Hype

What Hype does

Hype is an Italian digital banking brand and electronic money institution that operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banca Sella S.p.A., serving approximately 1.9 million retail customers and a separate SMB segment in Italy through mobile-first apps on iOS and Android. Its core products are three tiered personal accounts — HYPE (€0/month), HYPE Next (€2.90/month), and HYPE Premium (€9.90/month) — plus HYPE Business, each providing virtual and physical Mastercard/Visa cards, free instant bank transfers, peer-to-peer payments (Scambia denaro), expense splitting (SplitHYPE), a savings tool (Box di risparmio), contactless payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay, and tier-differentiated insurance and fee structures. The platform is built on PSD2/Open Banking APIs via the Fabrick multi-operator platform (Berlin Group 1.3 standard) and integrates deeply with Italian public payment infrastructure including PagoPA, CBILL, Bollo Auto, and PagoPa's SEND digital notification system, alongside an in-app cashback marketplace operated with BuyOn and embedded insurance via Wopta.

Revenue is generated through a combination of monthly subscription fees across the three tiers, card interchange on payment transactions, affiliate commissions from cashback and partner brands, physical card issuance fees (€9.90), and FX margin on foreign currency transactions. Acquisition is product-led and fully digital: customers download the app, complete remote identity verification, and self-serve onboarding with no branch visit required, with upsell between tiers driven inside the app. Distribution leverages Banca Sella's broader branch and customer base for cross-sell while remaining a single-country, app-only proposition for end users. In November 2025, Banca Sella and Banca Sella Holding agreed to acquire Illimity Bank's remaining 50% stake in Hype for €85 million (implying an enterprise value of approximately €170 million), pending Bank of Italy approval, giving Banca Sella full ownership while Hype continues to operate as an independent digital brand.

Name

Hype

Legal name

HYPE S.p.A.

Website

https://hype.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hype is an Italian mobile-first digital banking brand and electronic money institution owned by Banca Sella, serving approximately 1.9 million retail customers and SMBs in Italy through tiered subscription accounts, P2P payments, savings tools, and deep integration with Italian public payment infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Banking / Neobanking

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (522210)

akta.pro primary industry

Co-Branded Credit Cards (FSAKABAB)

Keywords

• Digital banking services
• Mobile banking app
• Electronic money institution
• Neobank accounts
• Payment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Fees: Hype generates subscription revenue through three tiered plans: HYPE (€0/month), HYPE Next (€2.90/month), and HYPE Premium (€9.90/month). Each tier unlocks additional benefits such as insurance coverage, commission-free ATM withdrawals, physical cards, and fee-free currency conversions. This recurring subscription model is the primary revenue stream.
2. Card Interchange Revenue: Revenue is generated from interchange fees on card transactions when customers use their HYPE Mastercard or Visa cards for payments and withdrawals. Higher-tier plans offer reduced or zero commission on foreign currency transactions and ATM withdrawals.
3. Cashback and Affiliate Partnerships: Hype earns commissions through its Cashback section operated in partnership with BuyOn, where users shop through the app and earn rebates. Revenue is generated from affiliate commissions on tracked sales.
4. Premium Service Add-ons: Revenue from ancillary services including physical card issuance (€9.90 one-time), insurance products bundled in HYPE Next and Premium tiers, and potentially credit products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hype is a mobile-first digital banking brand of Banca Sella S.p.A. that provides tiered current accounts (HYPE, HYPE Next, HYPE Premium) and a separate HYPE Business account, all operated through a smartphone app. Customers receive virtual or physical Mastercard/Visa cards, can make free instant SEPA transfers, send P2P payments, split expenses in groups, save in-app via the Box di risparmio, pay PagoPA/CBILL/Bollo Auto bills, transact via Apple Pay, Google Pay and Mastercard Click to Pay, earn cashback through partner brands, and access bundled insurance and crypto services on higher tiers.

