BNP Paribas : backs the growth of the PayCar FinTech

Several of the Bank's businesses are participating in the startup's first funding round, for a total stake of €1.3 million

The BNP Paribas Group, via its French Retail Banking; BNP Paribas Cardif and BNP Paribas Personal Finance businesses, is participating in the first-ever funding round for PayCar, taking a stake worth a total of €1.3 million. PayCar is a FinTech startup, which has created a secure, innovative payment solution for settling purchases of second-hand vehicles.

Founded in March 2015 by Vincent-Marty-Lavauzelle and Mike Waldman, PayCar provides a payment platform for the sale and purchase of second-hand vehicles between private individuals, offering a simple, secure alternative to using bank cheques. The identities of both the purchaser and the seller are checked out ahead of any transaction. The purchaser credits his/her PayCar account and, on the appointed day, the agreed price will immediately be transferred from the PayCar account to the seller with just a few taps on a smartphone screen.

PayCar began an incubation process at the 'Accélérateur Fintech by L'Atelier BNP Paribas ' in March this year, working closely for four months with the Group's insurance arm BNP Paribas Cardif. This proved to be a highly beneficial period for both BNP Paribas Cardif and PayCar, as it enabled the partners to identify areas of common values and pinpoint a number of opportunities for the BNP Paribas Group as a whole. The solution devised by PayCar is seen as a highly useful complement to the existing range so as to enable the provision of a comprehensive service for the buyers and sellers of second-hand cars. Going forward, customers will, for instance, be able to make use of a digital bank cheque issued by the Retail bank, take out vehicle insurance through BNP Paribas Cardif and obtain a consumer loan from BNP Paribas Personal Finance.

This ground-breaking collaboration between BNP Paribas and PayCar is taking on a new dimension today as the startup completes its first funding round, which will raise €1.3 million. The Group's minority stake in PayCar is intended both to finance the company's growth plans and support its development, as BNP Paribas brings to the process its expertise and knowledge of the target market. Vehicle purchases constitute the second biggest expense for households, behind the cost of housing.

In line with the Group's Open Innovation policy, this agreement with PayCar does not include any exclusivity provisions.

Explained Jacques d'Estais, Group Deputy COO and Head of International Financial Services: 'For over three years now, BNP Paribas has been engaged in a process of Open Innovation in both Europe and the USA to develop FinTech incubation and acceleration ecosystems designed to support the Group's transition towards building the digital bank of the future. Our collaboration with PayCar is a perfect illustration of this. Our investment has twin objectives: to enable PayCar to develop its commercial potential and to help us prepare for the digitisation of bank cheques.'

PayCar Chairman Vincent Marty-Lavauzelle pointed out: 'This funding round will have a double impact for PayCar. Firstly, the funds raised will enable us to put the right structures in place so that we can move even faster; and secondly, the partnership with BNP Paribas will help to speed up adoption of our service and drive business growth. Our long-term goal is to establish PayCar as the standard payment method for all second-hand vehicle sales.'

About PayCar

PayCar provides a simple, secure payment solution for the peer-to-peer sale and purchase of second-hand vehicles. PayCar offers an alternative to a bank cheque, with a number of significant advantages. The transaction can be carried out at any time, including evenings and weekends, and it provides total security on the transaction, eliminating all risk of fraud: identity checks are performed on the parties to the transaction so as to ensure mutual confidence, the funds in question are placed in an escrow account, and payment is immediate and irrevocable.

PayCar was selected as one of the three startups of the year at the 2015 AutoBiz Internet Awards and has just been named joint winner of the 2016 RB Innovation Prize, organised by banking sector magazine Revue Banque in partnership with FBF, the French Banking Federation, which designates the Startup of the Year for the Banking, Insurance and Finance sectors.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 75 countries, with more than 189,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.

About the Fintech & Corporate Accelerator by L'Atelier BNP Paribas

Launched in 2016, the Fintech & Corporate Accelerator by L'Atelier BNP Paribas pairs up promising startups with a number of the Bank's business lines so as to address specific business needs. The purpose of this 4-month accelerator programme is on the one hand to enable various Bank businesses to embark on, or bring to fruition, a process of Open Innovation designed to meet such strategic objectives as finding new sources of growth or optimising internal processes, and on the other to provide the startups with an ideal opportunity to find the right 'market fit' for their innovative concepts. The chosen startups also receive tailored mentoring from the Bank's sector experts and/or from the Group's tech innovation tracking and consultancy arm, L'Atelier BNP Paribas. The first Accelerator season saw eight Bank business/startup pairings working hand-in-hand for four months. Following the successes achieved, the second season is due to begin on 15 December. Go to lab.atelier.net to find out about the challenges which the Group's businesses are intending to address.