Italian paytech company Nexi has secured financing of €220m from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to drive innovation in the digital payments sector.
In line with this, EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Nexi Group chief financial officer Bernardo Mingrone have signed an agreement.
Nexi Group aims to utilise the new funding to advance and manage projects focused on modernising digital payments across Europe.
The paytech company also intends to leverage the capital for specific initiatives that will be supported by technological innovation hub Nexi Digital. The latter was established by Nexi Group in partnership with Italian digital transformation company Reply.
Vigliotti said: “This operation represents a major step forward in the development of Europe-wide digital payment solutions, helping to reduce the use of cash and prevent fraud and tax evasion.
“This operation highlights the EIB’s commitment to promoting digitalisation and innovation in businesses and public sector organisations, which are key elements of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.”
According to Nexi Group, the selected projects are fully in line with the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.
This involves promoting digital payment innovation throughout Europe, generating job opportunities for young people and disadvantaged areas, and improving environmental sustainability through optimised data centres and cloud-based initiatives.
Nexi Group said that the new loan marks the first EIB funding granted to a publicly listed company in the digital payments sector.
Mingrone said: “We are proud that the European Investment Bank has recognised our ongoing commitment to the development of innovative products and services promoting digital payment reliability and security, two key requirements for rolling out these services in the European countries where we operate.
“This agreement is further confirmation that even major players like the EIB recognise Nexi’s vital role in developing and supporting digitalisation in Europe.”
