If you’ve ever set up a direct debit for your gym membership, subscription service, or utility bill, there’s a good chance GoCardless powered that transaction behind the scenes. Since launching in 2011, this London-based fintech has quietly built one of the world’s largest bank payment networks, processing over $130 billion annually for more than 100,000 businesses globally.
On 11th December 2025, GoCardless announced it would be acquired by Dutch payments company Mollie in a deal worth approximately €1.1 billion (around £920 million). The acquisition brings together two of Europe’s most significant payment platforms, creating a combined business serving over 350,000 merchants worldwide.
For anyone following the UK fintech scene or interested in how digital payments work, GoCardless represents a fascinating success story. From a startup frustrated with outdated payment systems to a global platform handling billions in transactions, here’s everything you need to know about Go Cardless, its journey, and what this acquisition means.
What Is GoCardless and What Does It Do?
GoCardless specialises in bank payments, specifically direct debit, real-time payments, and open banking solutions. The company helps businesses collect recurring and one-off payments directly from customer bank accounts, cutting out card networks and their associated fees.
The platform serves businesses of all sizes, from small subscription services to enterprise companies managing millions of transactions. Industries using GoCardless include software as a service, utilities, membership organisations, insurance providers, and any business with recurring payment needs.
What sets GoCardless apart is its focus on bank-to-bank payments rather than card transactions. Direct debit offers lower failure rates than card payments, reduces costs for merchants, and provides better customer retention. For consumers, it means simpler payment management without worrying about expired cards or failed transactions.
The technology integrates with accounting software, billing platforms, and business management systems, making it relatively straightforward for companies to implement. GoCardless operates across more than 30 countries, supporting local payment schemes including Bacs in the UK, SEPA in Europe, ACH in the United States, and others globally.
GoCardless Funding Rounds: The Path to a £2 Billion Valuation
Understanding GoCardless’s funding history shows how the company grew from startup to acquisition target valued at over a billion pounds.
Early Stage Investment and Growth
GoCardless was founded in 2011 during the early wave of fintech innovation following the financial crisis. The founders recognised that traditional payment systems, particularly for recurring transactions, were clunky and expensive. They set out to build something better using direct debit technology.
The company raised multiple funding rounds throughout the 2010s, attracting backing from prominent venture capital firms who saw the potential in disrupting payments. Early investors included Balderton Capital, Accel, and Notion Capital, all of whom specialised in backing European technology companies.
As GoCardless expanded internationally and added more features, funding rounds grew larger. The company used capital to build out its global payment network, hire engineering talent, and expand sales teams across multiple markets.
The Series G: Reaching Unicorn Status
The biggest milestone came in February 2022 when GoCardless raised $312 million in a Series G funding round. The round was led by Permira and BlackRock Private Equity Partners, two heavyweight institutional investors. This funding valued GoCardless at $2.1 billion (approximately £1.6 billion at the time), firmly establishing it as a unicorn.
That valuation reflected several factors. GoCardless had achieved significant scale, processing tens of billions annually. The shift towards subscription business models across industries created tailwinds for the company’s recurring payment solutions. International expansion was progressing well, with strong traction in key markets.
The 2022 funding was intended to accelerate growth further, invest in product development, and potentially prepare the company for an eventual IPO. However, market conditions changed significantly over the following years, with tech valuations declining and IPO markets becoming less favourable.
From $2.1 Billion to €1.1 Billion: The Valuation Question
The Mollie acquisition valued GoCardless at approximately €1.1 billion, roughly half the 2022 valuation. This might seem concerning at first glance, but context matters. Tech valuations peaked in 2021-2022 during unprecedented investor enthusiasm. Many companies raised at inflated valuations that proved unsustainable.
GoCardless isn’t alone in this reset. Numerous fintechs and tech companies have seen valuations decline from 2021-2022 peaks. What matters more is the company’s fundamentals: revenue growth, path to profitability, market position, and strategic value to acquirers. On these metrics, GoCardless remained strong, making it an attractive acquisition target even at a lower valuation than its peak.
GoCardless Founder: The Team Behind the Company
GoCardless was co-founded by a team of three entrepreneurs who met at Oxford University: Hiroki Takeuchi, Tom Blomfield, and Matt Robinson. Each brought different skills to the founding team, combining technical expertise with business acumen.
