Australian BNPL platform Zip acquires Prague-based Twisto for €89 million

Prague’s BNPL platform Twisto has been acquired by the Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Zip. Zip, who has already invested in the company, has agreed to purchase the outstanding shares for a fee of €89 million. The deal is expected to conclude in Q4 of this year. No staffing changes are planned, and founder and CEO Michal Smida will remain with the team.

This acquisition comes just months after the Sydney-based firm launched in the UK, and now via Twisto, the firm has access to the world’s second-largest e-commerce market, valued at $1.1 trillion in annual volume, via 27 EU member states.

Founded in 2013 by Michal Smida, Twisto has processed over 13 million transactions for more than 1 million customers in the past 8 years. The firm has received backing from ING Bank, UNIQA Ventures, Elevator Ventures (Raiffeisen Bank), Finch Capital, Kaya (formerly Enern), Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, and Angel Investor Mike Laven.

With the acquisition, Zip gains Twisto’s MasterCard membership with a primary issuing license and partnership with payment solutions provider Marqeta.

“We're excited to join the global Zip team to take advantage of the significant European opportunity and to continue to develop innovative BNPL solutions. There is a massive opportunity in Europe as BNPL follows the global trend with a shift away from the unfriendly world of credit cards,” comments Twisto founder and CEO Michal Smida. “Being part of Zip’s global platform will allow us to accelerate growth, expand to new markets, win global merchants operating in Europe, leverage global partnerships already in place and broaden our product offering.”