Alma

What Alma does

Alma is a French fintech founded in 2018 and headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, that provides Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment solutions to merchants and their customers. The company operates across 10 European countries (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and additional markets) and serves over 21,800 merchants. It offers three core payment products — installments in 2, 3, or 4 payments, longer-term financing in 10 or 12 installments, and Pay Later at 15 or 30 days — and is accessible at more than 21,000 consumer-facing partner shops. The company is led by co-founders Louis Chatriot (CEO, President & Chairman) and Guillaume Desloges (COO, Directeur General), and operates with a workforce of 251–500 employees.

Alma's technical platform is anchored by a proprietary evaluation algorithm that approves installment requests in under 10 seconds and an Open Banking integration that returns bank-data responses in under 5 seconds for repayment-capacity assessment. The platform is PCI DSS Level 1 certified (via its PSP partner) and incorporates 3D Secure authentication, with a merchant-facing dashboard tracking 30+ KPIs. Distribution spans e-commerce checkout integration, in-store POS/terminal payments, and call center or in-home sales via payment links, supported by 20+ technology partnerships. A consumer-facing mobile application on iOS and Android enables payment management, free postponement of installments, and merchant discovery.

Alma monetizes through per-transaction commission on each purchase processed, with no monthly subscription fees. Merchants can choose to absorb commission costs or share them with customers to optimize conversion. The company takes a distinctive "100% guaranteed payment" position: it assumes all credit and collection risk and pays merchants upfront, while offering consumers a no-late-fees, no-hidden-fees experience. Customer segments span e-commerce retailers, physical retail stores, and call-center/in-home sales operations, with particular strength in home/garden, fashion/apparel, sports/outdoor, jewelry, eyewear, and emerging verticals such as energy, education, and travel/leisure. Named enterprise customers include Maisons du Monde, Jonak, Alain Afflelou, Zadig & Voltaire, Maje, Samsonite, and Printemps.

Name

Alma

Legal name

Alma

Website

https://almapay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Alma is a French BNPL fintech, founded in 2018, offering installment and deferred payment solutions to over 21,800 merchants across 10 European countries. It serves e-commerce and physical retailers through a proprietary evaluation algorithm, Open Banking integration, and PCI DSS Level 1 certified payment infrastructure, monetizing via per-transaction commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

BNPL Payment Solutions

NAICS

Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Checkout POS Financing) (FSAGAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Online Checkout) (FSAKACAA), In-Store / In-Person BNPL (POS) (FSAKACAB), Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) (CRAFALAD)

Keywords

• BNPL payments
• Installment payment solutions
• Merchant payment processing
• Deferred payment services
• E-commerce checkout financing

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, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

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 motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Alma provides Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) installment payment solutions that allow merchants to offer their customers the ability to pay in 2, 3, or 4 installments, in 10 or 12 installments, or to defer payment 15 or 30 days (Pay Later). Alma pays merchants upfront and assumes all credit and collection risk, delivering the solution through online checkout, in-store POS/terminal integrations, and across 10 European countries.

Product overview

Alma is an installment payment solutions provider offering a unified platform with three core payment products: Payment in 2, 3, or 4 installments (short-term installment credit), Payment in 10 or 12 installments (consumer financing for larger purchases), and Pay Later (deferred payment at 15 or 30 days). These core products are supported by additional services including Cash Payment accounting unification, a merchant Dashboard with 30+ KPIs, Premium Support account management, and a consumer-facing mobile app. Alma serves merchants through multiple channels: Online (e-commerce integration), In-Store (POS/terminal integration), and International (cross-border European expansion). The platform operates across 10 European countries and is positioned as a guaranteed payment solution where Alma assumes collection risk and pays merchants upfront.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payment in 2, 3 or 4 installments Short-term installment credit product allowing customers to pay for purchases in 2, 3, or 4 monthly installments with instant approval; merchants receive full payment upfront while Alma manages customer collection.
• Payment in 10 or 12 installments Longer-tenor installment financing product allowing customers to pay for larger purchases in 10 or 12 monthly installments, designed for higher-value basket financing.
• Pay Later Deferred payment option where customers pay 15 or 30 days after purchase; merchants receive instant payment while extending customer payment flexibility.
• Cash Payment (Paiement comptant) Single upfront payment option that lets merchants unify their accounting processes through Alma's payment platform alongside installment offerings.
• Online Solution (e-commerce integration) E-commerce checkout integration enabling customers to pay in installments directly on the merchant's website without leaving the checkout page, with payment completed in under 30 seconds.
• In-Store Solution (Point of Sale) Physical retail integration allowing customers to pay via a payment link sent by text message or directly on payment terminals, enabling installment payments in brick-and-mortar stores.
• International Solution Cross-border expansion solution supporting installment payments across European markets including France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% of sales volume attributed to BNPL
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers43 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Payment Service Providers (PSP)coreTechnology or IntegrationCertified Level 1 PCI Service Provider partner for secure payment processing and storage of customer banking details.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Scalapay: Italy-based BNPL offering pay-in-3 installments across Southern Europe. Comparable in geography, vertical focus (fashion/retail), and merchant-integrated model.
• Floa Bank: French BNPL and consumer credit provider owned by Crédit Mutuel. Competes directly with Alma in France across e-commerce and POS installments, with broader credit product range.
• Klarna: Swedish BNPL pioneer offering pay-in-3/4 and longer-term installments globally. Most direct head-to-head competitor in Europe with overlapping merchant base and similar guarantee-to-merchant model.
• Oney: BNPL and split-payment brand of Auchan/Banque Accord, active in France and broader Europe. Comparable in-store and online BNPL offerings and similar merchant target segment.
• Affirm: US-headquartered pay-over-time provider now expanding into UK and Europe. Comparable longer-term installment products and merchant-integrated checkout, though primarily US-anchored today.

Broad incumbents

• Afterpay (Block): Global pay-in-4 BNPL under Block (formerly Square). Wider geographic footprint and parent ecosystem but similar merchant-integrated installments model.
• PayPal Pay Later: PayPal's built-in pay-in-3 and pay-in-4 offering leveraging PayPal's massive merchant network. Direct functional competitor embedded in a much broader payments platform.
• Cofidis: Large French consumer credit and BNPL provider (Crédit Mutuel group). Competes with Alma in BNPL at POS and online but operates a much wider credit and insurance portfolio.

Emerging players

• Sezzle: US/Canada pay-in-4 BNPL expanding into Europe. Comparable short-term installment product and merchant-integrated checkout, though smaller scale than Alma in Europe today.
• Splitit: Installment payments on existing credit cards, active across Europe. Comparable longer-term installment use case at checkout but differentiated via card-network rails rather than direct lending.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AlmapayOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/almapay
• Instagraminstagram.com/almapay_fr
• Xx.com/alma_pay

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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