Société Générale acquires PayXpert

Societe Generale has announced its acquisition of a new British FinTech, PayXpert. The move will give the French bank a new base of payment solutions for both physical and online commerce, and will help it to develop its omnichannel offering in Europe.

FACTS

• Societe Generale has just made official its signature with the FinTech PayXpert with a view to its acquisition by the French banking group, via a majority stake.

• As a reminder, PayXpert is a British FinTech created in 2009 and offering payment and payment acceptance solutions to merchants and e-retailers whatever the payment method presented (bank cards, mobile applications, QR code...).

• The fintech supports international payments on the Visa, Mastercard, WeChat Pay and Alipay networks and covers the needs of more than 650 customers in over 170 countries in more than 150 currencies.

• Societe Generale and PayXpert plan to join forces to develop this offer and enrich it with new complementary services, ranging from credit (with split payments) to integrated insurance.

• The approval of this merger is subject to the approval of the competition authorities.

CHALLENGES

• Expand its ambitions to better impact the market: The spread of new payment acceptance offers is no longer limited to national borders and their democratisation even depends on the ability of players to offer widely acceptable solutions (Square, PayPal, SumUp, etc.). With the support of Société Générale, PayXpert could realise its ambition to become a reference in payment acceptance in Europe.

• Overcoming competition from the historical players: La Banque Postale, as the historical French bank and direct competitor of Société Générale, has also been offering an alternative acceptance service since the beginning of the year. Developed by a specialist company, the Noe Money mPOS is limited to French customers.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• The payment acceptance market has recently been marked by the positioning and development of offers from alternative players. In this respect, PayXpert was no exception to the rule as a FinTech.

• Thus, in addition to the launch of Apple's Tap To Pay, Revolut recently presented its offer for Europe, and Paynt or Norbr have demonstrated the relevance of alternative models.

• All markets are concerned internationally, illustrating the need for financial groups to offer solutions that are now open outside their national borders.