How Brite Payments Is Reshaping European FinTech From the Inside Out

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-23

Lena Hackelöer didn't just build a payments company. She built a bridge across 27 different European markets, each with its own rules, habits, and banking quirks. Here's what she learned along the way. ### From Swedish Startup to Pan-European Powerhouse Brite Payments started in Sweden back in 2019. It wasn't an overnight success. Lena and her team worked methodically, building a pay-by-bank platform that now spans 27 European markets. After their Series A round, they pushed into Germany and France, two of the continent's most challenging markets. What's the secret? Lena credits her early career. At Klarna, she learned how to scale fast and go international. Later, at a listed financial services company, she got a crash course in regulation. That mix of speed and compliance is rare in FinTech. ### Why European Payment Sovereignty Isnt Enough Europe wants its own payment infrastructure. Brite is building exactly that: a pan-European instant payment network that reduces reliance on non-European systems. But Lena is brutally honest about this. "Sovereignty alone won't drive adoption," she says. Merchants and consumers care about three things: convenience, reliability, and lower costs. If a European solution can't beat the alternatives on those fronts, nobody will switch. ### The Real Challenge of Scaling Across Europe Here's the thing about Europe: it's not one market. It's 27 different markets crammed into one continent. And the differences go way beyond language. - Banking systems vary wildly - Regulations differ between countries, even with passporting - Consumer behavior is shaped by local culture Take security. German consumers are cautious. They want to know exactly how their data is protected. Swedish users? They're more comfortable with digital transparency. Brite handles this by keeping its technology centralized but hiring local experts for each market. ### What Makes Pay-by-Bank Finally Work Pay-by-bank has been talked about for years. But Lena believes it's finally hitting its stride. Three trends are making it happen: - Mobile banking improvements make authentication seamless - App-to-app transfers are faster than ever - Instant payments enable real-time confirmation, refunds, and payouts Convenience is the killer app. When paying by bank becomes easier than pulling out a credit card, adoption takes off. ### The Gender Gap in FinTech Is Still Real The conversation ended on a sobering note. Lena sees progress: more women are reaching senior roles and building networks. But funding inequalities persist. Women-led startups still get a fraction of VC money. And the pipeline problem starts early, with low female participation in engineering and technical careers. Lena's advice? Keep building experience. Keep connecting. The system is changing, but it's not there yet. ### Key Takeaways - Brite Payments grew from a Swedish startup to a 27-market platform - European payment sovereignty matters, but convenience and cost drive adoption - Fragmented regulation makes Europe a tough market to crack - Localization is non-negotiable, even with centralized tech - Mobile banking and instant payments are accelerating pay-by-bank growth - Female representation in FinTech still faces significant barriers