Tillo Acquires Amilon to Create £3 Billion Global Powerhouse in Digital Rewards and Gift Cards

Tillo has acquired the Italian digital incentive leader Amilon in a strategic move that consolidates the European rewards and gift card market. For fintech professionals, this acquisition signals a major shift toward unified global infrastructure in the employee benefits space, creating a transatlantic entity that expects to process over £3 billion in digital value during 2026.

What was announced

The acquisition of Milan-based Amilon by London-headquartered Tillo creates a combined platform designed to serve as a global technology infrastructure for rewards, incentives, and gift cards. Amilon, founded in 2007, was a pioneer in Italy’s digital gift card market and has developed a proprietary ecosystem that connects thousands of businesses and hundreds of brands with millions of consumers. By joining forces, the two companies aim to establish an undisputed leadership position across Europe, North America, and the APAC region.

The financial scale of the combined group is significant, with a projected 30% year-over-year growth rate and a target of processing more than £3 billion worth of gift cards in 2026. The partnership specifically targets the growing demand for sophisticated employee benefits and welfare frameworks across European markets. Amilon’s deep expertise in Southern European welfare regulations will be integrated into Tillo’s global technology stack, allowing the group to serve multinational buyers through a single strategic partnership. Under the terms of the deal, Amilon co-founders and CEOs, Andrea Verri and Fabio Regazzoni, will reinvest in the combined business and continue to lead Amilon as a Tillo Group company. This acquisition follows a 2025 secondary transaction involving growth investor Tenzing, which provided liquidity for early investors and set the stage for Tillo’s international expansion strategy.

"This is an incredibly exciting landmark moment for Tillo and for our industry. From our very first conversations with the Amilon team, it was clear we shared the same belief in where rewards, incentives and engagement are heading, and the role they play in creating genuine connections between brands, businesses, and consumers. Amilon has built an outstanding business over two decades, trusted by leading Italian and international enterprises and known for exceptional standards of service and expertise. Joining forces gives us the opportunity to combine our strengths and build an international digital value platform with the depth and reach to shape the future of this industry. Equally important, we've found a team whose culture and values strongly align with our own, and I'm proud to welcome them as partners into the Tillo Group."

Alex Preece, CEO & Co-Founder, Tillo

The companies involved

Tillo is a global rewards and incentives platform that provides the technical architecture for businesses to issue and manage digital gift cards at scale. The company has positioned itself as a specialist in "digital value," moving beyond traditional retail gift cards into broader financial engagement tools. Amilon, its new subsidiary, is the long-standing market leader in Italy for digital incentives and employee benefits. Since its inception in 2007, Amilon has focused on the intersection of corporate welfare and digital commerce, building a dominant presence in Southern Europe. The transaction is supported by Tenzing, a private equity firm that specializes in backing high-growth technology businesses. Tenzing’s portfolio leads, Gareth Healy and Maria Tozzi Spadoni, have been instrumental in Tillo's recent scaling efforts. The broader deal environment involved several professional services firms, including Intermonte, which provides investment banking services, and legal advisors Simmons & Simmons and Gianni & Origoni, who frequently operate within the European fintech and private equity sectors.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely tracked Tillo’s expansion into various niche financial sectors throughout 2026. In September, we reported on how Tillo and NILENT Team Up to Boost Student Athlete Financial Literacy Through Rewards, a move that targeted the collegiate sports market in the United States. Earlier in the year, the company demonstrated the utility of its embedded finance capabilities when Blue Light Card and Tillo Launch Embedded Shopping Cards for UK Frontline Workers. Furthermore, Tillo’s integration into essential household financial services was highlighted in February when Kindo Partners with Tillo to Bring Rewards to Childcare Payments, showcasing the platform's versatility beyond simple retail incentives.

What this means

This acquisition moves the needle by signaling the end of the era of fragmented, regional gift card providers. As multinational corporations increasingly demand unified employee benefit platforms that function seamlessly across borders, localized players in Europe will face mounting pressure to either consolidate or find highly specific niches. The move places Tillo in direct competition with traditional legacy incentive houses, but with a tech-first, API-driven approach that bypasses the friction of physical distribution. It raises a critical question for the sector: can a single platform successfully navigate the diverse regulatory and tax welfare frameworks of the EU while maintaining the agility of a high-growth fintech?