unzer.com
What is Unzer.com
Unzer is a European payment-service provider and fintech company that offers integrated payment and commerce solutions for online and offline businesses. They combine payment processing, acquiring, checkout, invoicing and point-of-sale (POS) systems under a single roof. (Unzer)
Unzer’s roots go back to a company founded in 2003 — the predecessor brand was Heidelpay. Over time, through the acquisition and merging of multiple companies (13 in total), Unzer evolved into a unified platform. The “Unzer” brand formally launched in 2020. (Wikipedia)
Today the company serves tens of thousands of merchants across Europe. As of 2024, Unzer reports having around 750 employees and serving over 85,000 merchants. (Wikipedia)
What Unzer Offers — Services & Capabilities
Unified Payment Gateway & Processing
Unzer provides a single payment gateway that handles all payment functions: acquiring, processing, settlements, reconciliations. That means merchants don’t need separate systems or multiple contracts to support different payment methods. (Unzer)
You can accept over 200 payment methods via Unzer — ranging from credit/debit cards, digital wallets (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, WeChat Pay), direct transfers, to invoices, installments, and bank-based (open banking) payments. (Unzer)
They support both online e-commerce and offline/in-store payments. For offline sales, Unzer offers mobile and stationary POS systems (hardware + software) so a physical store can easily accept cards or digital-wallet payments. (Unzer)
White-Label & Customisable Checkout / Payment Options
Unzer offers “white-label” payment solutions. This means that merchants can integrate payment methods under their own brand’s look — instead of showing third-party logos — which helps keep the customer experience consistent and customized. (Unzer)
Benefits include real-time credit checks, fraud protection, guaranteed payout even if customers delay payment — merchants don’t assume the credit default risk. (Unzer)
Full Suites: SaaS + POS + E-Commerce Integration
Unzer evolved beyond being solely a payment-service provider (PSP). It now offers an all-in-one “commerce ecosystem” — combining payment, software, POS, settlement, analytics, and more. This lets merchants run online stores, physical shops, or hybrid omnichannel businesses while managing everything from a unified backend. (Unzer)
For example, Unzer supports retail shops, restaurants & bars, service providers (salons, studios), florists, supermarkets, massage studios — basically many types of physical businesses — via flexible POS solutions tailored to each sector’s needs. (Unzer)
Recent Innovation & Open Banking Integration
In 2025, Unzer launched a new payment method: “Unzer Direct Bank Transfer.” This lets customers pay directly from their bank accounts (no card needed), leveraging biometric or bank-authentication flows. This smoothens payment flows, reduces card-related limitations, and lowers fraud/rejection risk. (Unzer)
Also in 2025, Unzer rolled out “Click to Pay” for e-commerce customers. This simplifies checkout: customers don’t need to re-enter card details each time. The payment data is tokenized and secure, the checkout is faster, and conversion rates — especially for European merchants — get a boost. (Unzer)
Partnership with Mastercard for open banking payments further positions Unzer as part of a modern, unified payment infrastructure across Europe. (Mastercard)
Business Position, History & Structure
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany — under Unzer Group GmbH. (Unzer)
Legal and regulatory: Unzer E-Com GmbH is a regulated payment institution under German Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG), supervised by the German financial regulator BaFin. (Unzer)
Ownership: The company has evolved through acquisitions and consolidation of several companies — originally Heidelpay — acquiring players like Clearhaus and Tillhub. (Wikipedia)
As of 2024: approximately 750 employees, and around 85,000 merchants in multiple European countries use Unzer’s services. (Wikipedia)
The company’s growth reflects an intentional shift from being just a payment-processing backend to offering full-stack commerce infrastructure (payments, POS, software, analytics). That redesign started around 2020 with the branding of “Unzer” and consolidation of multiple earlier services into a unified platform, often referred to as UnzerOne. (FinTech Magazine)
What Makes Unzer Stand Out — Strengths & Use Cases
Full coverage of payment needs: For a growing business — online shop, bricks-and-mortar store, or hybrid — Unzer lets you cover all payment channels: card, wallet, invoice, installment, bank transfer, POS, mobile, etc. No need for multiple vendors.
Unified backend and data: Through its unified gateway and SaaS ecosystem, merchants get consolidated dashboards, transaction monitoring, reconciliation, reporting, inventory and customer data tied together. Useful for growing or multichannel businesses.
Flexibility and scalability: Their solutions can adapt to small shops and scale to large merchants. White-label options help preserve brand identity in checkout and payment flows.
