TargetMedia, a Dutch mobile and PSP (Payment Service Provider) business is shutting down its bank payments business, citing too much regulation and bookkeeping as the reasons for shutting up shop.
The company, which has been in the mobile business since 2000, started its PSP business in 2010. It is shutting its banks payment service on April 28 this year and will stop as a PSP, it says.
TargetMedia CEO Paul van Rooij said it was “better to stop while making money than to stop when you’ve started bleeding”.
No jobs are impacted by the move and TargetMedia will continue operating its mobile business. In a message to its customers, TargetMedia said:
“After careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that new legislation and regulations limit the future of smaller payment service providers, while large players can make substantial investments for a healthy future.
“Although TargetMedia is one of the longest existing PSPs and is in the top 5-10 in terms of size, it sees no realistic opportunity and has no desire to become a top-5 player.”
According to Crunchbase, TargetMedia has between 11 and 50 staff and it handled more than 250 million payment transactions in one year, according to its website.
Van Rooij said PSPs are subject to “more and more new bookkeeping rules & regulations”.
He added:
“We are more interested in doing business and building stuff which gives us more energy.
“If you want to survive in the longer term in the PSP world you need to become a bigger European player.
“We simply concluded that we want to make another choice and better to stop while making money then to stop when you’ve started bleeding. No more, no less.”
In the message to its customers, TargetMedia provided links to other PSPs which it said “could be a good choice for you”.
These include Dutch payments firm Mollie, and Greek payments startup Viva Wallet.
