Startup Diligence
Diligence report Fintech, merchant acquiring, payment terminals, e-money business accounts, SME financial services Active private unicorn / regulated electronic-money and merchant-services group

Teya

Teya Startup Diligence Report

Proceed only to confirmatory diligence. A positive thesis requires proving that the SMB merchant product bundle converts into durable, regulated, unit-profitable revenue after acquisition-integration costs, funding-partner risk, safeguarding obligations and competitive pricing pressure.

Company profile

Teya Startup Diligence Report

Teya passes private-unicorn eligibility on public evidence: CB Insights lists Teya/SaltPay as a London financial-services unicorn and Companies House shows multiple active private limited Teya entities. The diligence posture is high-attention rather than clean-pass because group financials, current valuation, cap table, customer economics, integration status, safeguarding controls and contract quality remain largely non-public.

Website
www.teya.com
Sector
Fintech, merchant acquiring, payment terminals, e-money business accounts, SME financial services
Geography
United Kingdom headquarters and Europe-focused SMB merchant footprint
Stage
Active private unicorn / regulated electronic-money and merchant-services group
Known aliases
Teya, SaltPay, Salt Pay, Salt Pay Services Ltd., Teya Services Ltd., Teya Solutions Ltd., Teya Europe Ltd.
Report version
1.0
Timezone
UTC

Executive summary

Strengths

  • CB Insights lists Teya with a $1B unicorn valuation marker, 9 April 2021 unicorn date, London location and Tiger Global/Hedosophia investors.
  • Companies House shows Teya Services, Teya Solutions and Teya Europe active and private limited, with SaltPay predecessor names.
  • Teya's own pages show live products: card machines, business account, settlement, funding and integrations.
  • Public regulatory references identify Teya Solutions as FCA-authorised EMI FRN 978181 and Teya's own page discloses non-bank/safeguarding treatment.

Risks

  • Financial transparency is limited; public specialist analysis of 2021 accounts highlighted rapid revenue growth but material losses, and 2024 EMI-subsidiary net income was negative.
  • Current valuation, cap table, debt, liquidation preferences and option dilution are not public despite unicorn eligibility.
  • Acquisition-led expansion creates integration, impairment, platform consistency and divestiture risks.
  • E-money safeguarding, non-FSCS customer funds, AML/KYC and merchant account closures create regulated conduct exposure.
  • UK SMB payment acceptance is highly competitive on settlement speed, pricing, support, integrations and bundled banking/funding.

Gaps

  • Audited consolidated group financial statements, management accounts and 2022-2025 KPI bridge.
  • Current cap table, financing history, preference stack, debt, warrants, option pool and valuation support.
  • Merchant GPV, active merchants, churn, net revenue retention, take rate, ARPA, CAC and payback by country/channel.
  • Safeguarding accounts, FCA correspondence, complaints, AML/KYC testing, operational resilience and incident history.
  • Material customer, supplier, POS-integration, lender, bank, card-scheme, acquirer and technology contracts.

Recommended next steps

  • Open data-room diligence focused on consolidated financials, cap table, debt and subsidiary structure.
  • Commission regulatory/safeguarding diligence for FCA EMI obligations, complaints, AML/KYC and customer-fund segregation.
  • Run customer cohort diligence on merchant activation, retention, GPV, take rate and concentration.
  • Review product economics for card machines, business account, funding referrals/partners and POS integrations.
  • Request acquisition integration and divestiture materials, impairment testing and platform roadmap.

Risk register

high medium likelihood

R-001: Limited financial transparency and historical losses

Consolidated group financials are not public; available public signals include historical SaltPay losses and negative 2024 net income at Teya Solutions.

Diligence request: Obtain audited consolidated financials, management accounts, cash runway, burn, unit economics and auditor letters.

high medium likelihood

R-002: Valuation, capitalization and preference-stack opacity

Unicorn eligibility is verified, but current valuation, shares, options, debt and investor rights are not public.

Diligence request: Request fully diluted cap table, financing documents, debt schedule, option plan and valuation support.

high medium likelihood

R-003: Acquisition integration and portfolio pruning risk

Public analysis described many acquisitions and integration complexity; Pagaqui divestiture shows portfolio changes.

Diligence request: Review acquisition integration plan, synergies, impairment tests, divestitures and retained liabilities.

high medium likelihood

R-004: E-money safeguarding and regulatory conduct exposure

Teya Business Account is not a bank account and relies on safeguarding; EMI controls, AML/KYC and disclosures need validation.

Diligence request: Obtain FCA permissions, safeguarding audits, regulatory correspondence, AML/KYC testing and incident reports.

medium high likelihood

R-005: Customer scale, retention and concentration opacity

Public customer/merchant counts are inconsistent and top-customer/revenue concentration data is not public.

Diligence request: Request active merchant bridge, cohorts, churn, GPV, take rate, ARPA and top-customer concentration.

medium high likelihood

R-008: Competitive pricing and differentiation pressure

Teya competes with terminal specialists, bank acquirers and integrated commerce platforms on transparent customer-facing terms.

