The deal will allow PayU to strengthen its presence in Turkey

PayU acquires Turkish digital payments provider. Source: shutterstock.com

PayU today announces the acquisition of iyzico – a digital payment services provider and one of the most hotly tipped fintech start-ups in Turkey – for $165 million. The acquisition, which adds to the over $500 million PayU deployed across fintech investments and M&A, is a further step in the company’s effort to become the leading payments provider in high growth markets and the world’s leading fintech investor.

Even though e-commerce in Turkey has been growing stable of over 10% each year, it is still in its infancy with a share in total sale less than 5%. The SMB opportunity alone is significant with the potential for 10x expansion over the next few years. Today only 5% of SMBs in Turkey have an online sale presence but, also thanks to government programs favoring digitalization, the percentage is expected to increase, representing a large opportunity for enablers such as ecommerce marketplaces and payment processors.

Founded in 2013, iyzico provides secure payments to over 300 marketplaces (with over 400,000 personal sellers of different sizes) as well as 30,000 online merchants which are using its checkout solution. Amazon, Nike, H&M, and Zara are among the brands which have chosen iyzico as a partner in Turkey.

The deal will allow PayU to not only strengthen its presence in Turkey and accelerate its SMB business with iyzico’s automated solutions but facilitate building an “online bridge” between Turkey and CEE countries and Africa to encourage more cross-border trade in local currencies in the region. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close in the next few months.

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