Alma Raises €12.5 M. for its Installement Payments Solution
A little over a year after the first found raising round, Alma secured €12.5 million at the latest funding round held on March 11th. Launched in 2019, Alma is a France based fintech company that specializes in offering practical solutions relying on payment by installments. With this new solution, customers have the possibility to pay in installments, while the full amount is immediately paid to the merchant by Alma.
To this day, the company provides services to online and local merchants in France only. The same goes for customers who would like to benefit from the advantages offered by Alma. They must be holders of credit cards issued by banking institutions or card providers operating within the French jurisdictions.
A practical solution to an age-old problem
Many merchants and service providers are often left frustrated by the lack of flexible payment solutions created to improve the customers' experience in the cashier. Despite a large number of new payment solutions and technologies flooding the market today, only a few fintech companies in Europe provide flexible solutions that allow customers to spread the payment over several installments.
Without a solution allowing customers to make payments with flexibility without going over their monthly budget, many customers are forced to abandon the purchase or browse for different merchants due to these limitations.
This is where Alma comes into play. While making it possible for customers to pay in installments for goods or services purchased on the spot, Alma provides full coverage to merchants, who in advance, will receive the full transaction amount instantly.
The added value and benefits for both the merchants and customers
It is evident today that customers are overly exposed to targeted advertisements and customized offers. It is becoming a real challenge for merchants to build a loyal clientele without making the extra efforts to stand out from the mass.
Integrating a payment solution such as Alma ameliorates the customer experience factor and adds much-needed flexibility to the payment process for both the merchant and its customers. According to testimonials found on the company's official website, some merchants already register a 20% increase in pure benefits since the integration of Alma.
Also, offering payments in several installments allows merchants to reach a larger audience without compromising their monthly turnover. It also allows clients to efficiently spread their expenses over several months, which is very convenient for the average buyer.
A Plug and Play integration.
Since its launch last year, Alma's new payment solution has been integrated by more than a thousand merchants across France. The rapid adoption of the new technology in the French market can be explained by the simplicity with which the system can be integrated into any modern cashier. An integration made possible by a simple to use plug and play interface.
Besides, the company also provides a 24/7 support service to assist merchants during the integration of Alma to both digital platforms such as e-commerce and physical shops.
Limited to a french audience for the moment, Alma is expected to reach the global market and extend its services to a wider range of verticals such as bill payments, online casinos, and sports betting.