Diligence request: Request win/loss, churn reasons, price realization, market share and competitor benchmarking.

medium medium likelihood

R-006: Funding-product partner and conduct risk

Partner-led cash advances and loans can create customer suitability, disclosure, complaints and partner-dependency risks.

Diligence request: Review funding partner contracts, customer disclosures, complaint metrics, revenue share and underwriting responsibilities.

medium medium likelihood

R-007: Governance and personnel visibility gaps

Companies House provides legal-director data but not operating leadership, compensation, turnover or retention plans.

Diligence request: Request org chart, executive bios, compensation, stock plans, turnover and succession plans.

Chapter 01

01Financial Information

Public evidence verifies private-unicorn status and active UK entities, but consolidated financials and current capitalization are not public. Available financial signals show a fast-growing but historically loss-making acquisition-led business and a 2024 UK EMI subsidiary with positive asset growth but negative net income.

EC-001EC-002EC-003EC-004EC-012EC-013EC-014

I.A Annual and quarterly financial information for the past three years

partially verified confidence: medium

No consolidated 2023-2025 group accounts were located in this public-source pass. Public information is limited to UK company accounts filing status, specialist commentary on 2021 SaltPay accounts and TheBanks.eu financial highlights for Teya Solutions Ltd.

EC-012EC-013

Evidence gaps

  • Audited consolidated financial statements for FY2023-FY2025.
  • Quarterly management accounts, budget versus actuals, backlog and accounts receivable aging.

Hidden risks

  • Consolidated revenue quality, gross margin, losses, cash burn, customer acquisition cost, working capital and runway cannot be verified from public data.
  • Public subsidiary accounts may not represent group economics or acquisition liabilities.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide consolidated P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, monthly cash burn and auditor reports for the last three fiscal years.
  • Bridge public subsidiary accounts to consolidated group revenue, cash and debt.
Public financial markers and financial-statement gaps
MetricPeriodValueDiligence read-through
Teya Solutions total assets2024£27.52mRegulated UK EMI subsidiary asset base grew, but not consolidated group scale.
Teya Solutions net income2024-£1.23mLoss at EMI subsidiary; requires reconciliation to group product economics.
SaltPay revenue2021€74mSpecialist commentary indicates rapid historical growth.
SaltPay operating loss / pre-tax loss2021€78m operating loss; €97m pre-tax lossLoss scale makes current burn and path to profitability critical.

Currency and perimeter differ by source; do not aggregate without company reconciliation.

Teya Solutions public financial highlights Bar chart of TheBanks.eu-reported Teya Solutions assets and net income for 2023-2024.

Do not infer group revenue or cash from Teya Solutions alone.

I.B Financial Projections

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

No public three-year projections were found. Growth drivers are inferable from Teya's product bundle, SMB merchant count, funding products and acquisition integration, but forecast assumptions are non-public.

EC-006EC-010EC-014

Evidence gaps

  • Quarterly projections, assumptions, unit economics, price sensitivity, capital expenditures and financing plan.

Hidden risks

  • Forecasts may depend on cross-selling acquired products, reducing losses and sustaining merchant retention in competitive markets.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide base/downside/upside forecasts by country, product, channel and customer cohort.

I.C Capital Structure

partially verified confidence: medium

CB Insights verifies a $1B unicorn marker and Companies House verifies private entities and PSC voting-rights disclosures for Teya Europe, but shares outstanding, options, warrants, debt and liquidation preferences are not public.

EC-001EC-003EC-004

Evidence gaps

  • Full cap table, shareholder agreements, option plans, warrants, debt, bank lines and off-balance-sheet liabilities.

Hidden risks

  • Preference stack, structured financing, founder control, intercompany debt and dilution may materially affect common-equity value.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide current fully diluted cap table and financing documents from inception through latest round.
Capitalization and ownership evidence
TopicPublic evidenceReliance levelFollow-up
Unicorn eligibilityCB Insights lists Teya at $1B, unicorn date 2021-04-09, investors Tiger Global Management and Hedosophia.High for eligibility; low for current valuation.Latest financing and valuation support.
2021 financing headlineBrazilJournal reported $500m raised at $5.3bn valuation.Medium; secondary press.Executed financing documents and investor schedule.
Voting controlTeya Europe PSC page lists Eduardo de Pontes and Andre Street each at >25% to <=50% voting rights.High for PSC filing; incomplete for full cap table.Share register, voting agreements and reserved matters.

PSC voting bands are not economic ownership percentages.

I.D Other financial information

partially verified confidence: low

Tax positions, revenue recognition policies and detailed financing history are not public. Public financing headlines are inconsistent and should not be used as valuation support without documents.

EC-001EC-004EC-013

Evidence gaps

  • Tax memoranda, accounting policies, goodwill impairment analysis, debt covenants and round-by-round financing records.

Hidden risks

  • Cross-border tax, acquisition accounting, goodwill impairment and revenue recognition may be complex given acquisition-led history.

