GoHenryUK-based financial education app and prepaid debit card provider for kids, has expanded into Europe for the first time with the acquisition of French startup Pixpay. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Founded in London in 2012, GoHenry has emerged as one of the preeminent fintech companies for children, targeting an audience of 6 to 18 years old with a digital platform that allows parents to distribute and fund control, while their children learn to budget and gain a better understanding of their spending habits. GoHenry expanded to the US in 2018, and today the company claims to have more than two million users across these two markets – it also says that one in six 12-year-olds now have a GoHenry debit card.
Pixpay, for its part, was founded in Paris less than three years ago, and is a similar proposal to GoHenry but with more focus on slightly older kids, starting at age 10. The company expanded into Spain in November, increasing its membership to nearly 200,000 people across two markets.
GoHenry to Europe
In many ways, the acquisition of Pixpay serves as the ideal vehicle for GoHenry to expand its horizons. So far, the US has always been their priority after the domestic market, and when GoHenry raised a $40 million funding round 18 months ago The message at the time was very much about continued expansion in the UK and US. But GoHenry CEO Alex Zivoder told TechCrunch that Europe was never far from their thoughts.
“When we launched in the UK in 2012, we pioneered a new category in fintech, and therefore had to grow the entire category from scratch with no one learning before us. me,” he said. “Once we decided we were ready to expand internationally, our time in Europe was always in the plan. Our first step was to launch in the US, which we took in early 2018 and already have triple-digit year-over-year growth. Following our funding round in December 2020, we are looking for the right opportunity to expand into Europe. “
GoHenry: Mobile App and Prepaid Debit Card
While GoHenry has had to rebuild itself from scratch in the US, it is clear that they are taking a completely different approach to markets closer to home – and there are many advantages to buying an already established brand. credit as it did with Pixpay, perhaps chief among them that GoHenry didn’t have to bother with recruiting, localizing, and launching campaigns. Indeed, GoHenry said it has no plans to merge the two companies, with their respective brands, leadership team and headquarters remaining the same.
“As a leader in youth banking in France and Spain, and a trusted brand, the acquisition of Pixpay makes perfect sense to help push forward,” said Zivoder. accelerate growth across Europe, improve our competitive advantage and strengthen our global leadership position,” said Zivoder.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some resource pooling going on at some point.
“With Pixpay focusing solely on teenagers and GoHenry serving children 6 years and younger, this acquisition will allow us to combine our expertise in financial education for the benefit of our customers. members,” added Zivoder.
Pixpay mobile application
Show me the money
GoHenry welcomes strong growth for 2021, claiming its revenue more than doubled to $42 million, which Zivoder set on – you guessed it – pandemic.
But what exactly is the correlation there? Well, while the company’s core product is essentially a financial management product that helps parents give their kids financial independence, it also has a lot to do with education. Through GoHenry, Kids can learn how to budget, while there are so-called “money missions” that offer mini-lessons about universal finance.
Throwing into the mix a broader social shift away from cash, a movement that has accelerated over the past few years and that looks like GoHenry is well positioned to capitalize on.
“Financial education is an important life skill and a secular trend,” says Zivoder. “But in times of pandemic, the need to teach children how to be good with money in a cashless world, magnified by social distancing measures and school closures, is driving more and more people online. , and many store owners still no longer accept cash.”
Money-making mission: GoHenry teaches kids money skills
The Pixpay acquisition makes sense for GoHenry in terms of powering expansion plans without having to start from scratch in new markets. With this deal, GoHenry immediately has two more markets and two more planned for later this year as Pixpay prepares to launch in Italy and Germany.
And from Pixpay’s perspective, that also makes sense, since GoHenry already has a significant foothold in two large markets and has ten times as many members as Pixpay. Consolidation – rather than competition – makes it easier for both companies to operate.
“It makes sense to combine our expertise with GoHenry’s expertise to drive our growth plan,” Pixpay CEO Benoit Grassin told TechCrunch. “With shared values and ambitions, we believe this partnership with GoHenry will help us move faster and further than we could on our own.”
