O21 Group
O21 Group (Obvious21 SAS) is a Paris-based private fintech operating O21Pay, a global multi-currency payment platform that lets merchants accept fiat and non-custodial crypto via QR links, embeddable components, and REST APIs, with embedded per-transaction carbon contributions linked to a Stellar-based O21Token.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What O21 Group does
O21 Group, operating under the legal name Obvious21 (corporate form Obvious21 SAS) and domiciled in France, is a private fintech building "Payment 3.0" — a global multi-currency payment infrastructure that lets merchants accept both fiat (via PSD2 Open Banking, SEPA, SWIFT, and CHAPS) and non-custodial crypto peer-to-peer payments through no-code smart QR payment links, embeddable web components (o21pay-payment, o21pay-qr, o21pay-dialog), and a public REST API (O21Pay API) with HMAC SHA-256 signed webhooks. The platform claims coverage of 200 countries, 1,000+ banks, 175+ crypto wallets, and 1,000+ cryptocurrencies, and uniquely embeds a per-transaction CO2e field in the Payment object to enable voluntary carbon contribution at checkout, anchored to a Stellar-blockchain-based O21Token where 1 token equals 1 ton of CO2.
O21 monetizes through a four-tier public pricing model — a free Starter plan, Advanced at €21/month, Premium at €210/month (the "popular" tier), and a contact-sales Enterprise tier — each charging a per-transaction fee of 0.5%–1% + €0.21/tx on top of the subscription, plus enterprise custom contracts, white-label and grey-label licensing for partners, an affiliate program, and an invitation-only O21Token private sale. The company is co-founded by Robert J. (CTO) and Ivan Communod (President), headquartered in Paris, with 11–50 employees, and is currently in private beta with invitation-gated merchant signup as of late 2023, while the consumer O21App remains in waitlist. The stated go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve no-code signup), developer-first API integration, enterprise field sales, channel partners (white-label, affiliate), and community-led acquisition via the Funderz NFT collection and O21 Green Challenge.
O21 Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- O21 Group
- Legal name
- Obvious21
- Website
- https://o21.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- O21 Group (Obvious21 SAS) is a Paris-based private fintech operating O21Pay, a global multi-currency payment platform that lets merchants accept fiat and non-custodial crypto via QR links, embeddable components, and REST APIs, with embedded per-transaction carbon contributions linked to a Stellar-based O21Token.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
O21 Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Infrastructure / Digital Payments Platform
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- On/Off-Ramp Providers (Fiat↔Crypto) & Cash-In/Cash-Out Networks (FSADAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- POS, QR & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (Crypto) (FSADAIAI), B2B Crypto Payouts, Mass Payments & Treasury Disbursements (FSADAIAF), Invoice, Billing & Subscription Payments (Crypto) (FSADAIAG), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms (BPAMAFAK), International / Cross-Border BNPL & Multi-Currency POS Financing (FSAGAIAN)
Keywords
Where O21 Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
O21 Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees: Per-transaction fee on every payment processed, structured as a percentage plus a fixed component (e.g., 1% + €0.21/tx on Starter, scaling down to 0.5% + €0.21/tx on Premium). Applies across crypto and fiat payment methods.
- Monthly Subscription Plans: Recurring monthly subscriptions for Advanced (€21/mo) and Premium (€210/mo) tiers, providing differentiated features (more shops, currencies, agents, requests/s) and reduced per-transaction fee.
- Enterprise Custom Contracts: Quote-based enterprise engagements with custom protocol modifications, bespoke components, and premium support; unlocks unlimited currencies and flexible data management.
- White-Label and Grey-Label Licensing: Licensing of O21 payment infrastructure to partners who deploy it under their own brand, enabling bespoke embedded payment systems.
- Token Private Sale: Invitation-only private sale of the O21Token (deployed on Stellar blockchain, 1 token = 1 ton CO2) to early backers; pre-public token offering.