Hiroki Takeuchi: The Long-Term CEO
Hiroki Takeuchi has served as CEO of GoCardless for most of its history. His leadership style focused on building sustainable growth rather than chasing hockey-stick metrics at any cost. Takeuchi has been open about the challenges of scaling a fintech business, including regulatory complexity and the need for patient capital.
In 2016, Takeuchi suffered a serious cycling accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. His return to leading GoCardless after recovery became an inspiring story within the startup community, demonstrating that disability doesn’t preclude effective leadership of a high-growth technology company.
Under Takeuchi’s leadership, GoCardless expanded internationally, built partnerships with major software platforms, and navigated the path towards profitability. His decision to sell to Mollie rather than pursue an IPO reflects a pragmatic assessment of market conditions and what’s best for the business long-term.
Tom Blomfield: From GoCardless to Monzo
Tom Blomfield was a co-founder but left GoCardless relatively early to pursue another venture that became Monzo, one of the UK’s most successful challenger banks. Blomfield’s departure was amicable, with both companies going on to achieve significant success in their respective niches.
The connection between GoCardless and Monzo highlights how the early 2010s UK fintech scene was relatively small and interconnected. Many of today’s major fintech companies trace back to a handful of founders and investors who collaborated and competed in building the sector.
Matt Robinson and the Founding Team
Matt Robinson, the third co-founder, focused on product and growth during GoCardless’s early years. Like many startup founding teams, roles evolved over time as the company scaled and brought in experienced executives for specific functions.
The founding story of GoCardless is fairly typical of successful tech startups: a group of smart, ambitious people identifying a real problem, building an initial solution, iterating based on customer feedback, and gradually scaling into a significant business. What made GoCardless special was execution quality and timing, entering the market just as subscription business models were taking off.
The Road to Profitability
For years, GoCardless followed the typical venture-backed startup playbook: prioritise growth over profitability, invest heavily in customer acquisition and product development, and worry about making money later once you’ve achieved scale.
Turning the Corner on Losses
That strategy shifted in recent years as the company matured. GoCardless reported halving its pre-tax loss to approximately £35 million for the 12 months through June 2024. More importantly, the trajectory pointed clearly towards profitability, with the company targeting full-year profit by 2026.
This financial discipline proved crucial for the Mollie acquisition. Acquirers value businesses that either are profitable or have a clear, credible path to profitability. Companies still burning cash with no end in sight struggle to attract strategic buyers willing to pay premium valuations.
Revenue Growth and Business Model
GoCardless generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on payments processed through its platform. The company takes a small percentage of each transaction, plus sometimes a fixed fee per transaction depending on the pricing tier. For businesses processing significant volumes, GoCardless offers custom pricing that typically provides better rates than standard plans.
The beauty of the business model is that it scales efficiently. Once the technology infrastructure is built, adding more transaction volume doesn’t proportionally increase costs. Software businesses with this kind of operating leverage can reach strong profitability once they achieve sufficient scale.
Additional revenue comes from premium features, priority support, and advanced functionality for enterprise customers. The mix of transaction fees and subscription revenue creates relatively predictable, recurring income streams.
The Mollie Acquisition: What It Means
The acquisition by Mollie for €1.1 billion creates one of Europe’s largest independent payment platforms. Understanding what this deal means requires looking at both companies and how they fit together.
Why Mollie Wanted GoCardless
Mollie, founded in 2004 in the Netherlands, primarily focused on card payments, online checkouts, and point-of-sale transactions. The company serves over 250,000 businesses but lacked GoCardless’s bank payment network and direct debit expertise.
Acquiring GoCardless gives Mollie a complete payment stack. Merchants can now accept card payments through Mollie and bank payments through GoCardless on a single integrated platform. This is particularly valuable for subscription businesses and recurring payment models where direct debit often works better than cards.
Koen Köppen, CEO of Mollie, explained that card-only approaches have limits, particularly for recurring revenue businesses that face high costs from failed payments and customer churn. GoCardless’s bank payment network solves these problems, making the acquisition strategically compelling.
Combined Scale and Valuation
The combined entity serves over 350,000 businesses and processes well over £100 billion annually. After the acquisition, Mollie is valued at €1.95 billion (around £1.63 billion), with the deal structured primarily as a stock transaction with some cash component.
