In a massive deal, PayPal has acquired Swedish payments company iZettle for $2.2 billion USD.
Picking up the European fintech startup is a move that many say can help PayPal, which has its strongest in North America and the digital realm, spread geographically and add more physical infrastructure.
iZettle, based in Stockholm, is targeted at small businesses and holds some card payment processing market share in Europe and the two largest countries in Latin America, Brazil and Mexico. It offers card readers that work with smartphone apps as well as point of sale software solutions.
This will expand upon PayPal’s current offerings and help in certain markets as it continues to battle against rivals including Square, Inc. and Clover.
Various analysts have also suggested that this acquisition may be a sign of things to come in the fintect world poised for new wave of consolidation.
The purchase could be a “pivot point for increased deal activity, deal sizes, and valuations,” Mitch Siegel of KMPG told MarketWatch.
Marketwatch, citing Delogic data, highlighted that, already this year, there have been 346 fintech deals across the world. This compares to 884 in 2017 and 575 in 2016.