- Affiliate Program Referrals: Affiliate program for partners who refer merchants to the O21 payment platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Starter — Free entry plan with 1% + €0.21/tx, 1 shop, 1 agent, 20 req/s, 1 currency. |
| Subscription | Monthly | Advanced — €21/mo with 0.75% + €0.21/tx, 2 shops, 50 req/s, 2 currencies. |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium — €210/mo with 0.5% + €0.21/tx, 10 shops, 3 agents, 1000 req/s, 6 currencies (popular tier). |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise — Contact sales, custom protocol, unlimited currencies, premium support. |
Go-to-market motion5 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
O21 Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
O21 Group operates O21Pay, a "Payment 3.0" infrastructure that enables merchants to accept both fiat (PSD2, SEPA, SWIFT, CHAPS) and non-custodial cryptocurrency payments globally via no-code smart QR payment links, drop-in web components, and a public REST API. The platform spans 200 countries, 1,000+ banks, 175+ wallets, and 1,000+ cryptocurrencies, and embeds a per-transaction voluntary CO2 carbon contribution calculated against a Stellar-based O21Token.
Product overview
O21 Group (operating brand "Obvious21") delivers a unified "Payment 3.0" platform composed of a core product, O21Pay, and an ecosystem of tightly integrated sub-products and partner offerings. O21Pay itself is the centerpiece, providing a global, multi-currency payment infrastructure that merchants can use via a no-code QR payment link, drop-in web components (O21Pay Components), or the public O21Pay REST API & Webhooks, all managed from the O21Pay Merchant Dashboard. Around it, O21 bundles a consumer-facing mobile app (O21App), a Stellar-based carbon-backed token (O21Token), a climate-focused NFT community (Funderz), a Carbon Contribution API for net-zero checkout, and white-label/grey-label and affiliate programs for partners, all oriented around the company's vision of carbon-neutral, decentralized finance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- O21Token: Token deployed on the Stellar blockchain; one O21Token represents the equivalent of 1 ton of CO2 and is the keystone of the O21 green ecosystem, enabling voluntary carbon contribution, offset, and investment.
- O21Pay
- O21App
- Funderz (O21 NFT Collection)
Products and services
- O21Pay (Payment 3.0 Platform) Flagship payment infrastructure enabling merchants to accept crypto and fiat globally via no-code QR payment links, drop-in web components, and a full REST API, with built-in voluntary per-transaction carbon contribution.
- O21Pay API & Webhooks Developer REST API and webhook platform for custom integration of O21Pay payment flows, with HMAC SHA-256 signed events, sandbox/production environments, and tiered rate limits from 20 to 200 requests per minute.
- O21Pay Embeddable Web Components Ready-to-use, customizable web components (o21pay-payment, o21pay-qr, o21pay-dialog) for embedding O21Pay payment flows, QR codes, and dialogs into websites, CMS, mobile apps, and games.
- O21Pay Merchant Dashboard Self-service web dashboard for merchants to create shops, declare bank or crypto accounts, configure currencies, generate QR payment links, configure webhooks, and view or download transaction history, with mandatory 2FA enforcement.
- O21Token (Private Sale) Crypto token deployed on the Stellar blockchain where one token represents one ton of CO2, used for voluntary carbon contribution, offset, and governance over green projects; available via invitation-only private sale.
- Carbon Contribution API Add-on sustainability module that lets merchants display the CO2 footprint of a customer's purchase and accept a voluntary carbon contribution at checkout, extending the O21 green ecosystem.
- White-label / Grey-label Payment System Partner program licensing the O21Pay payment infrastructure to resellers and platforms for deployment under their own brand, including custom protocol, custom components, and bespoke theming.
Quantifiable outcome
- Global coverage across 200 countries, 1,000+ banks, 175+ wallets, 1,000+ cryptocurrencies, and 15+ fiat currencies.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use O21 Group
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
O21 Group technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature7 records
O21 Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
O21 Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Triple-A: Licensed crypto payment gateway enabling merchants to accept digital currencies with fiat settlement, with strong regulatory positioning in EU/Asia. Comparable on hybrid fiat + crypto merchant flows with compliance focus.
- NOWPayments: Crypto payment gateway offering 200+ cryptocurrencies, no KYC for small amounts, and easy merchant integration via API/plugins. Directly comparable on multi-currency crypto merchant payments.