Follow-up questions

  • Reconcile CB Insights, press valuation and internal fair-value marks to financing documents.
Chapter 02

02Products

Teya publicly sells an integrated SMB merchant toolkit: card machines/payment acceptance, business account, settlement, funding and POS/accounting integrations. The product surface is verified, but product-level profitability, reliability, roadmap and partner economics are not public.

EC-006EC-007EC-008EC-009EC-010EC-014

II.A Description of each product

verified confidence: high

Public pages verify active products and feature claims, including card machines, 50+ POS integrations, free Business Account, Visa cards, cashback, instant/next-day settlement and partner-led funding products.

EC-006EC-007EC-008EC-009EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Product-level revenue, margin, adoption, uptime, support tickets, incidents and customer complaints.
  • Partner agreements, service-level commitments and regulatory responsibility split.

Hidden risks

  • Funding products may expose Teya to partner, conduct, affordability and customer-confusion risk even if credit is provided by partners.
  • POS/accounting integrations create uptime, data-security and third-party dependency risks.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide product P&Ls, attach rates, churn, incident history and product roadmap with dates/costs.
  • List all named funding, POS, bank, processor, card-scheme and accounting integration partners and contracts.
Public product suite
ProductPublic claimRevenue/economic questions
Card machines / payment acceptanceMachines support major payment methods, POS integrations and flexible settlements.Terminal economics, interchange/acquirer costs, support cost, churn and chargebacks.
Business AccountFree e-money account, Visa cards, cashback, accounting integrations and instant settlement.Float/safeguarding economics, interchange/cashback cost, KYC/AML cost and account activity.
FundingMerchant Cash Advance and Flexi Loan via trusted partners with funding within 24 hours of approval.Referral/revenue-share, conduct, affordability, defaults, complaints and partner liability.
Pricing, settlement and customer economics clues
Public itemPublished detailDiligence implication
Low-turnover fee£29.99 fee applies when monthly card turnover is under £2,500.Suggests minimum economics threshold; verify churn and customer sentiment below threshold.
Card machine priceMachines starting from £14.99/month.Hardware pricing must cover device, support, replacement and acquisition costs.
Cashback0.5% cashback on Teya card spend.Reward cost must be funded by interchange, account engagement or cross-sell economics.
Public product architecture Publicly observable product components and dependencies.
Chapter 03

03Customer Information

Teya targets local SMB merchants and publicly claims tens of thousands of supported businesses. Public sources do not disclose top customers, revenue concentration, cohort retention, chargeback rates or supplier agreements.

EC-006EC-013EC-015EC-019

III.A Top customers by application

partially verified confidence: medium

No top-15 customer list is public. Public evidence supports only broad SMB segment targeting and aggregate merchant/customer count claims.

EC-004EC-006EC-013

Evidence gaps

  • Top customers by GPV/revenue, active definitions, product ownership and purchase timing.

Hidden risks

  • Customer counts may include inactive merchants, acquired portfolios, different geographies or low-revenue accounts.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide top-15 merchant/customer list by revenue and GPV for FY2024, FY2025 and current YTD.
Customer scale signals
SourceMetricDefinition risk
BrazilJournal / Sifted-cited 2021 reportMore than 60k merchantsHistorical SaltPay footprint; may include acquired portfolios.
Business of Payments analysisc.100,000 merchants in 2021Based on annual-report commentary; not comparable to current active customers.
Teya homepageTrusted by 70k customersCompany-stated; active definition not disclosed.
Teya pricing pageCard machines support 75,000+ businessesProduct-specific phrasing; may differ from customer count.

Counts should be reconciled to active merchants, GPV and revenue.

Public customer-count claims are not definition-consistent Bar chart comparing public merchant/customer count references.

Requires company active-merchant bridge.

III.B Strategic relationships

partially verified confidence: medium

Teya discloses categories of strategic relationships, including POS integrations, accounting integrations and funding partners, but named contracts and revenue contribution are not public.

EC-008EC-009EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Strategic partner list, revenue contribution, exclusivity, termination rights and SLAs.

Hidden risks

  • Unfavorable partner economics or terminable integration agreements could impair the bundle.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide all strategic partnership agreements and partner-by-partner revenue contribution.
Customer, partner and supplier diligence gaps
AreaPublic evidenceMissing schedule
Top customersAggregate SMB count only.Top 15 customers by revenue/GPV for last two years and YTD.
Strategic partners50+ POS integrations, accounting integrations and lender partners mentioned by category.Named partner list, contracts, economics and termination rights.
SuppliersNo top supplier spend disclosed.Top suppliers by spend, criticality and SLA.

III.C Revenue by customer

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Revenue by customer and 5%+ customer concentration are not public. Given the SMB focus, concentration may be low, but acquired portfolios, ISO relationships or enterprise merchants could create hidden concentration.

EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Revenue by customer, GPV by customer, chargebacks, refunds and churn.

Hidden risks

  • Merchant portfolios, acquirers, referral partners or marketplaces may represent hidden concentration despite SMB branding.

