Paylib targets 25 million users by the end of 2021

Paylib is gaining momentum. On November 26th, the mobile payment solution announced that three new banks – Crédit Mutuel, CIC and Bred – will offer its “Paylib among friends” functionality. “These three players represent the 20% of the market that we were missing,” confided to L’Agefi Vincent Duval, CEO of Paylib.

Launched in 2013, the fintech company has managed to convince all the major French banks to use its solution. Only HSBC France, busy with a disposal project, is not part of the lot. For its part, the BPCE group decided last June to stop contactless payment via Paylib, but to keep payment between friends.

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Like most mobile payment applications, Paylib took advantage of the health crisis

After the containment phases, average usage is 8 transactions per month per asset (6.5 for in-store payment and 1.5 for sending money between people), which represents half the usage of a bank card.

At the beginning of 2020, Paylib claimed a figure of five transactions per month. Since the crisis, the number of subscribers has been multiplied by three and the use by each has increased by 30%. “We have 15 million registrants and we have the ambition to reach 20 or 25 million by the end of 2021,” explained the head of the fintech company

Payment in stores has been “boosted” by the health crisis. “The increase in the ceiling for contactless payment cards from $36 (€30) to $60 (€50) has not hindered the use of mobile payment,” explained his boss. In-store Paylib is only available on Android “because Apple locks the NFC antenna for its own Apple Pay application,” said his boss.

A recently tabled regulation bill

“When we will be able to access the iPhone’s NFC antenna, we will mechanically double the usage and number of Paylib users in-store,” Vincent Duval said. To achieve that, he is banking in particular on a bill tabled in mid-November by LREM deputy Pierre-Alain Raphan, aimed at regulating contactless mobile payment. “This bill will allow the development of European alternatives to Gafa, it’s a good initiative which is very pragmatic”, he added.

The growth of its e-commerce activity has continued during the pandemic “but without seeing the same acceleration as for Paylib in stores or ‘Paylib with friends,'” explained the boss of the fintech company which claims 4,000 e-commerce customers. “The exceptional opening of Paylib between friends to merchants for ‘click and collect’ helps local shops to support their activity with this form of digitalization,” he added.

According to a survey by App Annie, a global provider of mobile data and analysis, Paypal was the most downloaded finance application during the month of August in France, followed by Tricount. Lydia came in 5th position and Paylib in 9th.

Moreover, if some of its competitors, including Paypal, bet on cryptocurrencies, Paylib prefers to remain discreet on this subject. “If tomorrow there is a digital euro, we will be able to use the same customer interface but it is not a necessity to offer our services which are already secure and instantaneous,” explained Vincent Duval. “As such, the blockchain is a technology that we do not rule out, but it is not essential for us to offer people the payment and money exchange services corresponding to their needs.”

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(Featured image by Blake Wisz via Unsplash)

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First published in L’AGEFI, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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