The volume of payments (acquiring) of online merchants in EU countries reached 543 billion euros in 2022. Over the past decade, it has almost doubled due to the withdrawal of cash from circulation, the growth of e-commerce and business digitalization. The market is expected to grow further. Such a large market volume makes the acquisition very attractive for many companies.
There are several categories of players in the European acquiring market, but next-generation pay-tech companies like NJoy by Anatoly Makeshin and Kevin are gaining ground in an industry typically dominated by traditional banks and embedded software developers.
NJoy Payments, founded last year by entrepreneur Anatoly Makeshin, is already actively developing in Latvia, hoping to eventually compete with the leaders of this market. This product designed for the SME segment connects the service quickly via a personal account. It is known that the company provides online payment card processing with several top-notch payment methods, form integration possibilities, which apparently improves the payment process and provides the payer with the joy of online shopping.
Kevin, another growing newcomer to the acquiring market, which offers merchants a personalized payment screen for their brands and easy access to European banks.
The unique characteristics of these new companies, such as high automation, cost-effectiveness and a simultaneously personal attitude towards each client, are likely to cause a revolution in the world of paid technology.
For traditional banks, acquiring is a secondary activity, while most of their profits are made on traditional banking products. Thus, banks make acquisitions mainly for large companies, to which they can simultaneously provide other services, such as loans. Acquisitions in the traditional banking sector are even more limited as it is not profitable for them to focus on small and medium-sized businesses, which would require additional investment to develop the necessary automated processes. Banks therefore mainly focus on large companies.
A more popular acquisition option is offered by embedded software vendors. Their solutions not only make payments, but also issue invoices, keep accounts, etc. Examples include the American services Square (part of Block Inc.), Clover (part of Fiserv Inc.) and Toast, which specializes in software for restaurants and the processing of different types of payments. There are also strong European pay technology companies, such as Dutch company Adyen, which is one of the market leaders in payment processing not only in Europe but globally, as well as companies like Nexi Group, which dominate certain markets such as the Italian and Scandinavian markets. .
However, the European acquisition market is generally fragmented. In France, for example, most online payments are processed by banks, which often have complex procedures. In Greece, cash payments are still preferred and acquisitions have only recently gained momentum. But there is huge growth potential for the paytech sector in Europe, given the rise of alternative payments such as digital wallets, money transfer systems and cryptocurrencies.
There are hundreds of acquiring companies operating in the European market and each is capable of finding its own niche. After all, a small trading company that employs only a few people may prefer pay-tech companies to a large bank, which may be too expensive and inconvenient. And the features of fintech companies that offer payments as part of expensive business management software are not an attractive solution for small businesses, which aim to minimize costs.
Often, small businesses only need basic functionality from an acquirer: a low commission and a user-friendly interface for itself and its customers, as well as fast payments in order to avoid any problems or malfunctions. which may result in loss of orders and revenue. This is where next-generation pay tech companies like NJoy Payments and Kevin come in. They are user-friendly and their solutions are based on advanced technologies, including machine learning to automate payment processes and ensure high conversion. Next-generation paytech enables easy self-integration for merchants and integrates them with all available low-cost payment solutions.