Follow-up questions

  • Identify all customers or partners contributing 5%+ of revenue or GPV.

III.D Significant relationships severed within the last two years

partially verified confidence: medium

Public reporting shows divestiture of Pagaqui by Teya/SaltPay; customer/partner severance lists are otherwise not public.

EC-015

Evidence gaps

  • Severed customer, supplier, partner, lender and acquirer relationships for the last two years.

Hidden risks

  • Divestitures may indicate portfolio pruning, market exit, integration underperformance or regulatory/local-market pressure.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide schedule of relationship terminations, divestitures, notices of breach and lost strategic partners.

III.E Top suppliers

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Top suppliers and purchase amounts are not public. Public pages imply dependencies on card schemes, terminal providers, POS/accounting integrations, banks, safeguarding institutions and funding partners.

EC-008EC-009EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Supplier list, purchase amounts, SLAs, termination rights, service credits and concentration.

Hidden risks

  • Processor/acquirer, terminal, bank or lender concentration could affect margins and service continuity.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide top suppliers by spend and criticality for FY2024, FY2025 and current YTD.
Chapter 04

04Competition

Teya competes in SMB merchant services against payments specialists, card-terminal providers, bank acquirers and integrated commerce platforms. Differentiation claims center on next-day/instant settlement, UK support, bundled Business Account, cashback, funding and integrations.

EC-006EC-007EC-008EC-020

IV.A Competitive landscape by market segment

partially verified confidence: medium

Teya's public pricing page explicitly benchmarks against SumUp and cites competitor sources including Dojo, SumUp and Barclaycard. Public competitor economics are not fully reconciled, but the basis of competition is clear: price, settlement speed, support, hardware, integrations, banking and funding.

EC-007EC-020

Evidence gaps

  • Win/loss data, market share, NPS, churn by competitor, price realization and cohort profitability.

Hidden risks

  • Low merchant switching costs and transparent pricing can compress take rates and increase support costs.
  • Bank acquirers and global PSPs can cross-subsidize SMB offers from broader portfolios.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide competitive win/loss analysis, market share estimates and price sensitivity by segment and geography.
Competitive landscape by segment
Competitor groupExamplesBasis of competition
SMB terminal specialistsSumUp, Dojo, Zettle/SquarePrice, hardware, settlement speed, support and onboarding.
Bank acquirers / legacy PSPsBarclaycard, Worldpay and high-street bank merchant servicesExisting banking relationships, reliability, pricing and risk appetite.
Integrated commerce platformsSquare, Shopify POS, Lightspeed and vertical POS providersSoftware workflow, integrations, payments take rate and ecosystem lock-in.

Competitor examples are market framing; detailed market share requires private or paid datasets.

Basis of competition and Teya claims
Claimed differentiatorEvidenceDiligence test
Next-day by 9am settlement including weekendsPricing page comparison table.Measure settlement reliability, exceptions and funding cost.
24/7 UK-based human supportPricing page and FAQs.Support staffing, SLA, ticket volumes and cost per merchant.
Bundled Business Account and fundingPricing, Business Account and funding pages.Attach rate, incremental margin and conduct complaints.
SMB payments competitive positioning map Illustrative market map based on public positioning and product breadth.

Competitor coordinates are analyst estimates based on public positioning.

Chapter 05

05Marketing, Sales, and Distribution

Teya's public go-to-market is direct digital acquisition plus local support, POS/integration partnerships and product-led cross-sell into Business Account and funding. Sales productivity, CAC, quotas, payback and pipeline are not public.

EC-006EC-007EC-008EC-009EC-010EC-011

V.A Strategy and implementation

verified confidence: high

Teya positions itself as a one-platform payments, business and growth toolkit for local SMBs. Public pages show digital applications, card-machine pricing, 24/7 support, next-day settlement and partner-led funding.

EC-006EC-007EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Channel mix, CAC, conversion rates, payback, sales headcount and marketing budget.

Hidden risks

  • Marketing messages that combine payments, e-money accounts and funding require careful conduct disclosures and complaint handling.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide funnel by channel, CAC/payback, onboarding conversion and support cost per merchant.
Public go-to-market motions
MotionPublic indicatorPrivate metric required
Digital self-serve / sales-assisted signupPricing page says apply online; verification in 1-3 business days.Lead-to-approved merchant conversion and CAC.
Product-led cross-sellCard-machine plan includes Business Account, cashback, insights and funding positioning.Attach rate and margin uplift by product.
Integration/partner distribution50+ POS integrations and accounting sync.Partner-sourced leads, revenue share and churn.
Public acquisition/onboarding funnel Funnel assembled from Teya public signup and product pages.

Private CRM data required for conversion rates.

V.B Major Customers

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

No major-customer status, trends or pipeline analysis is public. Aggregate merchant count and segment positioning are the only public customer indicators.

EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Major customer pipeline, renewal schedule, churn risk and customer health scoring.

