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PayPal (PYPL) Acquires iZettle, Boosts Competitive Strength

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In a bid to bolster presence in the payment industry, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL - Free Report) has acquired iZettle, a Stockholm-based fintech startup.  

Notably, iZettle is a developer of small, wireless chip readers and also offers services like providing capital, invoicing and inventory management. The startup has 500K merchants on its platform which will improve PayPal’s merchant base.

The deal worth $2.2 billion is the biggest acquisition for PayPal to date. This acquisition will strengthen PayPal’s presence globally, especially in Europe and Brazil.

Gaining Competitive Edge

PayPal’s competitive position in various regions and against the likes of — Square (SQ - Free Report) , Shopify (SHOP - Free Report) and PagSeguro Digital has been enhanced by the latest acquisition.

Reportedly, iZettle operates in 12 countries with a strong presence in the regions like South America and Europe including France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Per the data from SimilarWeb, iZettle drives more traffic in of these countries than Square.

Additionally, the buyout will aid the company in expanding its offline reach in the United States, the U.K. and Australia. This will further strengthen the company’s competitive position against Square.

Further, iZettle focuses more on small-to-medium-sized firms and has recently launched a new e-commerce software solution. This new launch will enable the merchants to build their online inventory by setting up an online store and attract new customers providing tough competition to Shopify.

Additionally, iZettle competes with PagSeguro in Brazil which again provides a competitive edge to PayPal.

We believe the company’s customer base is likely to gain from the acquisition in the near time.

 

Competition Intensifies in Payments Market

The online payment industry is growing at a rapid pace with the innovative products and payment solutions. The market has gained traction with significant growth in mobile use which is likely to rise at a faster pace with the growing number of mobile P2P transfers and increasing mobile shopping.

Notably, in order to reap the benefits of this immense growth potential in the online payment market, several tech giants are trying to cement their position through innovations and buyouts.

Apple (AAPL - Free Report) in collaboration with Goldman Sachs, is planning to introduce a joint credit card to promote its payment app, Apple Pay.

Reportedly, Amazon is trying to add P2P payment feature to its voice assistant, Alexa which is likely to provide tough competition to PayPal’s Venmo.

Also, Facebook’s strong focus toward leveraging the power of blockchain in order to develop its own cryptocurrency payment app will only intensify the competition.

PayPal is also shaping its growth trajectory through strategic acquisitions and partnerships with large banks and technology firms. The company’s partnerships with CaixaBank, Bankia, HSBC and Barclays Bank only reinforce its position in the market.

Additionally, the introduction of new services and offers for the debit and credit card users by collaborating with JP Morgan and Bank of America will continue to attract customers to its platform.

Currently, PayPal carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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