Klarna wants to acquire German payment company BillPay

Klarna is reported to have made a bid for German payment service BillPay. That company is now owned by Wonga, a major British short-term lender which lending practices have been controversial. Wonga is said to consider the offer Swedish fintech company Klarna has made.

Sky News released the news last week saying how Wonga is exploring a sale of BillPay “following a fresh takeover approach” for the short-term lender. Wonga has been controversial after several scandals and a regulatory crackdown because of its short-term lending activities. For example, last year it was ordered to pay more than 2.5 million pounds in compensation to 45,000 customers who were sent letters purporting to be from non-existent law firms.

Wonga acquired BillPay just three years ago. Back then, the UK company said the acquisition will accelerates Wonga’s development into a broad-based digital finance group. But now, Wonga is rebuilding its business and considering the offer it got for BillPay, one of its most valuable divisions.

About BillPay

BillPay is a German online payment provider and was founded in 2009. It’s headquartered in Berlin and offers its services in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

About Klarna

Klarna is a Swedish company and one of Europe’s leading payment providers. It processed almost 8 billion euros in payments last year and is active in 18 countries across the world. It recently took over the team behind insolvent fintech startup Cookies, which wanted to simplify mobile money transfers.