Payment processors Afterpay and Sezzle come to Germany

The two fintechs want to compete with Klarna and Ratepay. Sezzle is already in Berlin, Afterpay is still looking for a German head.

The market for payment processors in Germany is growing: the listed US company Sezzle is launching in Germany. Lukas Zels becomes Director of Operations, Managing Director for Europe will be Josef Seilern, reports Finance Forward. Both are the founders of the start-up Locafox, a manufacturer of cash register systems. Locafox was acquired by Anker last year. Zels previously worked at Rocket Internet. For the location in Berlin, 22 positions are advertised. First customers are MyProtein and the CBD manufacturer Vaay.

Australian payment processor Afterpay is also coming to Germany, but is called Clearpay in Europe because the name is already used by another company. Currently, Clearpay is still looking for a Head of Germany, Finance Forward reports. Clearpay has a license in Spain, which they can use across Europe.

The two companies' main competitor is Swedish payment service provider Klarna. The German competitor is Ratepay. Apple has also announced its entry into the bill payment business. "Apple Pay in 4" is designed to allow customers to pay bills on a delayed basis, all without interest.