Compte Nickel raises €10.2m from Partech et al.

José Rojo
15 September 2015

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French VC Partech Ventures has injected €4m into French non-bank account service Compte Nickel during a €10.2m funding round for the business.

According to unquote" sources, investing alongside the VC were Financière Idac, HGDLMA Holding, French tobacconists industry body Confédération des Buralistes de France, and Compte Nickel's two founders Ryad Boulanouar and Hugues Le Bret.

The first institutional funding round for Compte Nickel brings the capital raised by the business to more than €30m, these same sources revealed.

Partech drew equity from its sixth VC-focused fund. Launched in April 2011, Partech International VI raised €130m when it closed in October 2013, €10m above its €120m original target. The vehicle has now nearly deployed all of its capital, unquote" understands.

The capital injection will assist Compte Nickel in its goal to sign up a million new customers within three years, with plans to specifically target users in the 12-18 age range.

Compte Nickel is a subsidiary of online payment specialist Financière des Paiements Electroniques (FPE). The company's parent operates in partnership with a number of French fintechs such as Bimedia, recently valued in the €20-50m region when it was bought by Omnes Capital, alongside the management team.

The transaction represents Partech's third foray in the fintech domain this year. In November 2014, the VC backed a €7m round for Paris-headquartered crowdlending platform Lendix.

Five months after holding a €200m first close for its newest growth fund, the firm ventured abroad when it led a €10m round for British currency exchange service Kantox in May.

Company
Founded in February 2014 as a business unit within FPE, Compte Nickel allows customers to open and manage a savings account without the need for a bank. The business operates via a network of almost 1,000 tobacconists across France where an account may be set up for a yearly €20 fee by providing a form of ID and a phone number.

Headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, the company currently employs 52 professionals and claims to have secured a 157,000-strong customer base since foundation.

People
Partech's work on the deal was led by managing partner Philippe Collombel, who also sits on the financial supervisory committee of FPE, Compte Nickel's parent. Ryad Boulanouar and Hugues Le Bret co-founded Compte Nickel and are currently FPE's CEO and chair, respectively.