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Brite Payments
Lena Hackelöer runs Brite Payments, the Stockholm fintech connecting 3,800+ banks across 27 European markets for instant, chargeback-free merchant...
Brite Payments
Brite Payments was founded in Stockholm in 2019 by an experienced team aiming to replace card-based online checkout with direct bank-to-bank transfers. The firm operates as a regulated Payment Institution under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, adhering to PSD2 standards across the EU/EEA. Its consumer-facing product requires no app download or account registration; users authenticate through their existing bank credentials, which Brite never stores. The company's core asset is the Brite Instant Payments Network, a proprietary infrastructure that combines local payment rails and open-banking connectivity to process instant account-to-account payments. Brite serves a merchant base that extends across e-commerce, daily shipping, and recurring bill-pay verticals, offering a payment method with higher spending limits than cards and no consumer fees. Its geographic footprint covers major EU economies including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, alongside Nordic and Eastern European states. The firm's revenue model ties to merchant processing rather than float or interchange, giving it a cost structure that eliminates chargeback liability. Led by CEO Lena Hackelöer, Brite operates from its Stockholm headquarters with additional offices in Málaga and London. The firm has been recognized in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Sweden and the Accel Fintech 50 EMEA, both in 2024. In 2025, it won the MPE Award for Best Use of Open Banking for Payments. While team size and deployment figures remain undisclosed, the firm actively recruits across its office locations. Brite's structural distinction is that it is not an open-banking data aggregator but a full-stack payment institution running its own settlement network. This architecture allows it to act as the merchant's counterparty for instant settlement rather than merely facilitating data access, positioning it closer to a card-network alternative than to a fintech middleware layer.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2019
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Sweden
City
Stockholm
Corporate office
Linnégatan 5, 114 47 Stockholm, Sweden
Additional offices
Málaga, Spain · London, United Kingdom
Principals
Lena Hackelöer
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is Brite Payments licensed and regulated?
Brite operates as a licensed Payment Institution under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. It complies with the Swedish Payment Services Act and adheres to PSD2 standards across all EU and EEA markets where its services are passported. This regulatory posture requires strict consumer authentication protocols and capital-reserve compliance.
What is the Brite Instant Payments Network?
The Brite Instant Payments Network is a proprietary infrastructure that connects to over 3,800 banks across Europe, combining local payment rails with open-banking interfaces. It allows Brite to initiate and settle account-to-account payments in real time on behalf of merchants, functioning as a closed-loop settlement layer that bypasses card networks entirely.
Does Brite store consumer banking credentials?
No. Consumers authenticate directly with their bank using the bank's own identity-verification methods. Brite initiates the payment on the consumer's behalf but does not see, handle, or store login credentials or sensitive card details, reducing the merchant's exposure to data-breach risk.
Which markets can Brite currently serve?
The firm operates across 27 European markets, covering the Nordic region, major continental economies including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, and much of Central and Eastern Europe. Its services are available to any online merchant integrated with its payment method in those jurisdictions.
What types of merchants does Brite target?
Brite focuses on e-commerce, daily-shipping platforms, and recurring bill-pay verticals where instant settlement and fraud reduction matter to unit economics. Its value proposition centers on eliminating chargebacks, lowering processing costs, and accepting payments with higher limits than typical card-based checkout flows.
Who leads the management team at Brite?
Lena Hackelöer is the CEO of Brite Payments. The firm was founded by a group of experienced fintech executives in Stockholm in 2019, though the full founding team is not listed by name on the company's current public materials. Day-to-day leadership is drawn from a distributed team across Stockholm, Málaga, and London.
How does Brite generate revenue if it's free for consumers?
Brite charges merchants for payment processing, similar to a card acquirer or alternative payment method. Because it settles funds instantly and carries no chargeback liability, it can price against interchange-plus-scheme-fee bundles offered by traditional card networks, often passing a net savings to merchants despite charging a processing fee.
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