Hidden risks

  • Large referral partners, ISOs or acquired portfolios may drive hidden pipeline concentration.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide CRM pipeline by stage, top prospects, expected GPV and conversion probabilities.
Sales productivity unknowns
MetricPublic statusWhy it matters
CAC / paybackNot disclosed.Determines whether SMB acquisition is profitable after hardware/support.
Quota attainmentNot disclosed.Needed to assess growth forecast feasibility.
Pipeline by segmentNot disclosed.Needed to validate future revenue and concentration.

V.C Principal avenues for generating new business

partially verified confidence: medium

Principal public avenues are online pricing/signup, card-machine offers, POS integrations, local support, and cross-sell of Business Account and funding.

EC-007EC-009EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Referral economics, partner source attribution and product attach rates.

Hidden risks

  • Bundling may lower acquisition friction but increase onboarding, KYC, servicing and complaints complexity.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide new-business source attribution and attach-rate waterfall by cohort.

V.D Sales force productivity model

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Public sources do not disclose sales compensation, quotas, sales cycle or hiring plan. Teya discloses only application verification timing and active recruiting.

EC-011EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Sales compensation, quota attainment, productivity ramp, pipeline coverage and sales hiring plan.

Hidden risks

  • Aggressive sales incentives could create mis-selling, churn or complaints; underinvestment could slow growth.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide sales-force productivity model and two-year sales hiring plan.

V.E Ability to implement marketing plan with current and projected budgets

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Marketing budget adequacy is not public. Historical losses and competitive intensity make budget discipline a key diligence item.

EC-012EC-013

Evidence gaps

  • Marketing plan, budget, forecast CAC, payback and country-level ROI.

Hidden risks

  • Growth targets may require subsidies, hardware discounts, marketing spend or lower take rates.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide board-approved marketing plan and current budget versus actuals.
Chapter 06

06Research and Development

Public R&D evidence is product-surface and integration oriented: POS integrations, accounting sync, Teya app/web, instant settlements, e-money account and funding workflows. Engineering headcount, architecture, roadmap costs and security audits are not public.

EC-008EC-009EC-010EC-011EC-014

VI.A Description of R&D organization

partially verified confidence: low

Teya does not publish a formal R&D organization chart. Public evidence points to a technology-enabled product organization across app/web, terminals, POS integrations, business account, settlements and funding workflows.

EC-011EC-014

Evidence gaps

  • Engineering headcount, architecture diagrams, SDLC, security testing, uptime/SLOs and technical debt backlog.

Hidden risks

  • Acquisition-led architecture may contain duplicated platforms, technical debt, inconsistent data models and fragile integrations.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide current architecture, platform-consolidation roadmap, technology risk register and engineering staffing plan.
Public R&D and technology markers
Technology areaPublic markerRisk/gap
POS integrations50+ POS integrations.Integration maintenance, partner dependencies, certification and uptime.
Accounting integrationsXero and QuickBooks sync.Data accuracy, reconciliation and API dependency.
Funding workflowOnline eligibility and partner funding in 24 hours after approval.Decisioning, partner handoff, affordability and complaints.
Public product capability visibility Bar chart scoring which technical/product capabilities are publicly visible versus still opaque.

Analyst visibility score: 0 no public implementation detail, 3 explicit public claim.

VI.B New Product Pipeline

partially verified confidence: medium

Public pipeline indicators include instant settlement, accounting integrations, funding products and continued addition of integrations. Timing, cost, critical technology and launch risks are not public.

EC-009EC-010

Evidence gaps

  • Product roadmap, development cost, release timing, incident history, dependency register and security audit results.

Hidden risks

  • New financial products can increase conduct, credit-partner, KYC, fraud and operational resilience requirements.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide roadmap with committed dates, engineering cost, regulatory sign-off and customer beta results.
Product pipeline diligence matrix
Pipeline/capabilityPublic evidenceNeeded proof
Instant settlementBusiness Account page says real-time access is available exclusively with Teya Business Account.Settlement funding model, failures, exceptions and customer adoption.
Partner fundingFunding page describes MCA and Flexi Loan products.Partner agreements, economics, underwriting responsibilities and complaint controls.
Platform consolidationBusiness of Payments described integration complexity after acquisitions.Architecture roadmap, milestones, budget and risk burndown.
Chapter 07

07Management and Personnel

Companies House provides legal-director and PSC evidence; Teya careers provides limited culture/geography evidence. Operating org chart, executive bios, compensation, equity plans and turnover are non-public.

EC-003EC-011EC-018

VII.A Organization Chart

partially verified confidence: medium

No operating org chart is public. A legal/governance map can be constructed from Companies House for Teya Europe, Teya Services and Teya Solutions.

EC-003EC-018

Evidence gaps

  • Management org chart, board composition, committees, delegated authorities and investor consent rights.

