Flowe

What Flowe does

Flowe S.p.A. - Società Benefit is an Italian Electronic Money Institution (IMEL) and Banking-as-a-Service provider founded by Banca Mediolanum and headquartered in Basiglio (Milan). The company operates an API-first platform on Microsoft Azure that enables enterprises, fintechs, and financial institutions to launch branded digital wallets and card programs without building payment infrastructure themselves. Its product portfolio centers on the P2 Wallet Platform (supporting cash, loyalty, welfare, SDD, and SCT deposits alongside SEPA payments) and the P2 Card Issuing Platform, which runs under a BIN Sponsorship model with direct affiliation to Visa, Mastercard, and Diners, handling real-time authorization (Online to Issuer), 3DS/SCA authentication, clearing and settlement, and PCI DSS-compliant card data retrieval.

The technical stack is built around REST APIs surfaced through Azure API Management and an event-driven Business Router API backed by Azure Service Bus implementing a Publisher-Subscriber pattern for asynchronous partner workflows. Apple Pay and Google Pay tokenization flows are supported via standardized network TSP integrations. Marketing channels combine developer relations (developer.flowe.com portal), content marketing, LinkedIn, and industry events such as Salone dei Pagamenti. Disclosed certifications include B Corp, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, and GDPR compliance.

Flowe generates revenue via transaction fees on card issuance, wallet operations, deposits, payments, refunds, and transfers, supplemented by licensing-type arrangements for branded embedded-finance deployments. The company disclosed it would discontinue its retail consumer offering ("Offerta Privati") as of 29/03/2024, narrowing its focus to B2B2C and B2B enterprise clients in Italy with stated expansion intent into broader EMEA, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific via the Mambu Payments hub. CEO is Ivan Mazzoleni; headcount is in the 101–250 range; no standalone revenue, funding, or valuation figures are disclosed.

Name

Flowe

Legal name

Flowe S.p.A. - Società Benefit

Website

https://flowe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Flowe is an Italian Electronic Money Institution and Banca Mediolanum subsidiary operating a Banking-as-a-Service platform that enables enterprises, fintechs, and banks to launch branded wallets and card programs via APIs on Microsoft Azure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Banking-as-a-Service (Payment Infrastructure)

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE)

Keywords

• Banking-as-a-service
• Payment processing
• Card issuing
• Digital wallet
• Embedded finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Card Issuing Services: Revenue generated from card issuance services in affiliated mode, supporting prepaid and debit cards (physical and digital) through direct affiliation with international card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Diners). Fees are applied per transaction and operation.
2. Wallet and Payment Processing: Transaction fees from wallet operations including deposits, payments, withdrawals, and transfers. The platform supports various payment types: cash deposits, SEPA credit transfers (SCT/SCT Instant), SEPA direct debits (SDD), loyalty deposits, and welfare deposits.
3. Branded Payment Solutions: BaaS platform providing end-to-end branded payment infrastructure including issuing, walleting, and core banking tools for enterprise clients seeking customized payment experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Flowe is an Electronic Money Institution (IMEL) that delivers Banking-as-a-Service infrastructure, providing branded payment solutions from issuing to walleting and core banking. Its portfolio includes a digital Wallet product, a Card Issuing service under BIN Sponsorship across Visa, Mastercard, and Diners networks, and a comprehensive REST API suite built on Microsoft Azure that enables businesses, fintechs, and financial institutions to embed payments into their own products.

