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The Adyen logo displayed on a smartphone.
Rafael Henrique | Images SOPA | LightRocket via Getty Images
Dutch payments giant Adyen said on Thursday it had secured approval for a UK banking license, marking the company’s deeper push into banking.
The company said its new license would allow its merchants to offer cash advances to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK.
Adyen said the license would allow it to continue to operate under the UK’s temporary authorization scheme – under which it can provide services in line with its EU business – after Brexit.
Adyen already has a license in the Netherlands as an acquiring bank. As such, the company can process merchant payments almost instantly, rather than relying on banking partners to handle settlements, which can often take several days.
Adyen’s UK merchants can already offer their customers bank accounts, virtual or physical cards, as well as cash flow and expense management.
“The UK is a key market for Adyen and we are delighted to consolidate our position here with this banking authorisation,” said Mariëtte Swart, Adyen’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer.
“This will strengthen our ability to help domestic and international businesses achieve their ambitions faster. It’s another step towards Adyen becoming a global, full-spectrum fintech platform.”
A competitor to US payments giant Stripe, Adyen is one of Europe’s biggest tech companies, with a market capitalization of 23.4 billion euros ($25 billion). The company rallied after its first-half results showed the slowest revenue growth on record.
Shares of the company fell 39% on August 31, wiping 18 billion euros from Adyen’s market value. Shares of Adyen were down about 1% on Thursday.
Adyen’s license approval comes as one of the UK’s largest fintech companies, Revolut, struggles to secure a license from the Bank of England. Revolut applied for a license two years ago but faced delays. Regulators have had to consider many concerns, including the company’s late filing of accounts and internal issues related to corporate culture.
Revolut says it has worked to improve its corporate culture internally. The company also saw its chief financial officer, who was in charge at the time of the delays in its accounts, leave at the start of the year.
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