Tech founder worth $20bn as payments company hits record value

Tech founder worth $20bn as payments company hits record value

A university dropout who entered the payments industry to fund his surfing lifestyle has become one of the richest owners of a British business after his tech start-up was valued at $40bn (£29bn). London-based Checkout.com has surpassed Revolut to become the UK’s most valuable technology start-up, securing $1bn in funding from a string of international investors. The deal is believed to mean a fortune approaching $20bn for its Swiss-born founder and chief executive, Guillaume Pousaz. Checkout.com, which handles payments for Netflix, Pizza Hut and Sony as well as other fintech companies such as Klarna and Revolut, announced the funding on Tuesday. Its $40bn valuation is more than double what it was worth a year ago, when it last raised funds, and means it has leapfrogged Revolut as Britain’s most valuable start-up . Mr Pousaz, 40, dropped out of university in Switzerland and moved to California to surf in 2005 after his father died and only took a job at processing company International Payment Consultants after he ran out of money. He bought a small payments company based in Mauritius and set up Checkout.com in London in 2012, saying he chose the city because the Financial Conduct Authority was receptive to