Hidden risks

  • Legal directors may not correspond to operating leadership; board committees, investor rights and control arrangements are not public.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide full operating org chart and board/investor governance documents.
Governance and public leadership markers
Entity/personPublic role/controlDiligence implication
Eduardo de PontesTeya Europe PSC with >25% to <=50% voting rights; resigned Teya Services director 2024.Founder/control and role evolution require governance review.
Andre Street de AguiarTeya Europe PSC with >25% to <=50% voting rights.Voting control and investor/founder rights need review.
Teya Solutions directorsYvonne Calvert, Caio Fiuza Silva, Daniela Mastrorocco, Thomas Mylrea Lowndes and Hanna Seminario active directors.Regulated entity governance and SMF/controlled-function mapping needed.

Legal directors are not necessarily day-to-day executives.

Public governance map Legal/governance map from Companies House public records.

Not a legal ownership chart; PSC/voting bands are public disclosure only.

VII.B Historical and projected headcount by function and location

partially verified confidence: low

Public headcount evidence is incomplete: TheBanks.eu reports 48 average employees for Teya Solutions in 2024, Business of Payments reported c.1,500 SaltPay staff at 2021 year-end, and careers page cites 15+ offices.

EC-011EC-012EC-013

Evidence gaps

  • Headcount by function, country, legal entity and projected hiring.

Hidden risks

  • RIFs, integration churn, contractor reliance, country concentration or compliance staffing gaps may be hidden.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide monthly headcount and attrition by function/location/entity for 2024-2026 YTD.
Headcount and geography public markers
MarkerValueInterpretation
Teya Solutions average employees48 in 2024Subsidiary-only regulated entity; not group headcount.
SaltPay staffc.1,500 by end-2021Historical group commentary; current number unknown.
Office footprint15+ officesCareers page geography signal; function/entity split unknown.

VII.C Senior management biographies

partially verified confidence: low

Public sources identify some legal directors and founders/PSC holders, but comprehensive senior-management biographies are not public.

EC-018

Evidence gaps

  • Executive bios, tenure, role scope, background checks and succession plans.

Hidden risks

  • Key-person reliance, founder role changes and undisclosed management turnover cannot be assessed publicly.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide biographies for CEO, CFO, COO, CTO/CPO, CRO/CCO, GC/CCO and country heads.

VII.D Compensation arrangements

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Employment agreements, compensation, severance, bonus and benefit-plan details are not public.

EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Employment contracts, compensation plans, bonus metrics and benefits.

Hidden risks

  • Retention, misaligned incentives and change-of-control obligations may be material.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide executive employment agreements and compensation summary.

VII.E Incentive stock plans

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Option pool, stock plans, vesting, grants and dilution are not public.

EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Option plan documents, grant ledger, vesting schedule and refresh plan.

Hidden risks

  • Undisclosed option pool or retention grants could materially dilute new investors.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide fully diluted cap table and equity-compensation plan documents.

VII.F Significant employee relations problems, past or present

inconclusive confidence: low

No verified public employee-relations disputes were identified in the sources cited, but absence of public evidence is not proof of absence.

EC-019

Evidence gaps

  • Employee claims, grievances, works council matters, HR investigations and settlement agreements.

Hidden risks

  • Integration, acquisitions, geographic expansion and staff reductions can create employment-law exposure not visible publicly.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide HR/legal schedule of employee disputes, settlements and investigations for the last three years.

VII.G Personnel Turnover

partially verified confidence: low

Personnel turnover is not public. Companies House shows legal-director appointments/resignations, which is a governance signal but not an employee turnover metric.

EC-018

Evidence gaps

  • Two-year voluntary/involuntary turnover by function and location, regretted attrition and retention-plan effectiveness.

Hidden risks

  • Leadership transitions may be routine legal housekeeping or may indicate operating changes; private context is required.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide attrition data, critical-role vacancy report and retention incentive analysis.
Chapter 08

08Legal and Related Matters

Public legal/regulatory evidence confirms FCA e-money authorization, non-bank/safeguarding disclosures and at least one Financial Ombudsman decision involving Teya Solutions' merchant account closure. Litigation, IP, insurance, material contracts and regulatory correspondence remain material gaps.

EC-009EC-012EC-016EC-017EC-021

VIII.A Pending lawsuits against the Company

partially verified confidence: medium

No comprehensive court docket was available in this public-source pass. A Financial Ombudsman decision against Teya Solutions Ltd resulted in a £150 compensation award for unfair immediate account closure.

EC-016

Evidence gaps

  • Litigation docket, claims schedule, complaints register and reserves.

Hidden risks

  • Unpublished complaints, chargeback disputes, merchant claims or regulator correspondence may be more material than the public FOS award.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide pending/threatened litigation and complaints schedule with claimed damages, counsel, status and reserves.
Legal and regulatory public evidence
AreaPublic evidenceRisk read-through
FCA EMI authorizationTeya Solutions described as FCA-authorised EMI FRN 978181.Requires safeguarding, conduct, AML/KYC and operational resilience diligence.
Non-bank statusTeya Business Account discloses e-money account, no FSCS, safeguarding instead.Customer communications and safeguarding controls are central.
FOS decisionDRN-5839604 awarded £150 for unfair immediate account closure without adequate notice.Merchant-account closure and funds-hold processes need conduct review.
Teya public diligence risk heatmap Heatmap of key risks surfaced from public-source diligence.

