FinTech startup PayCar has completed its first funding round, led by the BNP Paribas Group, raising a total of €1.3 million in the process.

Founded in March 2015, PayCar has created a secure payment solution for settling purchases for second-hand vehicles. The identities of both the purchaser and the seller are checked out ahead of any transaction. The purchaser credits their PayCar account, which is then immediately transferred to the seller on the appointed day, with just a few taps on a smartphone screen.

In the future, PayCar hopes to enable customers 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.

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.

Jacques d’Estais, group deputy COO and head of international financial services, at BNP Paribas, said: “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.”

Vincent Marty Lavauzelle, chairman of PayCar, added: “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.”

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