You Won’t Believe How Tapaya's Shocking €1M Funding Could Change Your Wallet Forever!

In a significant move for the European fintech landscape, **Tapaya**, a Prague-based payments infrastructure startup, has successfully raised **€1 million** in pre-seed funding. The funding round was led by **Passion Capital**, with **Depo Ventures** co-leading and additional backing from **BADideas.fund**. This capital infusion will help Tapaya enhance its platform, which aims to modernize the payment processing landscape.

Founded in July **2025** by **Laura Ďorďová**, **Roman Kuchařík**, and **Petr Zahradník**, Tapaya addresses frustrations stemming from outdated payment terminals. The trio initially encountered these challenges while working with traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems at festivals and large events, where vendors often struggle with quick and reliable payment methods. “Most people think of software terminals as something you use on a phone, but we see a much bigger opportunity. It’s about bringing software terminals to Android devices, kiosks, tablets, and more,” explains **Laura Ďorďová**, CEO and co-founder of Tapaya, in an interview with Tech Funding News.

Tapaya's innovative platform integrates compliance, processor connections, and card scheme connections into a single **software development kit (SDK)**. This allows developers to incorporate in-person payment options seamlessly into various systems, including **Android**, **iOS**, tablets, kiosks, and enterprise frameworks within days. “Most commerce has moved to software, but payments are still stuck with hardware. Tapaya solves this by offering everything in one SDK, so developers can add payments as easily as any other feature,” Ďorďová adds.

As Tapaya enters a competitive landscape, it faces established **SoftPOS** providers like **Visa’s Tap to Phone**, **Mastercard’s Tap on Phone**, and **Discover Global Network’s** SoftPOS solution. Unlike its competitors, which require companies to manage processor relationships and certification independently, Tapaya’s offering connects to multiple processors, banks, and card schemes simultaneously, handling compliance in a unified manner. Will Orde, partner at Passion Capital, remarked, “We’re interested in Tapaya because they have strong technical skills and are solving a real gap in the market. The team has already handled the toughest parts of payments certification, so they know what they’re making easier for customers. In-person payments are six times bigger than online, but the tools for software builders haven’t kept up.”

Currently, Tapaya is focusing on **physical, in-store payments**, regarded as the most complex aspect of payment processing. “We might move into online payments in the future, but for now, we’re focusing on the hardest part, which is physical payments,” concludes Ďorďová.

The newly acquired funding will enable Tapaya to gain certification under the **PCI MPoC** security standard while building its payments infrastructure across **Central and Eastern Europe**. Additionally, the company is gearing up for innovations in agentic payments, **AI-driven** physical transactions, and the anticipated **digital euro**. This forward-thinking approach highlights Tapaya’s commitment to reshaping the payments landscape and signals potential shifts in how consumers and businesses handle transactions in the near future.