€300 Million for paydirekt, €500.000 for happybrush

paydirekt might get €300 Million from its founders. It is estimated that paydirekt has already received €100 Million. At the same time, paydirekt’s CEO, Niklas Bartelt, should be replaced (from Süddeutsche). paydirekt was founded by a couple of German banks in 2015 and offers C2C and online B2C payments. Martin Zielke, board chairman of Commerzbank, argued back in 2015 that paydirekt was not founded with the idea of replacing the competition, but rather co-existing with them as — so Zielke — the online payment space has room for more than one company (from Süddeutsche). I agree with Zielke, but it is also a very undifferentiated market where people won’t switch unless given a very good reason. The most significant reason in C2B is network size, i. e. how many shops support the system. This significance of network size implies the vital role of pull marketing; there is little use in convincing people to sign-up for a new service now, so that they can use it later. Instead, people will access an online shop, realize that there is a payment solution they do not have – but need – and thus sign-up for that very service. paydirekt’s push marketing questionable This