- BTCPay Server: Open-source, self-hosted Bitcoin and crypto payment processor with no fees and full merchant control. Comparable developer-led, API-first approach to crypto merchant payments.
- Coinbase Commerce: Crypto-native merchant payment processor from Coinbase enabling global acceptance of multiple cryptocurrencies. Closest large-scale competitor to O21Pay's crypto checkout flow.
- BitPay: Long-standing crypto payment processor enabling merchants to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with fiat settlement. Comparable multi-rail approach with broader brand recognition.
- Alchemy Pay: Crypto + fiat hybrid payment gateway supporting on-ramp, off-ramp, and merchant checkout across multiple networks. Directly comparable to O21Pay on the multi-rail fiat + crypto merchant payment proposition.
Emerging players
- KlimaDAO: Decentralized autonomous organization building carbon-backed crypto infrastructure (KLIMA token, on-chain carbon retirement). Closest peer on the ReFi/carbon-tokenization angle that underlies O21Token's thesis.
- Toucan Protocol: Carbon tokenization infrastructure bringing verified carbon credits on-chain as Base Carbon Tonnes (BCT). Directly comparable on the carbon-credit-backed-token infrastructure O21Token depends on.
Broad incumbents
- PayPal: Mass-market payments incumbent that has expanded into crypto (PYUSD stablecoin, crypto buy/sell, Venmo). A broad incumbent increasingly competing in the multi-currency retail payment space O21 targets.
- Stripe: Global payment platform with a developer-first API spanning cards, bank debits, and (recently) crypto on-ramps. The dominant broad incumbent whose Stripe Connect and emerging stablecoin features surround O21's market from multiple angles.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
O21 Group social profiles
Digital presenceO21 Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
O21 Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
O21 Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
O21 Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
O21 Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about O21 Group
What does O21 Group do?
O21 Group operates O21Pay, a "Payment 3.0" infrastructure that enables merchants to accept both fiat (PSD2, SEPA, SWIFT, CHAPS) and non-custodial cryptocurrency payments globally via no-code smart QR payment links, drop-in web components, and a public REST API. The platform spans 200 countries, 1,000+ banks, 175+ wallets, and 1,000+ cryptocurrencies, and embeds a per-transaction voluntary CO2 carbon contribution calculated against a Stellar-based O21Token.
Is O21 Group a public or private company?
O21 Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was O21 Group founded?
O21 Group was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is O21 Group based?
O21 Group is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does O21 Group make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are monthly Subscription Plans, enterprise Custom Contracts, white-Label and Grey-Label Licensing, token Private Sale and affiliate Program Referrals.
Who are O21 Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Triple-A, NOWPayments, BTCPay Server, Coinbase Commerce, BitPay and Alchemy Pay. Emerging players are KlimaDAO and Toucan Protocol. Broad incumbents are PayPal and Stripe.
Does O21 Group have an API?
Yes. Public REST API (O21Pay API) accessed over HTTPS at {baseUrl}/api/v1, with production base https://o21c.obvious21.com and sandbox at https://sandbox-o21c.obvious21.com. Implements standard REST verbs (POST, GET, PATCH, PUT, DELETE) with JSON request/response. Authentication uses a clientid and secret key passed in HTTP headers of every call. Supports webhooks for event push notifications, with payloads signed via HMAC SHA-256 (v1) using the merchant secret key, plus an exponential backoff retry strategy for failed deliveries. Offers sandbox and production environments, rate limits (20–200 reqs/min depending on plan), ISO 8601 timestamps, and a comprehensive reference covering Accounts, Merchants, Payment Links, Payments, Banks, Chains, Currencies, and Forex/Crypto market rates endpoints. Developer documentation is at docs.o21.io/reference/api-basics.
What industry is O21 Group in?
O21 Group's product category is Payment Infrastructure / Digital Payments Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAIAE, On/Off-Ramp Providers (Fiat↔Crypto) & Cash-In/Cash-Out Networks, with a secondary code of FSADAIAI, POS, QR & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (Crypto). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6200.