Finnish e-commerce aggregator start-up Starcart has partnered with European card issuing and processing firm, Enfuce to offer its retailers and shoppers embedded virtual card payments.
The deal, which will allow Starcart to issue virtual cards to purchase items from online stores on its platform, will make online shopping quicker and more efficient for its users, the companies said in a statement.
Through Enfuce’s turnkey Card as a Service (CaaS) Starcart’s retailers will have guaranteed settlement and payment and more checkout conversions. The end-user will also benefit from being able to purchase items from several online stores within one checkout experience.
Starcart’s partnership with Enfuce has been live in Finland since spring 2022, with sales volume growth rates reportedly exceeding 20% per month. The e-commerce firm, which was founded a year previous, uses automated search and bots to gather more than 12 million items into a catalogue that customers can use to buy what they want, in one place.
Pasi Ilola, Co-Founder and CEO at Starcart, said, “Starcart wants to take the pain away from online shopping. We don’t want people to waste their time opening endless browser tabs or spending hours looking for things that they need. What Starcart is doing is unique in the market, and offering a service that has not existed in the market before brings a whole host of technical, legal and operational challenges.”
The tie-up with Starcart is another milestone in Enfuce’s growth journey, following its €45 million in Series C funding that was secured from global investment firm, Vitruvian Partners. According to the firm, which was established in 2016, it can launch CaaS for businesses in accelerated times ahead of the typical onboarding timeframe of six months from other providers.
Key applications for Enfuce’s services include expense management, neobanks and fuel retailers, as well as providing corporate and consumer lending and customisable spending controls.
Monika Liikamaa, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Enfuce, added, “To assist a company like Starcart in extending e-commerce services and payment capabilities requires intricate knowledge of payment technology, the legal and compliance requirements of PSD2, and overcoming the challenges of integration with existing systems. That’s what Enfuce excels at, and we’re excited to play a part in Starcart’s growth journey.”
