Due to manual and disjointed systems, automotive dealerships and OEMs face slow, error-prone, and opaque payment processes. Aufinity Group solves this problem with an automated digital platform that streamlines payment management, ensures transparency, and maintains compliance, resulting in faster, more efficient order-to-cash workflows.
Recently, Aufinity Group secured €23 million in Series C funding, led by BlackFin Capital Partners, with participation from existing investors PayPal Ventures and Seaya Ventures. The funding will accelerate Aufinity’s European expansion and strengthen partnerships with automotive OEMs, building on its strong growth and successful market entries in Spain and Italy.
The funding round was fast-tracked following strong demand in Southern Europe, where major automotive groups like Stellantis Italia and the European Dealer Council have already adopted Aufinity’s solution. The company has established local teams in Madrid and Rome to serve these markets and meet regional compliance requirements.
“With this round, we are focusing on further accelerating our growth across Europe. Through new strategic partnerships with leading OEMs and continuing our focus on dealerships, we are preparing to redefine the European industry standard,” explains Lasse Diener, co-founder and CEO of the Aufinity Group.
Modernising payment processes in the automotive sector
Aufinity Group was founded in Cologne, Germany, in 2018 by Lasse Diener and Ulrich Schmidt. Both founders bring technology and fintech expertise: Diener is CEO, while Schmidt, with extensive experience in software development and payment technology, leads as Chief Product & Technology Officer.
The company was created to tackle the automotive industry’s payment and receivables management inefficiencies. Its goal was to build a digital platform that automates and streamlines the entire order-to-cash process for car dealerships, OEMs, and related businesses, saving resources while improving the purchasing experience.
Aufinity Group aims to set a new digital standard for payment management in the European automotive sector by enabling faster liquidity, complete transparency, and reduced manual effort. Their products — bezahl.de for German-speaking markets and Aufinity for international markets — automate everything from payment requests to accounting integration, helping automotive businesses focus on core operations while delivering a seamless, modern customer experience.
“Our core business in Germany is already solidly positioned. However, strong international interest has prompted us to accelerate our expansion into more countries ahead of schedule—a great market validation for our business and platform,” Diener adds.
End-to-end payment automation for car dealerships and OEMs
Aufinity Group stands out with its specialised digital payment platform designed specifically for the automotive industry. It automates and digitises the entire receivables process, from payment invitations to real-time tracking and accounting system integration. The technology saves dealerships and OEMs an average of 20 minutes per transaction, offers customers a modern, app-free payment experience across various channels, and provides real-time transparency for all parties.
Unlike general-purpose payment providers like Stripe or Adyen, Aufinity’s workflow covers the entire process from initial payment requests to automated general ledger postings, and it is tailored explicitly for automotive businesses.
The platform includes built-in anti-money laundering (AML) checks and GDPR-compliant data handling, which are increasingly crucial as Europe’s Payment Services Directive (PSD3) evolves. Aufinity automates 98% of the order-to-cash process, and its integration with dealership CRM/ERP systems (like Mercedes-Benz’s XENTRY Com) enables automatic payment invitation generation, status tracking, and accounting reconciliation.
The platform features intelligent system integrations, automated digital payment invitations, and instant payment confirmations. It supports both in-person and remote transactions while eliminating cash handling and local queues.
Aufinity’s comprehensive approach, deep integration with existing dealership workflows, and automotive-specific focus distinguish it from generic payment automation providers. This success shows in its adoption by over 80% of Germany’s top 100 car retailers and partnerships with major OEMs such as Mercedes-Benz AG.
“We have been closely monitoring the company for several years and are impressed by the team’s execution skills. Their successful international expansion convinced us to invest in the company to support the European rollout and further enhance Aufinity’s payment orchestration capabilities,” says Maxime Mandin, Managing Director at BlackFin Capital Partners.
“Since our initial investment, the team has executed exceptionally, scaling their annualised platform volume and expanding successfully into after-sales, enterprise, and new geographies like Iberia and Italy. Doubling down on our support was a natural next step,” said Alexandros Bottenbruch, Investor with PayPal Ventures.
Aris Xenofontos, Partner at Seaya, adds: “We are excited to continue supporting Lasse, Ulrich, Markus and the team in the next phase of business growth. Since our investment, we have been impressed with the team’s ability to successfully capture strong demand in international markets, such as Spain and Italy.”
