Incorporated in 2009, BillPay is a payment startup based out of Berlin and is one of the leading German online payment providers. With over 140 employees, it offers its services and products in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The value of the transaction is not disclosed but few reports speculate the price around £60 million ($75 million).
It has now been acquired by Swedish fintech business Klarna, a German-based startup founded by payday lender Wonga. Klarna today announces the acquisition of German online payment company BillPay, strengthening its position as one of the leading payment providers in Europe and accelerating its growth in the region.
BillPay enables online shops to offer invoice, direct debit, and flexible pay later installment so that customers can easily, safely and conveniently pay with their preferable payment method while shopping online.
For merchants, BillPay guarantees full payment and accepts the complete risk. Over 5,000 online shops and 12 million customers are using the platform. BillPay CEO, Nelson Holzner, commented,
We are thrilled to join the Klarna team. Together we will have a market leading position in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and will be able to offer our merchants and users highly attractive payment options in more international markets in an ever-increasing cross-border e-commerce environment.
The acquisition is subject to approval by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, commented,
We are excited to be working with BillPay and their talented team in Berlin. By combining our skills and expertise, and leveraging BillPay’s deep market knowledge, product features and consumer offering, we are confident that we can offer even more innovative payment services to our customers.
He added Germany is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, and the team is glad to have strengthened their position in the region with this acquisition.
Founded in 2005, Klarna is one of Europe’s leading payments providers, that works with 65,000 merchants to offer payment solutions to more than 45 million users in Europe and North America. In 2015, Klarna valued at $2.25 billion.
