Viva Wallet is a European 

Neobank A neobank (also known as an online bank, internet-only bank, virtual bank or digital bank) is a type of direct bank that operates exclusively online without traditional physical branch networks. The term "challenger bank" is used in the UK to re ...

 entirely based in 

Microsoft Azure Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure ( , ), is a cloud computing platform operated by Microsoft for application management via around the world-distributed data centers. Microsoft Azure has multiple capabilities such as software as a ...

 with presence in 24 European countries. Viva Wallet Holdings owns a Banking License (VIVABANK SA). In January 2022, international media reported that Viva Wallet was the first Greek

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

 startup company after an agreement with

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the wo ...

Chase was announced. Viva Wallet is part of the Viva Wallet Group, consisting of the subsidiaries Viva Services SA, Viva Payment Services and Vivabank.

History

In 2000, Haris Karonis founded Realize SA in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, which initially operated as a software house. In 2006, Viva Services was founded and entered the

voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of speech, voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms In ...

business and later travel services, followed in 2010 by an expansion to the e-ticketing market. In 2011, Haris Karonis and Makis Antypas founded Viva Payments, which is licensed as a payment institution for the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...

, following the transposition of the PSD2 in the Greek institutional framework. Three years later, in 2014, the company obtained an Electronic Money Association License and announced the completion of its Series A round funding round, led by the Latsis family office. In 2020, Viva Wallet expanded its services to 23 European countries. On August 3 of the same year, the company announced the acquisition of the banking license of Praxia Bank. In 2021, Viva Wallet announced the completion of its Series D funding round, led by Tencent, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as Jim Breyer’s Breyer Capital.

Investment from JP Morgan

On 25 January 2022, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was to buy a 48.5% stake in Viva Wallet Holdings Software Development S.A. After the agreement with JP Morgan, international media reported that Viva Wallet was the first Greek ''unicorn startup."

Founders

Haris Karonis was born in 1974 in Athens, Greece. He is currently the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and Co-founder of Viva Wallet. Makis Antypas was born in Athens, Greece, in 1976. He’s the Co-founder and CIO of Viva Wallet and is currently serving as the CEO of Vivabank.

Viva Wallet's subsidiaries

Viva Services

Viva Services is a provider of online services in 

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is an online travel agency, a KO telecommunications provider licensed by the 

Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission The Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission ( el, Εθνική Επιτροπή Τηλεπικοινωνιών και Ταχυδρομείων, ''Ethniki Epitropi Tilepikoinonion kai Tachydromeion'') or EETT is a Greek Greek may refer to ...

 and a registered insurance agent. The company is a subsidiary of Viva Wallet Holdings SA (formerly Realize SA).

Vivabank

On August 3rd, 2020, Viva Wallet announced the acquisition of the banking license of Praxia Bank, opening the way for the creation of Vivabank. Vivabank is a credit institution licensed and supervised by the Bank of Greece.

References

External links

*
Realize website
{{in lang, en Telecommunications companies of Greece Online travel agencies Companies based in Athens Greek brands