​Nets Group’s Paytrail Plans Checkout Finland Acquisition

Finnish payment service provider Paytrail Oyj, owned by ​Nets Group, is planning to acquire Checkout Finland Oy, part of OP Financial Group.

“The way we shop and transact online is somewhat different in Finland,” Markus Laurio, Paytrail CEO, said in a press release on Tuesday (Jan. 5). “Not least because of the enduring popularity of direct bank transfers. Understanding and developing our offerings as the experts in Finnish eCommerce has always been our passion.”

He added that by teaming up with Checkout Finland, the company can offer expanded services and insights to the people of Finland. The move aligns with Nets’ mission of strengthening its presence in the country while also supporting the company’s eCommerce goals in Europe.

Checkout Finland has experienced fast growth on all fronts of the Finnish payments environment — eCommerce, brick-and-mortar and mobile — and is anticipating to close out 2020 with revenues reaching almost €12 million.

“While we are seeing a move toward larger players in the industry, together with the rising number of smaller FinTech players, local know-how is also a key success factor,” said Robert Hoffmann, Nets Group CEO of merchant services.

He added that the company views eCommerce as “one of the biggest growth areas within payments,” and that the tie-up with Checkout Finland will advance innovation while also offering people “the best in online payments.”

Nets and OP Financial Group closed a 10-year partnership deal in 2017. The acquisition of Checkout Finland is anticipated to close in the first half of this year following approval from FIN-FSA, the country’s financial supervisory authority.

​Nets closed an “all-share” $10 billion merger deal with the Italian payments firm Nexi in November 2020, establishing a sizable pan-European payments platform. Nets, which was acquired by Hellman & Friedman in 2017, has continued to grow its core payments business via acquisitions.