Product overview

HYPE is a digital banking platform operated by Banca Sella offering a tiered product family: three personal account tiers (HYPE at €0/month, HYPE Next at €2.90/month, and HYPE Premium at €9.90/month) plus a separate HYPE Business account. The core offering centers on mobile-first digital accounts with virtual cards, optional physical Mastercard or Visa cards, P2P payments (Scambia denaro), expense splitting (SplitHYPE), and savings tools (Box di risparmio). Premium tiers add insurance coverage, commission-free withdrawals, and fee-free government payments. The platform extends through wallet integrations (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Mastercard Click to Pay), an open banking PSD2 Gateway API on Fabrick, and a cashback marketplace powered by BuyOn. The November 2025 acquisition by Banca Sella for €85 million consolidates full ownership of the platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HYPE digital account Free entry-level digital account for Italian consumers offering a virtual card, optional physical Mastercard/Visa card, free unlimited instant SEPA transfers, contactless payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay, SplitHYPE expense sharing, and Scambia denaro P2P transfers, with free ATM withdrawals up to €250/month.
• HYPE Next account

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.9 million customers served in Italy as of 2025

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• WoptaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 September 2025Hype has a strategic partnership with Wopta, an Italian insurtech company, as reported in a September 2025 Fintech District overview profiling neobank partnerships. The nature of the partnership is focused on providing insurance products and services integrated into the HYPE platform, particularly benefiting HYPE Next and Premium customers who receive insurance coverage as part of their subscription.
• PagoPa S.p.A. (SEND Platform)Technology or IntegrationHYPE integrates with PagoPa's SEND (Servizio Notifiche Digitali) platform for legally binding digital notifications including fines, tax assessments, and refunds. Banca Sella operates as part of an experimentation agreement with PagoPa for in-app courtesy message delivery. This is a government-backed digital infrastructure partnership integral to the Italian digital public services ecosystem.
• Fabrick S.p.A.coreTechnology or IntegrationFabrick provides the PSD2/Open Banking platform infrastructure powering HYPE's API gateway. The platform operates on Berlin Group 1.3 standard and offers interfaces for balance inquiry, transaction listing, fund availability, and payment requests. Developers can access onboarding and technical documentation through Fabrick's TPP portal.
• BuyOnminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHYPE's Cashback section is operated in partnership with BuyOn. Through this partnership, users can access hundreds of partner brands and earn cashback rebates (up to 15%) on purchases made through the in-app cashback platform. BuyOn handles affiliate tracking and commission settlement.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationHYPE issues cards on the Mastercard international payment circuit, enabling global acceptance for payments and ATM withdrawals. Integration with Mastercard Click to Pay allows users to pay online without entering passwords, and Mastercard's exchange rate calculators are referenced for currency conversion transparency.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Satispay: Italy's leading mobile payment app, offering P2P transfers, merchant payments, and a prepaid account to Italian consumers and SMEs. It is the closest direct competitor to Hype in the Italian mobile-first financial services market with overlapping target customers and feature set.
• BuddyBank: UniCredit's mobile-only digital bank targeting Italian retail customers with chat-based support, payments, savings, and card products. Competes head-to-head with Hype for the same digitally native Italian consumer segment.
• Isybank: Intesa Sanpaolo's standalone digital bank launched in 2024 to serve Italian retail customers via a mobile-first experience. Directly comparable to Hype in product scope and target customer, with the backing of Italy's largest banking group.
• Illimity Bank: Italian digital-first bank serving retail and SME customers, and previously Hype's 50% co-owner before selling the stake to Banca Sella in November 2025. Operates an overlapping digital banking proposition in the same Italian market.
• Mooney: Italian proximity banking and payments network (Eni/Intesa Sanpaolo JV) offering current accounts, cards, bill payments, and P2P services across a large physical and digital footprint. Overlaps with Hype in everyday Italian consumer payments and account features.

Broad incumbents

• Revolut: UK-headquartered global super-app neobank with a substantial Italian user base offering multi-currency accounts, cards, P2P, savings, and trading. A much larger, broadly diversified incumbent competing with Hype across most consumer banking use cases in Italy.
• N26: Berlin-based European neobank with a mobile-first current account, cards, and P2P payments, operating across multiple EU markets including Italy. Broader geographic footprint and larger scale make it a comparable but more diversified incumbent.

Emerging players

• Flowe: Mediolanum Group's mobile-first banking app focused on sustainability and younger Italian users, offering accounts, payments, and savings. Targets a similar younger Italian consumer niche as Hype but with a narrower product set and group-bank backing.
• Tinaba: Italian fintech app originally focused on younger and family users for payments, savings, and money management. Operates in a similar digital-first Italian niche to Hype with a narrower product scope and partial overlap on P2P and savings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hypeapp
• Instagraminstagram.com/hypeapp
• Xx.com/hype_tw

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Hype