Checkout Charlie

What Checkout Charlie does

Checkout Charlie GmbH (formerly SPARWELT GmbH, renamed in July 2020) is a Berlin-based affiliate marketing operator founded in 2008 that runs a network of 14 national and international consumer-facing voucher, deal, and cashback portals across Germany (Sparwelt.de, Gutscheine.de), Austria (Gutscheine.at), Switzerland (Gutschein.ch), Italy (Buonisconto.it), Spain (Topdescuentos.es), and the pan-European Shopmate.eu cashback portal launched in May 2021. The platform aggregates roughly 15,000 daily deals from 3,000+ retailer partners and brokers more than €195 million in sales annually, mediated both through direct retailer relationships and integrations with 25+ affiliate networks including AWIN, CJ Affiliate, Adcell, TradeTracker, Webgains, and Skimlinks. Its proprietary technology stack includes the Basket Booster cart-abandonment voucher system (capturing cart value, timestamp, and merchant ID on abandonment to surface targeted codes), a Snowplow-based tracking infrastructure with Hotjar and Google Analytics overlays, a centralized CMS publishing across all 14 domains, and a white-label Shopmate licensing engine offered to enterprise partners for co-branded cashback programs.

The company operates a four-stream revenue model: (i) affiliate commissions on voucher redemption and referred transactions via networks and direct partnerships, (ii) tiered Welcome Packages for new partners (Silver €1,600, Gold €2,400, Triple Diamond €3,700) plus bespoke Promotion Packages with sales consulting, marketing planning, and editorial production, (iii) licensing of the Shopmate cashback technology and offer pool under the Cashback White Label Program to banks, insurers, and retailers for customer-loyalty deployments, and (iv) advertising revenue including TV spots, newsletter placements, and social advertising across its high-reach portal network. Distribution is primarily enterprise field sales with personally-assigned sales contacts per country/vertical, complemented by media partnerships (notably with ntv.de under the RTL Audio Center address) and affiliate network channels.

The company is led by Managing Directors Bernd Vermaaten and Dr. Thilo Gans, has between 36 (German contact page) and 86 (English contact page) employees — implying the higher figure is the consolidated, multilingual headcount — and is headquartered in Berlin with several offices across the city. No venture or private equity funding rounds are disclosed; the operating history is entirely bootstrapped or financed via cash flow until 2025, when Checkout Charlie became part of the German price-comparison and shopping-software group solute, suggesting a strategic exit or partial liquidity event for prior shareholders.

Name

Checkout Charlie

Legal name

Checkout Charlie GmbH

Website

https://checkout-charlie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Checkout Charlie operates 14 international voucher, deal, and cashback portals across DACH, Italy, Spain, and Poland, brokering over €195 million in annual sales for 3,000+ retailer partners via affiliate networks and direct partnerships; it is a Berlin-based subsidiary of solute since 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Voucher, Deal, and Cashback Portals

akta.pro primary industry

Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms (BPAMAGAH)

Keywords

• Voucher and coupon portals
• Cashback platform services
• Affiliate marketing network
• Performance marketing solutions
• White label cashback

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Commission: Revenue generated from commission fees when users redeem vouchers or make purchases through partner retailer links. Operates through major affiliate networks including AWIN, CJ Affiliate, Awin, and direct partnerships.
2. Welcome and Promotion Packages: Package-based pricing for new partners (Silver €1,600, Gold €2,400, Triple Diamond €3,700) providing visibility across voucher and cashback platforms. Ongoing promotion packages for existing partners with personalized campaigns.
3. White Label Cashback Program: Licensing of Shopmate cashback technology and offers to partner companies for co-branded customer loyalty solutions, including technical integration and customer service provision.
4. Advertising and Branding: Revenue from TV advertising, sponsored content, newsletter placements, and social media advertising across their high-reach portal network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Checkout Charlie operates 14 consumer-facing voucher, deal, and cashback portals across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Poland, connecting more than 3,000 online retailers with shoppers through affiliate-driven vouchers and cashback offers. On the partner side, the company sells Welcome Packages (Silver, Gold, Triple Diamond tiers), Promotion Packages, Performance/Content/Branding marketing services, and a Cashback White Label Program licensing the Shopmate technology stack. Revenue is generated primarily through affiliate commissions, paid partner packages, white-label licensing, and advertising.