Modern payment methods & ease for customers: With support for click-to-pay, open banking, direct bank transfer, and digital wallets, merchants can offer convenient, modern payment flows — which often reduces cart abandonment.
Less risk, more reliability for merchants: For invoice and instalment payments, Unzer handles credit risk, real-time credit checks, fraud protection, and ensures payout — even if customers delay payment. That mitigates financial risk for merchants.
Unified POS + e-commerce integration: For businesses with both physical and online presence, the same backend can manage both — inventory, orders, reconciliation and so on — which simplifies operations.
Real-world clients span many types: retail stores, restaurants, florists, service studios, supermarkets, even event venues and sports arenas (for example, one case involves providing payment infrastructure for a major sports arena) — which shows the versatility. (Unzer)
Recent Developments & Strategy (2023–2025)
2024–2025: Unzer introduced new payment methods — “Unzer Direct Bank Transfer” via open banking, and expanded digital options alongside its traditional payment roster. (Unzer)
2025: Launch of Click to Pay for credit cards, improving checkout speed, security, and convenience, likely boosting conversion rates for online merchants. (Unzer)
Strategic partnerships: Collaboration with Mastercard to power open-banking payments and account-based payment flows. (Mastercard)
Focus on evolving from a payment service provider (PSP) to a full-stack commerce infrastructure vendor. That means not just accepting payments but offering point-of-sale, checkout software, invoicing, backend services — a shift to SaaS + embedded payments. (FinTech Magazine)
Targeting merchants across Europe and across industries — not only retail, but also hospitality, services, supermarkets, and even large venues (sports arenas, event locations) — aiming for “omnichannel commerce.” (merchantpaymentsecosystem.com)
Things to Consider / What Unzer Is (and Isn’t)
Unzer primarily operates in Europe. While they support many payment methods and currencies (via card, wallet, direct-bank or transfer, etc.), their license and regulatory base is European (German- and EU-regulation: ZAG, PSD2, SEPA, etc.) (Unzer)
Pricing is not “one-size-fits-all.” For new e-commerce merchants, Unzer lists starting rates (e.g. from 1.50% + €0.20 per transaction, plus set-up and monthly fees), but there are also volume pricing tiers. (Unzer)
For POS and physical-store solutions: initial setup fees, monthly fees apply. The suitability and cost-effectiveness depend on the merchant’s size, transaction volume, and business model. (Unzer)
While Unzer offers a broad set of payment choices and flexibility, if you operate outside Europe (outside SEPA zone), supporting local payment methods or fulfilling local compliance could be challenging.
Key Takeaways
Unzer is a European fintech / payment-service provider that offers a full stack: online payments, POS systems, acquiring, checkout, invoicing, installments — all in one.
Born out of a merger of many companies (including Heidelpay), the Unzer brand launched in 2020; since then it’s grown to support ~85,000 merchants, with ~750 staff.
Its strengths: unified payment gateway, support for 200+ payment methods (cards, wallets, bank transfers, invoice/installments), white-label checkout, flexible integration (plugins, SDK, API).
Recent innovations: open-banking direct-bank transfers, click-to-pay for card checkout, expanded contactless and “pay by bank” options through partnership with Mastercard.
Good fit for merchants needing a scalable, flexible, omnichannel payment/inventory infrastructure — online or offline — especially within European markets.
FAQ
Q: Can Unzer handle both online and in-store / offline payments?
Yes. Unzer’s platform supports online e-commerce payments (cards, wallets, bank transfers, invoice, installments) and also provides POS hardware and software for in-store payments — integrating both under one backend. (Unzer)
Q: How many payment methods does Unzer support?
Over 200 payment methods, encompassing credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, invoice & installment payments, direct debit, and more — across around 160 countries/currencies (depending on merchant’s region). (Unzer)
Q: Does Unzer manage the risks (fraud, defaults) if I offer “pay later” or invoice payment?
Yes. For payment methods like invoice or installment, Unzer offers real-time credit checks, fraud prevention, and guarantees payout — the merchant receives payment even if the customer delays or defaults. (Unzer)
Q: Is Unzer only for large merchants, or can small shops use it too?
It works for both. Their pricing structure includes plans for small or new e-commerce shops (with setup and transaction fees), while also offering volume/enterprise pricing for high-transaction merchants. (Unzer)
Q: Does Unzer support modern methods like open-banking payments and bank transfers?
Yes. Since 2025, Unzer launched “Unzer Direct Bank Transfer” powered by open banking, enabling customers to pay directly from their bank accounts (no card needed). They’ve partnered with Mastercard to enable this. (Unzer)
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