VIII.B Pending lawsuits initiated by Company

inconclusive confidence: low

No public evidence of lawsuits initiated by Teya was verified in this pass.

EC-021

Evidence gaps

  • Company-initiated litigation and dispute schedule.

Hidden risks

  • Collections, merchant fraud, vendor disputes or IP actions may exist outside public sources reviewed.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide all pending or threatened claims initiated by Teya or subsidiaries.

VIII.C Environmental and employee safety issues and liabilities

partially verified confidence: low

As a fintech/software and payments company, the most visible public safety/regulatory topics are e-money safeguarding, fraud monitoring, card-data security and operational resilience; environmental and workplace safety liabilities are not public.

EC-008EC-009EC-017

Evidence gaps

  • Operational resilience tests, cyber audits, data protection impact assessments and workplace-safety records.

Hidden risks

  • Operational resilience, cyber incidents, data breaches and safeguarding shortfalls could become regulatory issues.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide safeguarding audit, SOC/PCI reports, incident log, data-protection register and health/safety records.

VIII.D Material patents, copyrights, licenses, and trademarks

inconclusive confidence: low

Public evidence verifies brand/domain rebrand and product IP usage, but material patents, trademarks, licenses and proprietary software ownership were not comprehensively verified.

EC-005EC-021

Evidence gaps

  • Trademark schedule, patent schedule, software ownership, open-source scans and third-party licenses.

Hidden risks

  • Acquired software and brands may carry chain-of-title, open-source, license or trademark conflicts.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide IP schedule, domain portfolio, open-source compliance scan and material software licenses.
Contracts, IP and insurance gap register
TopicPublic evidenceRequired evidence
Material contractsTerms/disclosures and product pages show contract categories, not material terms.Bank, processor, acquirer, card-scheme, lender, supplier, customer and integration contracts.
IP / brandRebrand to Teya and domain Teya.com reported; material IP schedule not verified.Trademark, domain, software ownership and open-source schedules.
InsuranceNo public insurance schedule.D&O, E&O, cyber, crime/fraud, employment and regulatory coverage.

VIII.E Insurance coverage and material exposures

not publicly verifiable confidence: low

Insurance coverage is not public. Relevant exposure areas include cyber, E&O, D&O, crime/fraud, regulatory investigation, employment practices and card/payment liabilities.

EC-021

Evidence gaps

  • Insurance policies, limits, deductibles, claims history and exclusions.

Hidden risks

  • Coverage exclusions for cyber, fraud, safeguarding, chargebacks or regulatory investigations may leave material uninsured exposure.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide insurance schedule and claims history for all group entities.

VIII.F Material contracts

partially verified confidence: low

Customer terms and safeguarding disclosures are public, but material bank, processor, acquirer, card-scheme, supplier, POS, accounting, funding-partner and acquisition contracts are not.

EC-008EC-009EC-010EC-017

Evidence gaps

  • Material contracts, amendments, side letters, SLAs, disputes and change-of-control terms.

Hidden risks

  • Termination or price resets by critical banks, processors, terminal suppliers, lenders or software partners could impair service delivery.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide material-contract schedule and copies of all critical agreements.

VIII.G Regulatory agency problems

partially verified confidence: medium

Teya Solutions is publicly described as FCA-authorised EMI FRN 978181; Teya Rewards is disclosed as FCA-authorised FRN 900645 for legacy prepaid services. The public FOS decision is a conduct signal, but regulator correspondence and enforcement history are not public.

EC-012EC-016EC-017

Evidence gaps

  • FCA permissions, correspondence, audits, complaints returns, incident reports and enforcement/disciplinary history.

Hidden risks

  • Regulator findings, remediation plans, skilled-person reviews, safeguarding deficiencies or AML/KYC issues may not be public.

Follow-up questions

  • Provide regulator correspondence, safeguarding audit, AML/KYC testing and complaint/root-cause remediation materials.

