Funding round led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Italian Founders Fund, Global PayTech Ventures, Antler Elevate and Shapers
Total funding to date reaches $24M as Klearly doubles down on Italy and Belgium following strong traction in the Netherlands
Klearly is approaching €1BN in annualised total payment volume (TPV), strengthening its position as a leading payment layer for European hospitality
Klearly, the payments platform built specifically for restaurants, bars, and clubs, today announced it has raised $14M in Series A funding. The round brings Klearly’s total financing to $24M and will accelerate the company’s mission to build Europe’s best payments system for restaurants.
The round was led by PayPal Ventures, the venture arm behind PayPal, with participation from Italian Founders Fund and existing investors including Global PayTech Ventures, Antler Elevate and Shapers.
Klearly has seen strong adoption in the Netherlands, with over 4,000 merchants processing payments through Klearly, and is now doubling down on Italy and Belgium to scale its footprint with leading restaurant groups and POS partners.
Despite a competitive payments market, restaurants still don’t have a payments system built for them, leaving operators stuck with generic, legacy payment setups – especially during peak service. Klearly addresses this gap with a hospitality-first payments layer, engineered for speed and reliability in high-traffic environments. By integrating seamlessly with restaurant POS systems, Klearly helps operators run smoother service, increase revenue per guest and improve customer retention.
Klearly can be deployed as a powerful standalone payment system. Klearly is device-agnostic and runs on existing hardware, so merchants can get started without buying new equipment. For merchants that prefer an integrated setup, Klearly doesn’t require a new POS; it provides a payments layer that connects to existing POS systems, making operations faster, more reliable and more profitable.
Already one of the fastest-growing payments startups in the Benelux region, Klearly’s expansion into Italy and Belgium marks a significant milestone in its ambition to become Europe’s leading payments layer for hospitality. With the new funding, Klearly will scale its presence in Italy by building local go-to-market capabilities and deepening partner coverage. The company will also continue investing in strengthening its POS partnerships, advancing product development, and team growth across commercial, partnerships, operations and engineering.
Sam Koekoek, CEO of Klearly, commented: “Klearly has a simple mission: to build Europe’s best payments system for restaurants, bars, and clubs. We’re not a generic payments player, and we don’t force merchants to switch POS. Instead, we provide a payment layer purpose-built for hospitality that supports leading operators and the leading POS providers. This funding will allow us to accelerate our expansion across Europe, hire across engineering and operations, and continue strengthening our product depth.”
Ashish Aggarwal, Partner at PayPal Ventures, said: “Hospitality remains one of Europe’s largest – yet least integrated – payment categories. Klearly gives restaurants, bars, clubs and POS providers a modern, integrated payment experience, without replacing existing systems. We believe that Klearly will power the next generation of hospitality commerce across Europe, and we’re excited to support the team as they scale in Italy, Belgium and beyond.”
Lorenzo Franzi, Partner at the Italian Founders Fund, commented: “The traction Klearly has achieved in the Netherlands is a strong signal: restaurants want payments that fit the realities of service, not generic setups. With 300,000+ restaurants, Italy is one of Europe’s largest restaurant markets, making it a natural next step. We’re proud to back Klearly as they scale into Italy and build a leading position in hospitality payments.”
Credit: Leila Van Rooden
