Clearhaus Holding A/S

Merchant Acquiring & Payment Processingclearhaus.com

Clearhaus is a Danish payment institution and Visa/Mastercard Principal Member providing API-first merchant acquiring services to over 42,000 European e-commerce SMBs, with recent expansion into POS acquiring and Payment Facilitator solutions under Unzer Group ownership.

Company typePrivate
Founded2011
HeadquartersAarhus, Denmark
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Clearhaus Holding A/S does

Clearhaus Holding A/S, operating through its subsidiary Clearhaus A/S, is a Danish payment institution and merchant acquirer founded in 2011 and headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark. The company is authorized by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) as a pan-European Payment Institution and is a Principal Member of both Visa and Mastercard, enabling it to provide end-to-end acquiring services without reliance on a sponsor bank in its core markets. Since onboarding its first customer in March 2015, Clearhaus has scaled to serve more than 42,000 webshops across at least 14 European countries as of January 2026, with localized operations in English, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, and Finnish. The company has been a subsidiary of Unzer Group since January 2021.

Clearhaus's product portfolio centers on merchant acquiring services for online card payments, extended by POS acquiring (launched 2025-2026 in partnership with Verifone), a Payment Facilitator (PayFac) solution for licensed platforms (March 2026), and a broad feature set including conditional 3-D Secure, automated chargeback management, automated account reconciliation, recurring transactions, dynamic descriptors, and fraud detection. The technical foundation is an API-first platform with a Merchant API, Gateway API for PSPs, sandbox environments, and support for Visa Direct, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and MobilePay, with settlement available in 11 currencies (DKK, EUR, GBP, NOK, SEK, USD, CZK, HUF, PLN, RON, CHF). Clearhaus holds PCI DSS, GDPR, and PSD2 compliance certifications.

Clearhaus generates revenue primarily through transaction fees — 1.45% on locally issued consumer cards in Germany and from 2.75% on business and foreign-issued cards, with a minimum per-transaction fee and no setup or monthly fees. The go-to-market is API-first self-service (1-3 working day onboarding) supplemented by a channel network of approximately 90 payment gateways and PSPs across Europe, with named partners including PensoPay, ANYDAY, Frisbii, Reepay, Payfunc, team.blue, Payrexx, PaynoPain, Terminal.fo, GR8PAY, and Quickpay. The customer base is horizontally diversified across e-commerce SMBs and includes enterprise logos such as Boozt, DAO, Qliro, DBU, and Fastspeed.

Clearhaus Holding A/S firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Clearhaus Holding A/S
Legal name: Clearhaus A/S
Website: https://clearhaus.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2011
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: Clearhaus is a Danish payment institution and Visa/Mastercard Principal Member providing API-first merchant acquiring services to over 42,000 European e-commerce SMBs, with recent expansion into POS acquiring and Payment Facilitator solutions under Unzer Group ownership.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Clearhaus Holding A/S industry classification

Industry

Product category: Merchant Acquiring & Payment Processing
akta.pro primary industry: Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers (FSAMABAB)
akta.pro secondary industry: Card Clearing & Settlement (Interchange, Network Settlement) (FSABAJAJ)

Keywords

Merchant acquiring services
Online payment processing
Card payment acceptance
Payment institution
E-commerce payments

Where Clearhaus Holding A/S is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Aarhus
HQ country: Denmark
HQ region: Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

Clearhaus Holding A/S business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Transaction Processing Fees: Clearhaus generates revenue primarily through transaction fees charged as a percentage of each payment processed plus a fixed per-transaction fee. For locally issued consumer cards in Germany, the rate is 1.45% with a minimum of €0.20 per transaction. Business cards and foreign-issued cards are charged from 2.75% with a minimum of €0.40. The company does not charge set-up fees or monthly fees.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Transaction based/ take rate	Pay-as-you-go	Locally issued consumer cards - Inside Germany
Transaction based/ take rate	Pay-as-you-go	Business cards and foreign issued cards - Outside Germany

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Clearhaus is a pan-European payment institution and merchant acquirer that enables online and in-store businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard card payments. As a Visa and Mastercard Principal Member, Clearhaus provides merchant accounts, transaction processing, settlement services, fraud and chargeback management, multi-currency support, and a RESTful Merchant API, with merchant onboarding typically completed within 1-3 working days and no setup or monthly fees.

Product overview

Clearhaus is a Danish payment institution and acquirer providing a unified commerce payment platform. The core offering consists of merchant acquiring services for online businesses, supplemented by POS acquiring for physical retail locations and a Payment Facilitator solution enabling platforms to become sub-acquirers. The product portfolio includes payment security features (Conditional 3-D Secure, Fraud Detection), payment method integrations (Apple Pay, Google Pay, MobilePay), multi-currency support, automated back-office features (Chargeback Management, Account Reconciliation, Recurring Transactions), and a comprehensive Merchant API for developer integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

Merchants can onboard and start processing payments within 1-3 working days
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use Clearhaus Holding A/S

Customer profile

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature11 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

VerifonecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2026As part of the wider Unzer-Verifone partnership, Clearhaus merchants gain access to complete payment solutions from payment terminals to cashier software. Merchants benefit from faster implementation, simplified operations, and a smoother shopping experience. Verifone contributes its innovative terminals and payment apps.
PensoPayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPensoPay is a payment gateway partner. According to PensoPay COO Danny Christensen, they waited patiently for an acquirer like Clearhaus. Their previous acquirer took 2-3 weeks to process applications, but Clearhaus does it in less than 24 hours.
ANYDAYminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorANYDAY is a payment gateway partner. According to COO Kenneth Ahlquist, they are incredibly satisfied with the partnership. From day one they were welcomed and taken seriously, and Clearhaus is far faster at accelerating compared to others in the financial world.
FrisbiiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrisbii is a partner using Clearhaus' Merchant API for Apple Pay integration. According to Markus K. Brunke, Partner & Integration Manager, the partnership just works flawlessly with fast onboarding and swift communication.
PayfuncminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayfunc partnered with Clearhaus to enter Sweden, combining two of the most technology-driven payment platforms in Scandinavia to provide superior payment technology.
team.blueminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributorteam.blue partnered with Clearhaus to strengthen European online shops, providing a smooth and optimized payment process for online sales of goods.
PayrexxminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean payment fintech Payrexx partnered with Clearhaus to bring superior payment solutions to online shops across Europe, focusing on the DACH region.
PaynoPainminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPaynoPain, a Spanish payment gateway, partnered with Clearhaus to contribute to the development of European payment infrastructure, bringing new capabilities to the Spanish market.
Terminal.fominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTerminal.fo is a local Faroe Islands gateway that partnered with Clearhaus to make Faroe Islands online shops simpler and faster, enabling e-commerce growth in the market.
GR8PAYminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGR8PAY, a UK fintech, partnered with Clearhaus to compete with Stripe and PayPal in Europe. Clearhaus provides the technological infrastructure to support GR8PAY's ambitions.
QuickpayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorQuickpay is a Danish payment gateway partner, part of the Unzer Group alongside Clearhaus, serving the Danish and Scandinavian markets.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Mollie: Amsterdam-based payment processor targeting European SMB and e-commerce merchants with multi-currency acquiring and gateway services. Closely comparable to Clearhaus on customer segment, geographic focus (Europe), and SMB-led acquiring model.
SumUp: European payment processor and acquirer serving micro-merchants and SMBs across online and POS channels. Comparable to Clearhaus on SMB focus, European footprint, and omnichannel acquiring strategy following Clearhaus' POS expansion.
Stripe: Global online payment processor with a strong developer API and aggressive European SMB acquiring presence. Direct competitor to Clearhaus for API-first e-commerce merchants across Europe.
Checkout.com: London-headquartered payment processor with pan-European acquiring capabilities and an API-first platform targeting digital-first merchants. Direct competitor to Clearhaus in European online acquiring.
PensoPay: Danish payment gateway partner that uses Clearhaus as acquiring infrastructure. Comparable Danish SMB e-commerce gateway with overlapping merchant base and Nordic acquiring focus.
Quickpay: Danish payment gateway and sister company to Clearhaus within the Unzer Group. Closely comparable Danish SMB e-commerce payment processor with shared parent and overlapping customer base.

Broad incumbents

Adyen: Large global acquiring platform processing payments for enterprise and SMB merchants via a unified API. Competitor in the European merchant acquiring space but at materially larger scale and enterprise skew.
Worldline: Major European payment processor and acquirer offering merchant acquiring, POS, and unified commerce solutions. Comparable to Clearhaus in European merchant acquiring but at much larger scale and broader product portfolio.
Nexi: Leading European payment processor following its merger with Nets, offering acquiring and POS services across Nordic and continental Europe. Directly comparable to Clearhaus in Nordic acquiring, particularly post-Nets integration.

Emerging players

GR8PAY: UK fintech positioning to compete with Stripe and PayPal in Europe, using Clearhaus as underlying acquiring infrastructure. Comparable in target customer (European SMB e-commerce) and growth-stage profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Clearhaus Holding A/S compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance3 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Clearhaus Holding A/S leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Clearhaus Holding A/S funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

Clearhaus Holding A/S M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Clearhaus Holding A/S

What does Clearhaus Holding A/S do?

Is Clearhaus Holding A/S a public or private company?

Clearhaus Holding A/S is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.

When was Clearhaus Holding A/S founded?

Clearhaus Holding A/S was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Clearhaus Holding A/S based?

Clearhaus Holding A/S is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, in the Europe region.

How does Clearhaus Holding A/S make money?

One revenue line is on record: transaction Processing Fees.

Who are Clearhaus Holding A/S's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Mollie, SumUp, Stripe, Checkout.com, PensoPay and Quickpay. Broad incumbents are Adyen, Worldline and Nexi. GR8PAY is listed as an emerging player.

Does Clearhaus Holding A/S have an API?

Yes. Clearhaus offers a Merchant API that enables developers to integrate payment processing into their applications. The API provides endpoints for settlements, disputes, transactions, accounts, applications, and more. Available operations include retrieving settlements, managing disputes (accept, reject, review), viewing transactions, and accessing account data. The API supports pagination and query languages (DQL for disputes, SQL for settlements). Sandbox/test environments are available for development and testing. Developer documentation is at developer.clearhaus.com.

What industry is Clearhaus Holding A/S in?

Clearhaus Holding A/S's product category is Merchant Acquiring & Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAB, Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers, with a secondary code of FSABAJAJ, Card Clearing & Settlement (Interchange, Network Settlement).