For GoCardless shareholders, including employees holding equity, this means their stakes convert into ownership of the combined Mollie-GoCardless business rather than cash. Whether this proves more valuable than selling for cash depends on how successfully the combined company performs post-merger.
Timeline and Regulatory Approval
The acquisition is expected to finalise by mid-2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Payment companies face scrutiny from financial regulators in multiple jurisdictions, so merger approvals can take time. Both companies will continue operating independently during this period, with integration planning happening behind the scenes.
Also read: Is Klarna Bankrupt? The Truth Behind the BNPL Giant’s Financial Situation
What Happens Next for GoCardless?
The next six to twelve months will be busy for both companies as they work through regulatory approval and begin integration planning. Here’s what to expect.
Integration Challenges and Opportunities
Combining two payment platforms with different technology stacks, operating in different markets, and serving different customer segments is complex. The companies will need to integrate systems, align product roadmaps, and potentially consolidate some operations.
For customers, the pitch is compelling: a single platform for all payment types. However, delivering on that promise requires careful technical work to connect GoCardless’s bank payment network with Mollie’s card processing infrastructure without disrupting existing services.
Market Position in European Fintech
The combined Mollie-GoCardless will be one of Europe’s largest independent payment platforms, competing more directly with Stripe, Adyen, and traditional processors. Europe’s fragmented payment landscape, with different schemes and regulations in each country, makes regional expertise valuable. Both companies have navigated this complexity, giving the combined entity a strong foundation.
What About Employees and Culture?
Acquisitions always raise questions about jobs and company culture. Both companies have stated this is a strategic combination rather than a cost-cutting exercise, which typically means fewer redundancies. However, some consolidation in overlapping functions like finance, legal, and HR usually happens over time.
For GoCardless employees holding equity, the acquisition provides liquidity, though in Mollie shares rather than cash initially. The ability to sell those shares and realise value will depend on Mollie’s future plans, whether that’s remaining private, pursuing further acquisitions, or eventually going public itself.
Frequently Asked Questions About GoCardless
Is GoCardless publicly traded?
No, GoCardless is a private company and always has been. Following the Mollie acquisition, it will become part of Mollie, which is also privately held. There are no GoCardless shares available on stock exchanges.
Who owns GoCardless now?
Prior to the acquisition announcement, GoCardless was owned by its investors from various funding rounds, including Permira, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, and earlier venture capital firms, along with founders and employees. Once the Mollie acquisition completes in mid-2026, Mollie will own GoCardless.
How much is GoCardless worth?
The acquisition values GoCardless at approximately €1.1 billion (around £920 million). This is down from its peak valuation of $2.1 billion in 2022, reflecting broader corrections in tech valuations since then.
What companies use GoCardless?
More than 100,000 businesses globally use GoCardless, ranging from small startups to large enterprises. Customers include subscription software companies, utilities, membership organisations, insurance providers, and any business needing to collect recurring payments.
Will GoCardless continue operating after the acquisition?
Yes, GoCardless will continue serving customers throughout the acquisition process and afterwards. The Mollie acquisition aims to combine the two platforms over time, but existing GoCardless services and APIs will remain supported. Customers should see expanded capabilities as integration progresses rather than service disruptions.
How does GoCardless make money?
GoCardless charges transaction fees on payments processed through its platform, typically a small percentage plus a fixed fee per transaction. Pricing varies based on volume and features, with enterprise customers receiving custom pricing. This transaction-based model means revenue grows with payment volume, creating a scalable business.
The Bigger Picture: UK Fintech Coming of Age
The GoCardless acquisition is part of a broader maturing of the UK fintech sector. After a decade of rapid growth and venture capital funding, many fintechs are reaching inflection points where they either go public, get acquired, or continue building as private companies.
Some, like Revolut, are pursuing eventual IPOs at multi-billion pound valuations. Others, like GoCardless, are finding strategic buyers who can provide resources and scale. There’s no single right path, and choosing acquisition over IPO doesn’t indicate failure. Market conditions, company readiness, and strategic opportunities all factor into these decisions.
For the UK, having homegrown fintechs like GoCardless achieve billion-pound exits demonstrates the sector’s strength. These successes inspire the next generation of fintech founders and attract continued investment to British financial technology companies.
The GoCardless story also highlights London and the UK’s continued importance in global fintech despite Brexit concerns. The company built a genuinely international business headquartered in Britain, proving that location still matters for attracting talent and building financial technology companies.