Affirm and Nuvei are buying companies that already sit inside stores' payments

Two financial technology companies are buying firms that merchants already use. Affirm plans to buy Ratepay, a German pay-later company. Nuvei plans to buy Payoneer, which handles accounts and payouts. Both deals add a service to a payment relationship that already exists.

What changed

Nexi announced on Monday (Nov. 9) that Affirm would acquire Ratepay. Ratepay serves merchants in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It lets shoppers place an order and pay the invoice later.

Affirm also signed a memorandum of understanding with Nexi to expand their existing partnership in the same three markets. Nexi plans to provide local and technical support after closing. Regulatory approvals are expected in the first half of 2027.

The Nuvei and Payoneer deal

Nuvei's proposed $2.75 billion purchase of Payoneer covers what a business needs after a sale. Nuvei handles payment acceptance. Payoneer offers accounts that hold several currencies, a banking network and cross-border payouts. A business paid abroad can keep the money in the currency it received or send it to a supplier in another market.

Payoneer shareholders voted in favor in September. The deal still needs regulatory approvals, and the target close is mid-2027. Payoneer also added payment licenses in Canada and Israel.

What the numbers show

• Payoneer's business-to-business volume rose 59% to $5 billion in the quarter.
• Enterprise payouts rose 14% to $7.4 billion.
• Small and midsize marketplace sellers made up roughly half of quarterly volume, at $12.6 billion, up 1%.

Adding financial products is hard. In a survey cited by PYMNTS Intelligence and WEX, 99% of companies had introduced some embedded finance, meaning financial services built into software they already use. Yet 93% reported difficulties, including technical setup, compliance and security. Buying a provider with merchants already connected avoids some of that.

What retailers say

In a separate PYMNTS Intelligence study, 81.1% of retailers cited strong regulatory and compliance capabilities when choosing a provider. Another 73% cited ease of integration. Some 82% said embedded finance improved the customer experience, but only 41% said it increased revenue.

In a February survey of 310 U.S. businesses that sourced abroad, 64% used a bank for overseas supplier payments in 2025. For FinTech providers, the figure was 30%. Among FinTech users, 91% rated them as good. Asked what to improve, 43% wanted faster processing and settlement, and 37% wanted lower fees or better exchange rates.

What to do

If you run a business, expect your payment provider to pitch more services. A new payment option can improve checkout and still leave you weighing the setup work against the sales it may bring. Both deals still need regulatory approval, so nothing changes for merchants yet.