Evidence

Evidence claims
IDClaimStatusSources
EC-001 CB Insights lists Teya/SaltPay as a private unicorn with a $1B valuation marker, 2021-04-09 unicorn date, London location and Tiger Global/Hedosophia investors. verified high SRC-001
EC-002 Teya Services Ltd. and Teya Solutions Ltd. are active UK private limited companies with SaltPay predecessor names. verified high SRC-002SRC-003
EC-003 Teya Europe Ltd. is an active UK holding company and public PSC records show Eduardo de Pontes and Andre Street each with more than 25% but not more than 50% voting rights. verified high SRC-004SRC-005
EC-004 BrazilJournal reported SaltPay had raised more than $700m, including a recent $500m round at a $5.3bn valuation, with Hedosophia and Tiger Global participating. partially verified medium SRC-015
EC-005 SaltPay rebranded to Teya in April 2023 to reflect a broader SMB services suite beyond payments. verified medium SRC-014
EC-006 Teya publicly positions itself as an integrated payments, funding and Business Account solution trusted by 70k customers, while its pricing page references 75,000+ supported businesses. partially verified medium SRC-007SRC-008
EC-007 Teya markets next-day settlement, free Business Account, 0.5% cashback, 24/7 support, a £29.99 low-turnover fee and 1-3 business-day verification. verified high SRC-008
EC-008 Teya card machines support 50+ POS integrations, major card/digital-wallet methods, flexible settlements and security claims including end-to-end encryption. verified high SRC-009
EC-009 Teya Business Account is an e-money account with safeguarding rather than FSCS protection and includes free account features, 0.5% cashback and accounting integrations. verified high SRC-010
EC-010 Teya offers partner-led Merchant Cash Advance and Flexi Loan products, with eligibility in minutes and funding within 24 hours of approval. verified high SRC-011
EC-011 Teya describes itself as born in 2019, a European company with global presence, 15+ offices and active hiring. partially verified medium SRC-012
EC-012 TheBanks.eu describes Teya Solutions Ltd as an FCA-authorised electronic money institution, FRN 978181, with 2024 assets of £27.52m, net income of -£1.23m and 48 average employees. verified medium SRC-006
EC-013 Business of Payments reported SaltPay 2021 revenue of €74m, gross profit of €42m, operating loss of €78m, pre-tax loss of €97m and c.100,000 merchants. partially verified medium SRC-016
EC-014 Business of Payments identified acquisition-led growth and integration complexity as material issues for SaltPay/Teya. partially verified medium SRC-016
EC-015 In 2024, Portuguese fintech Eupago bought Pagaqui, which Essential Business described as belonging to UK fintech Teya/SaltPay. partially verified medium SRC-017
EC-016 A 2026 Financial Ombudsman Service decision required Teya Solutions Ltd to pay £150 after unfair immediate closure of a merchant account, while upholding its right to close and hold funds for chargeback risk. verified high SRC-018
EC-017 Teya Rewards Ltd. discloses FCA e-money authorization FRN 900645 for legacy prepaid services, discontinuation of prepaid services in January 2018 and safeguarding with no FSCS protection. verified high SRC-021
EC-018 Companies House officers pages disclose active directors and resignations for Teya Services and Teya Solutions, including Eduardo de Pontes' resignation from Teya Services in August 2024. verified high SRC-019SRC-020
EC-019 Core diligence items including customer concentration, forecasts, sales productivity, compensation, stock plans, employee relations, architecture and security audits are not publicly verifiable from reviewed sources. not publicly verifiable high SRC-007SRC-008SRC-009SRC-010SRC-011SRC-012
EC-020 Teya's pricing page explicitly compares its offer against SumUp and references competitor sources including Dojo, SumUp and Barclaycard, validating competitive benchmarking as a customer-facing theme. verified medium SRC-008
EC-021 Public-source review did not verify comprehensive litigation, IP, insurance or material-contract schedules for Teya. not publicly verifiable high SRC-014SRC-018SRC-021
Sources
IDPublisherTitleAccessed
SRC-001 CB Insights The Complete List Of Unicorn Companies 2026-05-31
SRC-002 Companies House TEYA SERVICES LTD. overview 2026-05-31
SRC-003 Companies House TEYA SOLUTIONS LTD. overview 2026-05-31
SRC-004 Companies House TEYA EUROPE LTD. overview 2026-05-31
SRC-005 Companies House TEYA EUROPE LTD. persons with significant control 2026-05-31
SRC-006 TheBanks.eu Teya Solutions Ltd (United Kingdom) - Company Profile and Review 2026-05-31
SRC-007 Teya Card Machines for Small Business UK | Teya 2026-05-31
SRC-008 Teya Teya Pricing — Simple Flat Rates, No Hidden Fees | UK 2026-05-31
SRC-009 Teya Card machines for quick and easy payments | Teya 2026-05-31
SRC-010 Teya Free Business Account for Small Businesses | Teya 2026-05-31
SRC-011 Teya Give your business a fast and flexible cash advance | Teya 2026-05-31
SRC-012 Teya Join Our Team & Build the Future of Business | Teya 2026-05-31
SRC-013 Financial IT Teya Launches for Small and Medium Businesses in Europe 2026-05-31
SRC-014 SmartBranding SaltPay Rebrands to Teya on a Mission to Empower Every Business in Europe to Thrive 2026-05-31
SRC-015 BrazilJournal Sócios da Stone repetem o script na Europa; fintech já vale US$ 5,3 bi 2026-05-31
SRC-016 Business of Payments Saltpay reports heavy losses as it buys and builds a platform for growth 2026-05-31
SRC-017 Essential Business Fintech Eupago buys Pagaqui 2026-05-31
SRC-018 Financial Ombudsman Service Decision Reference DRN-5839604 2026-05-31
SRC-019 Companies House TEYA SERVICES LTD. people 2026-05-31
SRC-020 Companies House TEYA SOLUTIONS LTD. people 2026-05-31
SRC-021 Teya Teya - Rewards Safeguarding Accounts 2026-05-31

Disclaimer

This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.