PayPal expands its platform by acquiring iZettle

The acquisition of iZettle significantly expands PayPal's in-store presence, and thus strengthens the company’s reach when it comes to small businesses. "Small businesses are the engine of the global economy and we are continuing to expand our platform to help them compete and win online, in-store and via mobile," said PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman, in a press release. "iZettle and PayPal are a strategic fit, with a shared mission, values and culture—and complementary product offerings and geographies. In today's digital world, consumers want to be able to buy when, where and how they want. With nearly half a million merchants on their platform, Jacob de Geer and his team add best-in-class capabilities and talent that will expand PayPal's market opportunity to be a global one-stop solution for omnichannel commerce," Schulman continues.

Jacob de Geer, Dan Schulman and Bill Ready © PayPal

This combination brings together iZettle's in-store expertise, brand and digital marketing strength with PayPal's global scale, mobile and online payments leadership, and brand reputation. When the acquisition closes, PayPal will have gained in-store capabilities in Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. PayPal also gains near-term in-store expansion opportunities into other existing PayPal markets, and acceleration of omnichannel commerce solutions in Australia, U.K. and U.S. "Combining our assets and expertise with a global industry leader like PayPal allows us to deliver even more value to small businesses to help them succeed in a world of giants," said iZettle CEO Jacob de Geer. "The combination of iZettle and PayPal will provide tremendous benefits to our merchants who will have access to an even wider range of tools to help them get paid, sell smarter and grow." iZettle expects to generate gross revenues of approximately USD 165 million in 2018, with approximately USD 6 billion USD of total payment volume (TPV) expected to be processed on its platform. Once the acquisition closes, Jacob de Geer will continue to lead iZettle, which will operate as an integral part of PayPal's merchant services offering, reporting to PayPal's Chief Operating Officer Bill Ready.