YouLend has opened a regional hub in Berlin as it expands its European operations and increases its focus on Germany, which it describes as its fastest-growing market in the region.
The Berlin office will serve as a base for managing European Union markets. YouLend also plans to hire 70 people in the city by the end of 2026.
YouLend operates an embedded finance model that allows payment, eCommerce and technology platforms to offer financing within their own services. It works with platform partners and reaches merchants through those partners’ products.
The Berlin move follows a year in which YouLend reported revenue of €230 million for FY24/25 and average annual growth of 60% since 2022.
Germany focus
Germany has become central to YouLend’s European plans. The company linked the decision to strong momentum in the German market and growing demand across continental Europe.
Recent multi-market rollouts with Worldline and Teya have expanded distribution across Belgium, the Netherlands and other markets. Those partnerships sit alongside relationships with platforms including eBay, Shopify, Qonto, SumUp and Tide.
YouLend said the Berlin hub brings it closer to customers and partners, while supporting local service and strengthening internal infrastructure for data, operations and regulatory requirements.
The model depends on integration with platforms already embedded in merchants’ workflows, making distribution and customer support closely tied to partner relationships. It also increases the operational demands of compliance and oversight across multiple jurisdictions.
Operational role
YouLend said the Berlin office will take operational and strategic responsibility for EU markets and provide on-the-ground support for merchants and platform partners.
Outside Germany, YouLend has around 600 employees across the UK and the US. The firm is headquartered in the UK and also has a presence in the US.
Berlin’s labour market was another factor. YouLend cited access to international talent and the ability to build a multicultural team with experience across European markets, which it said would support simultaneous expansion in multiple countries.
Embedded finance has drawn attention from payments companies and software platforms seeking to broaden their merchant offering. Distribution through existing platforms can reduce customer acquisition costs compared with standalone lending, but it also intensifies competition between specialist providers and banks pursuing fintech partnerships.
YouLend positions itself as an embedded finance provider for platforms rather than a direct-to-merchant lender. Its partner list includes Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Etsy, UpWork, Worldline, Teya, SumUp, Tide and Dojo.
It operates in more than 10 countries and has delivered over 370,000 financings to date.
Leonard Strigel, General Manager Europe at YouLend, said the Berlin hub reflects a shift in how the company views the region.
“This move reaffirms our view that Europe is not a secondary market for us – it’s an independent area of operation,” Strigel said.
He also described how YouLend works with platforms in the region.
“With partners like eBay, Qonto and Tide, we integrate financing into existing platform structures and reach merchants directly in their operational environment. The expansion in Berlin is the logical consequence of this development in the continental European market,” Strigel said.