Adyen willing to take hit on fees to grab new business

Dutch payments firm Adyen is willing to take a hit on the transaction fees it charges in order to win new business, CFO Ingo Uytdehaage said on Wednesday, adding its platform model would support profit margins as volumes scale up.

“Take rates have come down over time because of our volume policy - the more volume you get the lower pricing you get,” Uytdehaage told the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Once clients are up and running, however, the cost of each additional transaction “is basically zero”, he said. “We are more focused on margins.”

Adyen, whose shares doubled after it floated on the Dutch stock market in June and which recently won clothing retailer H&M as a client, is also targeting mid-sized retailers that pay higher fees.

“Mid-market is helping with take rates. Mid-market customers want to work with us, they see the benefits that big companies get from our platform and want to work with us,” said Uytdehaage.

Shares in Adyen fell sharply, with some market players citing a downmove in German peer Wirecard following third-quarter results.