Turkey’s Mobilexpress raises $2 million Series A for its online payments platform

Turkish fintech Mobilexpress has raised $2 million in a Series round led by Istanbul-based Collective Spark, the startup announced in a statement to MENAbytes today. The investment also included participation of angel investors including Ali Kolaghassi, Tunç Mehmet Berkman, Deniz Doany, Careem’s former VP of Growth Emre Tok.

Mobilexpress claims to be one of the largest online payment platforms in Turkey processing nearly 10 million transactions per months with over 15 million cards tokenized on their systems.

The company that was started in 2011 is now led by Emre Guzer who previously co-founded and led PayU for Naspers. It is the country’s first and largest payment services provider.

The services that Mobilexpress offers to businesses (and in some cases individuals) include online payment gateway, smart transaction routing, card storage, cross border services, and anti-fraud. The startup also develops tailor-made solutions for some of country’s leading ecommerce, retail, insurance, and telecom companies.

Emre Güzer, explaining that the payments ecosystem in Turkey has come a long way since the emergence of first non-banking institutions in the country in 2011, said, “Thanks to the new approach of the Central Bank of Turkey and in parallel the positive environment created by the recent regulatory changes, the new generation of Fintechs has been showing rapid progress and reaching new heights in a relatively short time span and unlike traditional financial institutions that have been operating for years.

Open Banking, PSD2, new generation payment systems and other solutions that can be offered in a 360-degree approach by Mobilexpress will be advantageous for unbanked businesses that aim to grow but have been unable to do so in recent years. It is observed that banks have started to cooperate with fintechs and paved the way for growth of businesses, helping them scale successfully in recent years.

We will continue to keep the name and services of Mobilexpress alive in the code of our new brand. In this new journey, I would like to thank my partners, my team, and the Collective Spark team who did not hesitate even for a moment in their faith during such an unprecedented period shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Görkem Oktay, General Partner of Collective Spark, said, “The fintech ecosystem in Turkey, parallel to the strengthening of the banking infrastructure, continues its strong growth momentum with innovative technological initiatives. In that respect, we regard Mobilexpress as a successful fintech player on the back of its strong infrastructure, experience of its team providing technology services and the breadth of payment solutions that can be offered to businesses and consumers.”

“We believe that the company possesses the potential to replicate its success in Turkey across international markets. As Collective Spark, we are happy to support Mobilexpress in this funding round alongside co-investors and complete another investment in the area of fintech which is one of our Fund’s key target industries,” he added.