Griezmann backs €1.5B fintech Flatpay as France hits 10,000 merchants
Antoine Griezmann , France's 2018 World Cup winner, has taken a stake in Flatpay, the Danish payments fintech serving small and medium businesses.
The investment lands as Flatpay passes 10,000 active French customers, just 18 months after launching there.
Founded in 2022, Flatpay operates in seven European countries, serves more than 100,000 merchants, and reached unicorn status in 2025 with a €1.5 billion valuation.
France is Flatpay's fastest-growing market. Customer numbers there doubled in six months, with over 1,000 new merchants — mostly restaurants, cafés, and local shops — joining each month.
The company employs 367 people in France and aims to reach 500 by year-end. About 40% of new clients arrive on a referral from an existing customer.
Flatpay's pitch tackles common card-payment pain points: unclear fees, slow setup, and patchy support. It offers a single flat rate, no installation or hidden fees, daily payouts, on-site setup, and 24-hour French-based customer service.
Celebrity-backed investments draw attention but carry risk. Griezmann's stake leans on personal ties — his sister is a Flatpay customer — rather than deep payments expertise.
Flatpay also competes in a crowded European payments market against established players targeting the same merchants.
"Avoir Antoine Griezmann à nos côtés est une fierté et un signal fort," said Rachelle Mezher, managing director for France. "The growth we're seeing shows we're meeting a real need."
Griezmann is investing as an angel here, a step beyond the endorsement deals that typically tie athletes to brands, and his stake hinges on first-hand familiarity — his sister is a Flatpay customer — rather than payments expertise. For a 2022-founded fintech that hit unicorn status with a €1.5 billion valuation in 2025, his name doubles as a trust signal in a French merchant market where 40% of new clients already arrive on referrals.
Read more: Planet Fintech
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
