An executive at an EU fintech said that improving the financial relationship between the UK and the European Union would be a boon for payments platforms and merchants that have struggled with additional fees and regulatory requirements since Brexit.
Former PayPal and American Express executive Dave Smallwood has been appointed as the Managing Director of Dutch-based Mollie’s UK business, and he lamented the difficulties the fintech faced in obtaining a Payment Institution license in the country.
“I do think that a better Euro/UK relationship would be better for merchants, full stop,” Smallwood told Tech.eu. “The extra bureaucracy that Brexit caused the merchants selling something from the UK into Europe, or Europe into the UK…it makes things harder, reduces the opportunity for our customers. Anything that can lift that and make it better for them would be greatly received by us and many others.”
Closer Ties
Smallwood’s comments came in response to recent statements by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who expressed a desire to reset the country’s relationships with the EU.
Starmer has been working with Germany’s chancellor to create an agreement that would spur economic growth in both countries. However, the UK’s prime minister made it clear that there are no plans to reverse Brexit anytime soon.
Many Clashes
Since the UK withdrew from the European Union over a decade ago, there have been many clashes between UK and EU financial services providers. Recently, two EU trade associations raised concerns about the UK’s proposed cap on interchange fees for payments originating from cards issued by European financial institutions.
The UK’s goal was to reduce the fees incurred by UK businesses, but the trade organizations argued that capping interchange fees on EU cards would cause European financial institutions to lose money on every transaction.
These concerns have posed challenges for payments companies like Mollie, which operate in both regions. Still, Mollie has rapidly grown into a multibillion-dollar company with offices in the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and France.
However, the UK remains the largest e-commerce market in Europe, and Mollie has ambitious plans for the country. The fintech has stated that its objective is to become the UK’s leading financial services provider for small to medium-sized businesses.
