VR Payment

What VR Payment does

VR Payment GmbH is a Frankfurt-based, BaFin-licensed E-Geld-Institut (e-money institution) that operates as the dedicated payment service provider for the German cooperative banking sector (Genossenschaftliche FinanzGruppe). Wholly owned by DZ BANK Gruppe and tracing its origins to BIK GmbH (founded 1972), the company was renamed CardProcess GmbH and rebranded to VR Payment in 2019. It serves approximately 90,000+ corporate customers ranging from small and medium merchants to enterprise accounts in retail, hospitality, sports and events, and mobility, processing 983 million transactions in 2024 across 312,000 connected terminals and 6.7 million credit cards. The management team is led by CEO Carlos Gómez-Sáez (since 2014), with CFRO Patrick Dittmer, COO Tariq Noori, and CPTO Dr. Helmut Wißmann (joined August 2025 from paydirekt GmbH).

The product portfolio spans three primary surfaces. Card-present/POS acceptance includes physical terminals, VR PayMe softPOS that converts Android NFC smartphones into payment terminals, and VR PayMe mPOS for iPhone. E-commerce is delivered through a cloud-based gateway with shop plugins for 10+ platforms (Shopify, Shopware, Magento, WooCommerce, Gambio, JTL, PrestaShop, Salesforce, PlentyONE, Planet). Omnichannel is delivered through a jointly developed platform with wallee Group. The payfree subsidiary provides RFID-based cashierless grab-and-go checkout, deployed at Eintracht Frankfurt's stadium. Accepted methods include all major card networks (Mastercard, Visa, girocard, Amex, JCB, UnionPay, Diners, Discover), digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal), Klarna BNPL, and — since November 2025 — Wero, the European Payments Initiative's account-to-account scheme, in which VR Payment is a founding pilot partner.

VR Payment operates a hybrid transaction-fee and subscription revenue model. Card terminals are offered at fixed monthly subscriptions starting at €19.90 with all transaction fees included; softPOS charges 1% per transaction; terminal hardware is sold or rented separately. Distribution is anchored by the 650+ Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken branches serving SMB merchants, supplemented by direct enterprise sales (Burger King since 2017, Europa-Park since 2011, Aramark, Eintracht Frankfurt as exclusive PSP since 2020, FC Augsburg, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Kaiserslautern), a commercial network operator (KNB) program for resellers, and self-service developer tools (SDK, shop plugins). Value-added services — digital receipt management, Händlerreport Plus, dynamic currency conversion, recurring payments, BNPL orchestration, and Wero — drive incremental recurring revenue on top of core acquiring fees.

Name

VR Payment

Legal name

VR Payment GmbH

Website

https://vr-payment.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

VR Payment is a Frankfurt-based, BaFin-licensed payment service provider and wholly-owned DZ BANK subsidiary serving as the payment arm of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken cooperative banking network. It processes 983 million transactions annually across POS, e-commerce, and mobile channels for 90,000+ corporate customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recurring Payments & Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) Enablement (FSAGACAJ), BNPL Card / Virtual Card Programs (FSAKACAC)

Keywords

• Payment processing services
• POS terminal solutions
• E-commerce payment gateway
• Mobile payment acceptance
• Card payment acquiring

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Revenue generated from processing card transactions at POS terminals and e-commerce. Transaction fees are charged per transaction, with fixed monthly prices offered for card payments (starting at €19.90/month) including all transaction fees.
2. Network Operation Fees: Fees for operating the payment network connecting terminals and processing transactions. VR Payment is a certified technical network operator certified by Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft (DK).
3. Terminal Provision: Provision of card terminals to merchants, either as outright purchase or through rental models included in monthly service packages.
4. Value-Added Services: Additional services including digital receipt management, merchant reporting, dynamic currency conversion, and premium support services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

VR Payment operates as a full-service Payment Service Provider (PSP) and certified technical network operator under Germany's DZ BANK Gruppe, delivering card acceptance and digital payment processing across POS, e-commerce, and mobile channels. Its portfolio spans stationary card terminals, mobile softPOS/mPOS acceptance, a cloud-based e-commerce payment gateway, and an omnichannel platform jointly developed with wallee Group. It serves as the dedicated payment provider for the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken cooperative banking network and processes transactions for over 90,000 corporate customers through 312,000 connected terminals.