Product overview

Checkout Charlie operates a multi-portal consumer deals and savings platform, functioning as the interface between retailers and consumers in online shopping. The core offering consists of 14 national and international consumer-facing portals across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain including Sparwelt.de, Gutscheine.de, Gutschein.ch, Gutscheine.at, Topdescuentos.es, Buonisconto.it, and the Shopmate.eu cashback portal. The Shopmate cashback portal, launched in May 2021, provides cashback rewards and forms the technical foundation for the Cashback White Label Program. On the partner side, the company offers Welcome Packages (Silver, Gold, Triple Diamond tiers ranging from €1,600 to €3,700), Promotion Packages with personalized consulting and campaign planning, and Content Marketing Services. The proprietary Basket Booster technology enhances the offering by displaying relevant vouchers for users' abandoned carts. The company also operates a loyalty program (SPARWELT Club / Checkout Charlie Club) for registered users. All operations are headquartered in Berlin with coverage across DACH region and expansion into Italy and Spain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sparwelt.de: German consumer and discount portal offering deals, vouchers and bargains
• Gutscheine.de
• Gutschein.ch
• Gutscheine.at
• Topdescuentos.es
• Buonisconto.it
• Shopmate.eu

Products and services

• Sparwelt.de
• Gutscheine.de
• Gutschein.ch
• Gutscheine.at
• Topdescuentos.es
• Buonisconto.it
• Shopmate.eu
• Performance Marketing Services
• Content Marketing Services
• Branding Services
• Welcome Packages
• Promotion Packages
• Cashback White Label Program

Quantifiable outcome

• €195M+ in brokered sales per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration32 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• solutecoreOthers · 1 January 2025Since 2025, Checkout Charlie is part of solute, representing a significant ownership change and corporate partnership.
• Shopmate White Label PartnerscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2021Companies licensing Shopmate cashback technology for co-branded customer loyalty solutions. Partners benefit from cashback pool, technical integration, and customer service provision.
• AWIN AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor affiliate network partner enabling voucher tracking and commission attribution. AWIN operates as a mediator organizing voucher allocation between Checkout Charlie and partner retailers.
• Conversant Europe Limited (CJ Affiliate)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate network partner providing infrastructure for voucher and deal distribution with data processing documented in privacy policy.
• Firstlead GmbH (Adcell)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman affiliate network partner enabling performance-based marketing tracking and commission settlement.
• DaisyconminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate network partner for cross-promotional campaign tracking and attribution.
• TradeTracker DeutschlandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate network partner for campaign performance tracking.
• Webgains DeutschlandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate network partner integrated for campaign and voucher distribution.
• SkimlinksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent monetization partner for managing affiliate links and commissions.
• ntv.de (Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia cooperation partner providing additional reach and content distribution through ntv.de voucher sections included in Silver Welcome Package.
• Otto GmbH & Co KGmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor e-commerce partner with long-standing partnership characterized by trust and reliability, joint campaign management with shared goals.
• Lampenwelt GmbHmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-term partnership with multiple successful campaigns including international expansion to Italy (Lampara.es) and Spain (Lampade.it).
• E.M.P. Merchandising HGmbHmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment merchandise partner with partnership extended to Italy and Spain markets, appreciating personal and competent support.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• TopCashback: UK-origin global cashback platform with strong European footprint. Directly comparable in cashback-first monetization, retailer partnership model, and consumer-facing portal structure.
• iGraal: European cashback and voucher platform operating in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other markets. Closely comparable in cross-European coverage, cashback-mechanic, and reliance on major affiliate networks.
• Vouchercloud: Mobile-first European voucher and deals platform active in Germany and the UK. Directly comparable voucher-code business targeting the same consumer shopping-intent moments.
• Shoop: One of the largest German cashback platforms, also operating across DACH and additional European markets. Directly comparable in business model (cashback + voucher aggregator), consumer target audience, and affiliate-network-driven revenue stack.
• Cuponation: European deals and voucher aggregator operating in multiple countries including Germany, Italy, and Spain. Highly comparable multi-portal strategy and consumer proposition to Checkout Charlie's Sparwelt/Gutscheine/Buonisconto network.
• MeinGutscheincode: German voucher-code portal competing directly with Gutscheine.de for German-language voucher traffic. Closely comparable in SEO-driven consumer acquisition and affiliate commission revenue.
• Gutscheine.com: German voucher-code portal competing head-to-head with Gutscheine.de. Comparable business model, consumer proposition, and reliance on affiliate-network economics.
• myWorld / Cashback World: Austrian-headquartered global cashback and loyalty network with significant DACH presence. Comparable multi-country loyalty infrastructure and B2B white-label cashback offerings similar to Shopmate's white-label program.

Broad incumbents

• Honey (PayPal): Browser-based coupon and cashback extension owned by PayPal. Operates in Checkout Charlie's space as part of a much wider fintech/wallet portfolio and competes for the same retailer affiliate payouts.
• RetailMeNot: Global deals and cashback platform (US-headquartered, operates internationally) with a much larger brand footprint. Overlapping category, but with a broader portfolio and greater geographic reach than Checkout Charlie.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/sparweltde
• Facebookfacebook.com/sparwelt
• Instagraminstagram.com/sparwelt.de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Checkout Charlie