PayU to buy Iyzico, a digital payment processor from Turkey, for USD 165 million

PayU announces the acquisition of Iyzico – a digital payment processor and one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Turkey – for USD 165 million. The acquisition, which adds to the over USD 500 million invested by PayU in the fintech and M & A sector, is a step forward in the quest of becoming the leader of online payments in emerging markets and the world’s leading fintech investor.

The acquisition will enable PayU to strengthen its leadership position in the online payment market and accelerate the growth and efficiency of the company in Turkey, a country with a huge opportunity to grow e-commerce and online payments.

Even though Turkey’s e-commerce market has grown steadily by over 10 percent each year, it is still in its infancy, with online trade accounting for less than 5 percent of the entire trading market. Only for the SME market the potential is significant, with growth forecasts in the next few years 10 times compared to the current market. At present, only 5% of Turkish SMEs have an online presence. At the same time, due to government programs that support digitization, it is predicted that the percentage will increase, this being an opportunity for players such as marketplace platforms and payment processors.

Founded in 2013, Iyzico provides secure electronic payment services for over 300 marketplaces (with over 400,000 sellers of different sizes) as well as for 30,000 online merchants. Amazon, Nike, H & M and Zara are among the brands that have chosen Iyzico as a trusted partner in Turkey.

By completing the digital services provided by PayU, the agreement will not only strengthen the company’s presence in Turkey and accelerate partnerships with SMEs through Iyzico’s automated solutions, but also facilitate the creation of a “digital bridge” between Turkey and the Central and Eastern European countries East and Africa to encourage cross-border online trade in local currencies in each region.

“PayU has acquired Iyzico as a benchmark in fulfilling our mission of consolidating our local position and becoming the primary payment provider in every emerging market we are in. We are pleased to We have our PayU founders with Barbaros, Tahsin and their entire Iyzico team as we integrate their business with accelerated growth in a key step in our journey to become the world’s leading global financial investor,” says Laurent le Moal, CEO of PayU.

“In 2013, we set up Iyzico to enable SMEs across Turkey to accept online payments, an effort that turned into a team of 150 people and billions and today we unite forces with PayU, the global leader and main investor in the fintech market, with a rich history and extensive experience in online payments in emerging markets. We look forward to joining the PayU team and to work with highly qualified experts in payments, thus consolidating the company’s leadership position in Turkey and globally,” says Barbaros Özbuğutu, co-founder and CEO of Iyzico.

The transaction was made on the background of a positive outlook for the Turkish market in terms of e-commerce, online payments and significant opportunities for SMEs. This is subject to the approval of the regulators and is expected to end in the coming months.

PayU is the fintech and e-payments division of Naspers, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.