In general, the fintech market can be divided into different segments. The payments segment is of major relevance, especially in relation to mergers and acquisitions. This segment, which includes the giant payment service providers PayPal and Klarna, has a share of approx. 80% – as measured by revenue[1] – in the total fintech market.
Although payments is the largest segment in terms of turnover volume, the margin of companies in this segment is often low due to the intense competition. For this reason, size matters in this segment and increasing consolidation is to be expected. Currently, a large number of consolidations and takeovers, or M&A activities, are taking place; for instance last year the payments company Wordline bought its French peer Ingenico for approx. EUR 7.1 bn.[2]
[1] Defined as the volume of mobile payments.
[2] Cf. BankingHub (2020): Merger and acquisition series (M&A) in the payments market continues.