Product overview

Flowe is an Electronic Money Institution founded by Banca Mediolanum, offering a Banking-as-a-Service platform that provides branded payment solutions spanning from card issuing to walleting and core banking. The product portfolio includes: (1) Wallet - a branded digital payment wallet for merchant networks and corporate welfare; (2) Carte (Cards) - card issuing under BIN Sponsorship for Visa, Mastercard, and Diners networks with physical and digital card options; (3) P2 Card Issuing Platform - a comprehensive card lifecycle management platform handling authorization, 3DS/SCA authentication, clearing/settlement, and PCI-compliant data handling; and (4) Pagamenti Rigenerativi - a sustainability-focused payment approach. The platform is accessible via a comprehensive REST API suite including Wallet Platform API, Operations API, Business Router API, Card Management API, and Fees Manager API. Flowe is structured as a Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation) and B Corp certified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wallet A branded, flexible, and secure digital wallet solution valid across a network of commercial partners or in specific geographic areas. Designed for companies with physical or digital point-of-sale locations, recurring payment needs, proprietary corporate welfare platforms, and simplified supplier payment management.
• Carte (Cards) Card issuing service in affiliated mode under BIN Sponsorship model, supporting Visa, Mastercard, and Diners networks. Offers affiliated issuance of prepaid or debit cards, both physical and digital, through direct affiliation with major international card circuits, addressed to authorized issuers (IMEL, IP, banks, and where applicable, intermediaries under art. 106 of TUB).
• P2 Card Issuing Platform An intermediary platform between major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Diners) and affiliates operating under a BIN Sponsorship model. Manages the full card lifecycle including customer/account creation, physical and virtual card issuance, real-time authorization (Online to Issuer/O2I), 3DS/SCA authentication, end-of-day clearing/settlement, and PCI DSS-compliant secure card data retrieval (PAN, CVV, PIN).
• Wallet Platform API REST API for managing the payment network, user wallets, and operations including wallet lifecycle management, IBAN validation, and user onboarding.
• Operations API API for managing financial operations including cash deposits, cash withdrawals, payments, refunds (via cash or SCT), loyalty deposits, welfare deposits, SEPA Direct Debit mandates, and operation groups for multi-operation transactions.
• Business Router API API for force push of business events (v1.162.0) enabling partners to receive asynchronous events sent by platform workflows via Azure Service Bus Message Broker, covering wallet operations, transactions, stores, and wire transfers.
• Fees Manager API API for managing fee rules applied to operations, including configuration of calculation types (fixed amount, percentage, override), beneficiary/debtor settings, validity periods, amount limits, and fee simulation.
• Online to Issuer (O2I) Real-time authorization flow for card transactions where purchase requests pass through the card scheme and P2 platform before reaching the affiliate for approval or denial.
• Pagamenti Rigenerativi (Regenerative Payments) Sustainable payment approach combining technology, awareness, and inclusion. Includes design-for-sustainability principles, carbon footprint measurement and reduction along the supply chain, and compensation of residual emissions through nature-based certified credits.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Western UnionminorOthers · 25 February 2026Western Union is a customer of the Mambu Payments hub, which includes Flowe among its deployed institutions. This relationship positions Flowe within the Western Union payment network ecosystem.
• MambucoreTechnology or IntegrationMambu is a cloud banking platform that has expanded its payments hub with Flowe as a deployment partner. Flowe uses Mambu's API-first payments infrastructure for cross-border payment processing and orchestration. The partnership enables Flowe to leverage Mambu's payments hub for international expansion across EMEA, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marqeta: Marqeta is a US-listed card-issuing API platform operating modern open-loop and BIN-sponsorship issuance across Visa and Mastercard. Directly comparable to Flowe's P2 Card Issuing Platform in product scope (issuing APIs, 3DS/SCA, O2I authorization) and developer-first go-to-market.
• Treezor: Treezor is a French Electronic Money Institution providing BaaS including card issuing, wallets, and payment APIs. Highly comparable to Flowe on regulated EMI status, API-first model, and European embedded finance positioning.
• Solaris SE: Solaris is a Germany-based Banking-as-a-Service platform offering licensed issuing, accounts, lending, and embedded finance APIs across Europe. Directly comparable to Flowe on regulated banking, BaaS APIs, and European enterprise clients.
• Modulr: Modulr (part of NatWest) is a UK-based payments-as-a-service provider offering accounts, card issuing, and payment APIs to fintechs and corporates. Directly comparable to Flowe on regulated BaaS APIs, BIN-sponsorship card issuing, and European enterprise embedded finance positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe Issuing: Stripe Issuing is the embedded card-issuing capability within Stripe's broader payments stack, supporting branded card programs via API. Comparable to Flowe on BaaS issuing, though Stripe operates a much larger payments portfolio around it.
• Adyen: Adyen is a global payments processor offering unified acquiring and issuing under one platform for large enterprise merchants. Comparable to Flowe on European regulatory reach and card scheme connectivity (Visa, Mastercard, Diners), but at far broader scale and scope.
• Nexi: Nexi is Italy's largest payments processor and card scheme participant serving merchants, banks, and fintechs. Comparable to Flowe on Italian card-network coverage and European payment infrastructure, but at incumbent scale.

Regional players

• Satispay: Satispay is an Italian mobile payment network offering an alternative payment and wallet product heavily used in Italy. Comparable as an Italian-native payments and wallet player overlapping with Flowe on merchant/consumer wallet rail, though more consumer-direct than B2B issuance.

Emerging players

• Plaid: Plaid provides financial data and payments connectivity APIs used by fintechs and banks. Comparable to Flowe on financial API infrastructure and developer-first delivery, with overlap on payment initiation rails adjacent to Flowe's wallet operations.
• TrueLayer: TrueLayer is a UK-based open banking and account-to-account payment platform offering embedded payments APIs across Europe. Comparable to Flowe on developer-first PSD2-aligned payment APIs and European fintech clients, with partial overlap on wallet/operations logic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/floweitalia
• Facebookfacebook.com/flowe.ita

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Flowe