Finperks secures $4 million to establish itself as the API layer for prepaid payment solutions.

      The Berlin startup, established by the creators of viafintech, is developing a unified integration that enables banks, fintechs, and HR platforms to provide gift cards, cashback, and tax-free employee benefits without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure themselves.

      The founders of viafintech, a prepaid payment company that was acquired by Paysafe in 2021, have embarked on a new endeavor, focusing on the supply side of the market instead of operating within it.

      Since departing from Paysafe, they have founded Finperks, a startup based in Berlin, which has secured $4 million in pre-seed funding. This funding round was led by Motive Partners, an investment firm specializing in fintech, alongside seed+speed Ventures, a B2B software fund from Berlin that recently closed its €90 million third fund in January this year.

      Finperks is creating API infrastructure that allows banks, fintech firms, and HR platforms to provide prepaid products, gift cards, eCash, and cashback through a single integration, eliminating the need for each partner to piece together a complex network of issuers, brand networks, settlement providers, and compliance layers independently.

      The challenge Finperks aims to address is structural. The prepaid market is substantial and expanding but is operationally disjointed. A bank wishing to provide brand-funded cashback for customer retention or an HR platform aiming to distribute Germany’s €50-per-month tax-free employee benefit, known as the Sachbezug, must currently deal with numerous providers across various functions.

      Finperks simplifies this by offering a single API that grants partners access to over 1,000 brands across Europe.

      “Banks require cashback to attract and retain users,” stated Sebastian Seifert, co-founder and co-CEO. “HR platforms need benefits as a natural extension to upsell clients. None of them want to establish prepaid infrastructure; they prefer to integrate with it.”

      Sebastian Seifert is experienced in this domain, having co-founded viafintech, the barcode-based eCash platform recognized in Germany and Austria as Barzahlen/viacash, at the age of 20. By the time of its acquisition by Paysafe in November 2021 for over $100 million, viafintech had expanded to more than 100 employees and operated in 17 markets across Europe and the US.

      Sebastian was also included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for the DACH region in 2019 and for Europe Finance in 2020. Finperks, which he founded in the summer of 2025 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, represents his next venture, built with the same core team.

      After six months, the company reports that it has onboarded over 1,000 brands and secured its first customers. For instance, the payment app Flizpay utilizes Finperks to provide brand-funded cashback directly deposited into users’ bank accounts during purchase—a product in which Seifert was previously an angel investor.

      HR platforms Recardy and Paylo also leverage Finperks to distribute the Sachbezug without the need for additional infrastructure. The new funding will be allocated to expanding the engineering team, enhancing brand partnerships, and extending reach into more European markets.

      For Motive Partners, the focus is primarily on the infrastructure layer. The firm, which exclusively targets technology-enabled financial services, has been progressively broadening its early-stage portfolio alongside its larger growth and buyout initiatives.

      On the other hand, seed+speed Ventures’ third fund is specifically directed toward European B2B and enterprise software companies that are innovating in AI or providing tools for its implementation in corporate operations, positioning Finperks well within its strategy for enterprise workflow infrastructure.

      Finperks comprises a team of eight individuals. The company’s job postings highlight a founding team of experienced entrepreneurs and fintech experts with a "proven track record," evolving from the viafintech playbook into a market familiar to the founders from both product and distribution perspectives.