Bulgarian fintech unicorn Payhawk opens Vilnius office

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Payment management platform Payhawk – Bulgaria’s only unicorn – has opened a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania, it announced on Monday, 17 July.

Established in 2018, Payhawk currently serves clients in 32 countries and offers its platform to businesses across the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK and the US.

With this new office, Payhawk now operates in a total of eight locations worldwide, according to a statement from the company.

Payhawk meanwhile secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Bank of Lithuania. An EMI is an entity with the authority to issue electronic money, and the licence will give Payhawk greater control over its payment processing system when adding new features.

CEO backs diversification of payment options

Payhawk CEO Hristo Borisov highlighted that one of their main objectives with the new license is to expand payment options. Currently, only clients in select markets can choose between debit and credit cards, but Payhawk aims to offer this flexibility to all of its customers.

“We are thrilled to achieve another important milestone in our journey to reinvent how businesses spend,” Borisov said. 

“Exceptional product development combined with a relentless customer focus is in Payhawk’s DNA, and the licence unlocks new innovation possibilities for us. By controlling more of the payment processing stack we can move faster and optimise the infrastructure to best address the needs of our clients, fuelling innovation,” he said.

“The licence provides comprehensive validation that Payhawk adheres to robust capital, regulatory and security standards,” Borisov added.

Payhawk became unicorn in spring

Over the last year, Payhawk has opened new offices in New York, the US, and Sofia, Bulgaria, and has experienced an 82% growth in its workforce.

In March, the fintech company achieved unicorn status, becoming Bulgaria’s first unicorn with a valuation of USD1bn (EUR 891mn) after successfully closing an extended funding round led by US investment firm Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The company said it will continue to prioritise the development of new features aimed at mid-market and enterprise clients.