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Swikly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Transaction fees per deposit request: Swikly charges a fee per security deposit (swik) request created and processed through the platform. The per-transaction fee model aligns revenue with usage volume. New customers receive 10 free deposit requests upon account opening (promo code ETE10) and a 30-day free trial covering the first 3 deposit requests.
- Premium subscription (guaranteed swiks): Under the Premium offer, Swikly provides an insurance guarantee backed by a partner insurer, reimbursing professionals in case of payment default. This adds a recurring or higher-tier fee component for professionals seeking guaranteed coverage.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard tier — per-transaction fees |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium tier — guaranteed swiks with insurance |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Swikly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Swikly provides a digital platform that lets rental and reservation professionals secure an online deposit from a customer's credit card via a banking pre-authorization ("swik") that does not debit, block or impact the customer's card limit. The deposit can be automatically released on a clean return or partially/fully cashed in a few clicks in case of damage, no-show or unpaid fees. Swikly ships native integrations with 20+ property management systems and channel managers, a Premium tier with an insurance-backed payment-default guarantee, a public REST API, and vertical-specific solutions for vacation rental, vehicle rental, equipment rental, campsites and healthcare.
Product overview
Swikly is a unified digital platform providing online security deposit solutions for rental and reservation businesses. The core product is the Swik, a banking transaction that secures rentals or reservations through an online deposit without blocking or debiting customer funds. The platform offers sector-specific solutions (verticals) for vacation rentals, vehicle rentals, equipment rentals, campsites, and healthcare, all powered by the same underlying Swik technology. Additional offerings include the Swik No-Show variant, a public API for integrations, permalink features for website embedding, and a Premium tier with insurance guarantees. The platform integrates with numerous PMS systems and property management software.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Swik Swikly's core product: a banking pre-authorization transaction that secures a rental or reservation online from a credit card imprint without debiting the customer, blocking funds or impacting the customer's card limit; releases automatically on a clean return or allows partial/full cashing on demand in case of damage.
- Swik No-Show A variant of the Swik that sends an online deposit request to guarantee a customer's attendance at an appointment or reservation, intended to prevent no-shows without requiring upfront payment.
- Swikly Vacation Rental Solution Vertical-specific Swikly package for short-term vacation rental property managers and agencies, automating security-deposit requests within their PMS or channel manager workflows.
- Swikly Healthcare Solution Vertical-specific solution that lets clinics, private practices and healthcare professionals secure patient co-payments and reduce unpaid medical fees by capturing a bank-card imprint at appointment booking with no immediate debit, integrating with clinic ERP software.
- Swikly Vehicle Rental Solution Vertical-specific solution for car rental companies and fleet managers that automates online deposit management directly inside rental ERP software, reducing counter queues and paper handling.
- Swikly Equipment Rental Solution Vertical-specific solution for equipment rental businesses (tools, machinery, sports gear) seeking fully digital, online deposit processes for their rental operations.
- Swikly Campsite Solution Vertical-specific solution for campsites and outdoor hospitality venues, automating online deposit requests and digital inventory management to reduce check-in queues and automate post-stay deposit release.
- Swikly API Public REST API and platform that enables developers and partners to integrate Swikly's deposit request, management and cashing functionality into their own business software, PMS systems, websites and custom applications.
- Swikly Premium Service Higher-tier Swikly subscription that adds an insurance-backed guarantee reimbursing professionals in case of customer payment default, on top of the core swik pre-authorization mechanics.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% reduction in unpaid fees on average among 18,000 customers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Swikly
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Swikly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration26 records
Feature7 records
Swikly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AvantiocoreAvantio is a vacation rental PMS with which Swikly has a native integration, enabling automated security deposit requests within Avantio's property management workflow.
- GuestycoreGuesty is a leading vacation rental property management platform integrated with Swikly, allowing professionals to automate deposit requests and management directly from Guesty's platform.
- SmoobucoreSmoobu is a PMS and channel manager for vacation rentals with native Swikly integration, enabling automated deposit request creation and management for Smoobu users.
- Smily (formerly BookingSync)coreSmily (formerly BookingSync) is a vacation rental PMS with a Swikly integration that enables automated deposit requests for Smily-managed properties.
- HostawaycoreHostaway is a vacation rental PMS integrated with Swikly, allowing automated deposit management within the Hostaway platform.
- LodgifycoreLodgify is a vacation rental website builder and PMS with Swikly integration, enabling deposit automation for Lodgify users.
- Beds24coreBeds24 is an inn/vacation rental channel manager and PMS integrated with Swikly for automated deposit management.
- HostifycoreHostify is a vacation rental management platform integrated with Swikly for automated deposit request processing.
