Viva Wallet Group
Greek Neobank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viva Wallet is a group of companies owning Viva.com [Vivabank], which is a Tech Bank for businesses with presence in 24 European countries.[3] In January 2022, international media reported that Viva Wallet was the first Greek unicorn startup[4] company after an agreement with JP Morgan Chase was announced.[5]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Neobank |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founders | Haris Karonis Makis Antypas |
| Headquarters | Athens, Greece |
Key people | Haris Karonis (CEO) |
| Total equity | US$2.055 billion (2022)[1] |
| Owner | Viva Wallet Holdings Software Development (51.5%) JPMorgan Chase (48.5%)[2] |
Number of employees | 427 (2020) |
| Subsidiaries | Vivabank Viva Services Viva Payment Services |
| Website | www |
History
In 2000, Haris Karonis founded Realize SA in Athens, Greece, which initially operated as a software house. In 2006, Viva Services was founded and entered the voice over IP 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, following the transposition of the PSD2 in the Greek institutional framework.[6]
Three years later, in 2014, the company obtained an Electronic Money Association License[7] and announced the completion of its Series A round funding round, led by the Latsis family office.[8]
In 2020, Viva Wallet expanded its services to 23 European countries.[9] On August 3 of the same year, the company announced the acquisition of the banking license of Praxia Bank.[10]
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.[11]
In February 2025, Viva.com merged Viva Payments into VivaBank.[12]