PeP acquires Simapka to boost mobile and financial services offered in Poland

By Joy Dumasia

Polskie ePłatności (PeP), part of the European PayTech Nets / Nexi Group, has acquired a majority stake in Team4U, the owner of Simapka, an app for owners of shops and service points. The move follows several acquisitions made by PeP over the past five years, including NeoTu, PayUp, TopCard, Billbird and PayLane, as part of its drive to become the leading provider of cashless payments in Poland.

Simapka provides solutions that enhance distribution and sales processes for retail outlets. Its app allows the registration of SIM cards, sale of GSM top-ups or gift cards, number transfer between operators, and new features in financial services, including loans and insurance. The free application can be used on various platforms, such as a web browser, smartphone, tablet, or an Android terminal. 

Robert Hoffman, CEO of Nets Merchant Services, part of Nexi Group, said: “Together with PeP and Team4U, we want to build an ecosystem in which payments will be supplemented by numerous additional services offered by POS. Our goal is to ensure retail outlets across Europe benefit from the rapid digitisation of payments via solutions like Simapka’s mobile application. We’re proud to welcome Team4U into the Nexi family and look forward to helping them continue to grow in the Polish market.” 

PeP’s development-based acquisitions strategy reflects Nexi’s ambition to become the leading European PayTech and goes hand in hand with its own dynamic organic growth. The National Bank of Poland stated that nearly 100,000 new terminals were added to Poland in 2021, and over 30,000 were PeP Point-of-Sale terminals. It was the highest annual increase in terminals across the Polish market, reflecting consumer desire for POS terminals that accept the latest digital payments and positioning PeP in the top three largest payment operators in Poland. 

Rafał Rasmus, CEO at Team4U (owner of Simapka), added: “Bringing our company into the PeP Group – the fastest growing payment solutions provider in Poland last year opens up many new opportunities for Simapka. With PeP and as part of Nexi Group, we can increase the availability of our services to a new group of customers. It also allows us to create new features that can be implemented in Android, allowing our customers to use PeP’s services to help further digitise their lives.”

IBS Intelligence also reported Softpay.io, Nets, part of Nexi Group, has introduced the new and innovative softPOS solution, Softpay, that enables merchants to accept contactless payments on Android smartphones and tablets, just like a payment terminal, without additional hardware.