Mollie to acquire GoCardless & form EU payments giant

Mollie has agreed to acquire UK-based bank payments specialist GoCardless in a deal that will combine more than 350,000 business customers under a single European payments provider.

The transaction will create a group that integrates card payments, local payment methods and bank payments through one platform. The companies said the combined business will serve merchants ranging from small and medium-sized firms to large enterprises across multiple markets.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in mid 2026.

Combined network

Mollie is headquartered in Amsterdam and focuses on online and in-person payments and related financial services across Europe and the UK. GoCardless operates a global bank payment network and processes more than USD $130 billion of payments annually across over 30 countries.

The combined company will offer merchants card processing, direct debits, real-time bank payments and hyperlocal payment options under one provider. The firms said this will address common issues for businesses that manage recurring revenue streams or operate across multiple countries.

GoCardless serves over 100,000 customers and connects to more than 2,500 banks through open banking. Mollie said it is trusted by more than 250,000 businesses for payment acceptance and money management.

GoCardless reached adjusted EBITDA profitability earlier this year and has expanded its product set, including a disbursements service for payouts.

Management view

The deal will bring together senior leaders from two of Europe's better known fintech groups in the payments sector.

Koen Köppen, CEO of Mollie, said the combined business would address friction in money management for companies with recurring revenue.

"Mollie's mission has always been to make money management effortless. We were founded on the vision to eliminate financial bureaucracy for every business. We see that bureaucracy creates challenges, especially for businesses with recurring revenue. A card-only approach has its limits, leading to high costs due to failed payments and customer churn. GoCardless built the definitive solution to optimize this process with its global bank payment network. By bringing them into Mollie, we take a huge step towards fulfilling our vision and creating one complete platform for sustainable growth," said Köppen, CEO, Mollie.

GoCardless co-founder and CEO Hiroki Takeuchi said the acquisition would bring together complementary products and reach.

"We're incredibly excited to join forces with Mollie. This deal brings together two highly complementary businesses that have built best-in-class products across Europe and beyond. By combining our expertise in card, bank and hyperlocal payments into one provider, we can better serve our customers, accelerate growth and raise the bar for the industry. It's a win for European fintech and we're confident that the new company will be greater than the sum of its parts," said Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO, GoCardless.

Product integration

The integration of GoCardless products into the Mollie platform will take place in stages. The companies said they would maintain service continuity and local customer support throughout the process.

The combined offering will give large businesses the option to consolidate their European payment set-up under one provider. Small and medium-sized businesses will gain access to subscription-focused bank payments tools that are typically used by larger enterprises.

The new group will place particular emphasis on recurring revenue management for subscription and membership businesses. GoCardless's bank payment network supports direct debit and other account-to-account methods that reduce failed payments and payment-related churn compared with card-only billing models.

SaaS platforms and vertical software providers that use Mollie Connect will be able to integrate GoCardless's bank payments into their own products. Their customers will have the option to accept both card and bank payments through a single embedded solution.

The platform will also feature local onboarding and integrations with regional business software, local reporting formats and domestic payment methods such as iDEAL in the Netherlands, Satispay in Italy and Twint in Switzerland.

Broader services

Mollie will include existing services such as Mollie Capital, which provides financing, within the expanded group offering. The platform will also include fraud monitoring and analytics tools.

GoCardless currently uses AI-based systems to improve payment success and reduce fraud across its bank payments network. It also uses open banking connectivity for faster information on customer bank accounts.

The combined company plans a simplified pathway for merchants that enter and expand in new international markets through unified access to its payment services.

The firms said they expect the phased integration to support growth in both European and global markets once the deal closes in 2026.