Airvat

What Airvat does

Airvat Ltd is a UK-incorporated fintech (with a French operating subsidiary, Airvat EURL) that operates a mobile-only tax-free shopping service for non-EU tourists purchasing in France, Belgium, and Northern Ireland. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, the company holds three discrete government licences as an approved tax refund operator: French DGDDI licence FR-017-AOD (27 October 2022), HMRC VAT Notice 407 (Northern Ireland), and FPS Finance DETAX (Belgium). Customers download the Airvat iOS/Android app, request business invoices addressed to Airvat at participating stores, upload photographs, and receive a single aggregated digital tax-free form validated at customs PABLO kiosks (France) or DETAX (Belgium).

The product is a single consumer-facing mobile application integrating KYC identity verification (selfie and passport), multi-store invoice aggregation, customs kiosk barcode validation, and electronic refund disbursement through PCI DSS Level 1 partners (Revolut, PayPal, Paysafe). Data is stored on Google Cloud infrastructure with AES-256 encryption, and processing operates under GDPR (CNIL jurisdiction for EU; ICO for UK GDPR). No public API, SDK, or developer-facing surface is exposed; the app is the sole distribution and revenue channel.

Airvat monetises through a 20% commission on the VAT component of each successful refund, materially below the 30–50% charged by traditional in-store operators such as Global Blue, with no minimum spend per store (aggregated thresholds apply: €100.01 in France, €125.01 in Belgium, none in Northern Ireland). The go-to-market is purely product-led growth via app stores, supported by content marketing, social channels, and SEO-oriented blog content targeting tourist shoppers. The company has no disclosed venture capital or institutional backing and is independently/founder-financed.

Name

Airvat

Legal name

Airvat Ltd

Website

https://airvat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Airvat operates a mobile app that lets non-EU tourists claim VAT refunds on purchases in France, Belgium, and Northern Ireland, charging a 20% commission versus 30–50% at traditional operators. The self-serve platform aggregates multi-store invoices into a single digital tax-free form validated at customs kiosks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. VAT Refund Commission: Airvat charges a 20% commission on the VAT amount for each successful refund processed. The fee is deducted from the VAT refund before payment to the customer. No minimum spend requirements per store, but total purchase must exceed minimum thresholds (€100.01 in France, €125.01 in Belgium, no minimum in Northern Ireland).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Airvat operates a self-serve mobile application (iOS and Android) that enables non-EU tourists visiting France, Belgium, and Northern Ireland to claim VAT refunds on purchases from any retailer. Users request business invoices addressed to Airvat, upload them via the app, generate a single consolidated digital tax-free form with a barcode, validate at customs kiosks (PABLO in France or DETAX in Belgium), and receive electronic refunds. Airvat charges a transparent 20% commission on the VAT amount, with no minimum spend per store and no hidden fees.

Product overview

Airvat is a single unified mobile application that enables non-EU tourists to claim VAT refunds on purchases made in France, Belgium, and Northern Ireland (UK). The app allows users to photograph business invoices, consolidate multiple purchases into a single digital tax-free form, validate the form at customs kiosks (PABLO terminals in France, or customs officers in Belgium and Northern Ireland), and receive VAT refunds electronically via bank transfer or payment platforms. Airvat charges a 20% commission on the VAT amount, offering what it claims is a lower-cost alternative to traditional in-store tax refund operators. The service operates as a digital intermediary between tourists, retailers, and customs authorities, with refunds processed through third-party payment providers including Revolut, PayPal, and Paysafe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Airvat Mobile App A mobile application (iOS and Android) for non-EU tourists visiting France, Belgium, and Northern Ireland that enables them to request VAT invoices in Airvat's name at any retailer, upload receipts, generate a consolidated digital tax-free form with a barcode, validate at customs kiosks (PABLO in France, DETAX in Belgium), and receive electronic refunds within 24 hours. Airvat charges a 20% commission on the VAT amount with no minimum spend per store and no hidden fees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customers receive approximately 13% cash back on purchases (vs ~10-12% with Global Blue)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered infrastructure and core.

• Google Cloud StorageinfrastructureTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for secure data storage. Data encrypted with AES-256 at rest. May be located in the USA with transfers protected by EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or Standard Contractual Clauses.
• French Customs (DGDDI)coreTechnology or IntegrationGovernment customs authority providing PABLO kiosk integration for electronic validation of tax-free forms in France.
• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)coreTechnology or IntegrationUK government tax authority operating the VAT Retail Export Scheme (VAT notice 407) for Northern Ireland.
• FPS Finance BelgiumcoreTechnology or IntegrationBelgian government finance authority operating the DETAX application for tax-free shopping validation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Global Blue: Global Blue is the dominant global VAT-refund operator for tourists, partnering with 300,000+ retailers worldwide. It is the most direct competitor to Airvat's core service in France, Belgium, and the UK/Ireland market.
• Planet Payment / Fintrax: Planet (now part of Nuvei) acquired Fintrax, a leading tax-free shopping operator, and competes head-to-head with Airvat in France, Belgium and other European markets with similar merchant-based VAT-refund offerings.
• VATit: VATit offers VAT-refund and cross-border tax-recovery services to businesses and tourists globally. It overlaps with Airvat in the digital tourist VAT-refund category and competes for the same non-EU resident customer.
• VAT Refund (vatrefund.com): An online-centric VAT-refund operator focused on European markets, with a similar digital onboarding model. It targets the same non-EU tourist segment and competes on convenience and price-per-refund.

Emerging players

• Detaxe: Detaxe is an online and app-based VAT refund service for tourists in Europe. Like Airvat, it focuses on lowering commissions and digital-first experience, making it a niche competitor with overlapping target customers.
• Borderlinx: Borderlinx is a digital tax-refund and parcel-forwarding service for international online shoppers. It overlaps with Airvat's online-shopping VAT-refund use case and targets similar digitally-native cross-border consumers.

Broad incumbents

• Euronet Worldwide: Euronet operates a global payments and ATM network (including epay and Ria) and runs a tax-refund business via Planet/Fintrax. It is a broad financial-services incumbent that participates in the same tourist VAT-refund space through subsidiaries.
• Travelex: Travelex is a large global currency-exchange and payments provider serving travelers at airports and online. Although not focused on VAT refunds, it overlaps with Airvat's traveller-targeting financial-services model and pre-paid card refund rails.

Others

• Wise (formerly TransferWise): Wise is a cross-border payments fintech serving travelers and expats. It does not offer VAT refunds but addresses adjacent pain points — FX, transparency, low commissions — for the same non-EU tourist cohort Airvat targets in Europe.
• Alipay (Ant Group): Alipay operates an "Instant Tax Refund" service for inbound tourists in Europe via partnerships with Global Blue and others. It is an adjacent ecosystem player targeting the same non-EU tourist refund experience, with massive distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AirvatApp
• Facebookfacebook.com/airvatapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airvat
• Instagraminstagram.com/airvatapp

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Airvat