Product overview

VR Payment is a full-service payment provider and Payment Service Provider (PSP) offering a comprehensive portfolio of payment solutions for the German cooperative banking group (Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken). The core offerings include POS payment solutions (Kartenzahlungen), mobile payments via VR PayMe (softPOS turning Android smartphones into payment terminals and mPOS for iPhone with portable terminals), and E-Commerce Payment (cloud-based platform with shop plugins). The Omnichannel Payment solution, developed with WALLEE Group, integrates all channels into one central platform. Key payment methods include Wero (European A2A payments), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Klarna, and major card networks (Mastercard, Visa, girocard). Additional services include recurring payments, QR code payments, digital receipt management (Händlerreport Plus), and dynamic currency conversion. The company operates merchant portals (VR pay Backoffice, VR pay QuickCommerce, Service-Portal) and provides SDKs for developer integration. The subsidiary payfree offers RFID-based grab-and-go checkout solutions. VR Payment is the only full-service payment provider 100% owned by a German banking group (DZ BANK), certified as an E-Money Institute by BaFin and technical network operator by Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VR PayMe softPOS
• VR PayMe mPOS
• E-Commerce Payment
• Omnichannel Payment
• Kartenzahlungen (Card Payments)
• Wero
• Kartenlesegeräte (Card Readers/Terminals)
• payfree
• Arapay

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of merchant customers have full acceptance (Vollakzeptanz) for all card payments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration30 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EPI (European Payments Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 November 2025VR Payment is a founding pilot partner of EPI, supporting Wero as European sovereign payment solution. Contributed to technical implementation of Wero in e-commerce from the beginning. VR Payment is one of the first providers to offer Wero to merchants in Germany.
• Wallee GroupcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Strategic partnership for omnichannel payment solution development. Jointly developed integrated platform unifying stationary and digital payments. Wallee provides technological excellence and pan-European development capacity; VR Payment contributes acquiring expertise and cooperative banking network strength.
• Volksbank LahrcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing partnership since 2011 for payment services at Europa-Park. Local cooperative bank provides customer relationship while VR Payment supplies technical infrastructure.
• DZ BANKcoreOthersParent company and head of the cooperative financial group. VR Payment is a subsidiary of DZ BANK Gruppe and part of Genossenschaftliche FinanzGruppe. DZ BANK is central bank for ~650 Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken.
• Landesbauernverband Baden-WürttembergminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation with Stüwer offering exclusive conditions for REGIOMAT purchase to association members, enabling direct marketing for agricultural producers.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Worldline (formerly Ingenico/Equens): Worldline is the largest European payment service provider, directly competing with VR Payment in the German merchant acquiring and POS market after acquiring EquensWorldline and Concardis. Both serve banks and merchants with omnichannel payment solutions across Europe.
• PAYONE (Nexi Group): PAYONE is a leading German payment service provider owned by Nexi, directly competing with VR Payment in POS acquiring, e-commerce payments, and omnichannel solutions for German retailers and SMBs.
• Computop: Computop is a German-headquartered PSP offering omnichannel payment processing for retail and e-commerce, directly competing with VR Payment's merchant services across POS and online channels in the DACH region.
• SumUp: SumUp is a European fintech offering mobile POS terminals and payment processing primarily targeting SMB merchants, directly competing with VR Payment's card terminal and softPOS offerings in Germany and across Europe.
• Heidelpay (Worldline subsidiary): Heidelpay, now part of Worldline, is a German PSP competing directly with VR Payment across e-commerce, POS, and alternative payment methods. Both target the German merchant market with omnichannel offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Adyen: Adyen is a global payment platform serving enterprise merchants with unified online, mobile, and POS processing. It competes with VR Payment for large German enterprise customers (e.g., retail chains, stadiums) and represents the technology benchmark for omnichannel PSPs.
• Stripe: Stripe is a global internet economy payment infrastructure provider competing with VR Payment's e-commerce platform. While VR Payment's strength is in POS, Stripe's developer-first approach and German expansion threaten e-commerce and omnichannel market share.
• Nexi: Nexi is the largest European PayTech serving banks, merchants, and corporates across payment processing and acquiring. Through PAYONE, Nexi is a direct competitor in Germany and provides a comparison point for European PSP scale.

Emerging players

• PPRO: PPRO is a European payment service provider offering local payment method aggregation and orchestration. While less direct in POS, PPRO competes with VR Payment in e-commerce payment infrastructure and alternative payment method coverage in DACH.

Others

• Verifone: Verifone is a global POS terminal manufacturer and payment solutions provider. While primarily a hardware provider rather than acquirer like VR Payment, Verifone competes in the integrated payment solutions space for enterprise merchants and is part of the broader payments ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CardProcess
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vrpayment
• Instagraminstagram.com/vr_payment

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 VR Payment