- ArkianecoreArkiane is a PMS and channel manager (specializing in campsites and vacation rentals) integrated with Swikly for automated deposit management.
- RentalReadycoreRentalReady is a vacation rental PMS built by property managers, with a direct integration with Swikly offering a fully fluid deposit management workflow. A dedicated article on the partnership highlights RentalReady's operational approach and deep Swikly integration.
- myrentcar (by hitechsoftware)coremyrentcar is a car rental ERP developed by hitechsoftware, fully integrated with Swikly for online deposit management. The partnership is highlighted in multiple articles, emphasizing how myrentcar centralizes payments and guarantees while Swikly automates the deposit lifecycle for vehicle rental companies.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Swikly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Autohost: Autohost is an AI-driven guest verification and risk-scoring platform for short-term rentals. While its core focus is screening rather than deposits, it competes for the same trust-and-safety budget from vacation rental professionals.
- Superhog: Superhog offers guest screening, identity verification, and deposit/damage-waiver products for short-term rental professionals. It overlaps with Swikly's deposit automation and 3DS-based identity verification flows within the same customer segment.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Stripe is a global payments platform whose pre-authorization (PaymentIntents with manual capture) APIs replicate the underlying mechanism of Swikly's 'swik.' As a broad incumbent with massive distribution, Stripe represents a long-tail disintermediation risk if it expands into vertical deposit products.
- Guesty: Guesty is a leading vacation rental PMS that distributes Swikly to its users via a native integration. As a broad PMS incumbent, it could expand into native deposit/guarantee features, making it both a critical channel and a competitive threat.
- Adyen: Adyen is a global payments platform serving large merchants with pre-authorization and card-on-file capabilities. It is a broad incumbent that could in principle offer Swikly-equivalent deposit flows to its enterprise rental and travel customers.
Direct peers
- RentalCover: RentalCover provides damage protection and rental insurance products for vehicle and equipment rental operators. It competes with Swikly in the vehicle rental and equipment rental verticals on the same core problem of damage/no-show guarantees.
- Chekin: Chekin provides vacation rental guest verification, online check-in, and digital deposit/guarantee features for property managers. It overlaps directly with Swikly's deposit automation, identity verification, and PMS-embedded workflows.
- Safely: Safely provides short-term rental guest screening, identity verification, and damage protection. It overlaps with Swikly's 3DS-based identity verification and damage-cash-out flow for vacation rentals, serving the same property manager customer base.
- RentalGuardian: RentalGuardian (by Axis Insurance) provides damage protection and guest liability programs for vacation and short-term rental professionals. It is a directly comparable product offering — alternative deposit/damage-waiver coverage sold into the same PMS-embedded workflow.
- Truvi: Truvi offers deposit and damage-protection solutions for short-term rentals and vacation rental managers, competing head-to-head with Swikly in the same customer segment and product category (digital deposit management integrated with PMS platforms).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Swikly social profiles
Digital presenceSwikly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Swikly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Swikly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Swikly M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Swikly
What does Swikly do?
Swikly provides a digital platform that lets rental and reservation professionals secure an online deposit from a customer's credit card via a banking pre-authorization ("swik") that does not debit, block or impact the customer's card limit. The deposit can be automatically released on a clean return or partially/fully cashed in a few clicks in case of damage, no-show or unpaid fees. Swikly ships native integrations with 20+ property management systems and channel managers, a Premium tier with an insurance-backed payment-default guarantee, a public REST API, and vertical-specific solutions for vacation rental, vehicle rental, equipment rental, campsites and healthcare.
Is Swikly a public or private company?
Swikly is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Swikly founded?
Swikly was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Swikly based?
Swikly is headquartered in Lyon, France, in the Europe region.
How does Swikly make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Transaction fees per deposit request is the primary driver. The others are premium subscription (guaranteed swiks).
Who are Swikly's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Autohost and Superhog. Broad incumbents are Stripe, Guesty and Adyen. Direct peers are RentalCover, Chekin, Safely, RentalGuardian and Truvi.
Does Swikly have an API?
Yes. Swikly provides a public API for developers to integrate the platform into business software and PMS. The API enables automation of security deposit requests, integration with property management systems, website embedding via permalinks, and automation of the full deposit workflow. A WooCommerce plugin is also available. Developer documentation is at api.v2.swikly.com/v1.
What industry is Swikly in?
Swikly's product category is Online Deposit Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THALAHAB, Card Issuing & Virtual Cards (lodge cards, single-use, tokenization), with a secondary code of THACAJAG, Fraud Prevention, Controls & Compliance (MCC controls, AML/KYC, SCA). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.