The UK competition watchdog has provisionally cleared the purchase of iZettle by payments giant PayPal.

PayPal intends to take over the Swedish fintech at a cost of $2.2bn. The authority has stated that the deal does not raise competition concerns.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had previously been concerned that the deal might lower competition or raise prices in the UK mobile point of sale (mPOS) market.

SEE ALSO:

• PayPal invests in its first blockchain startup

• In focus: our top mobile payment app, PayPal

• PayPal, JPMorgan partner for instant bank transfer feature

• Read the latest issue of Gigabit!

PayPal actually purchased iZettle last year, but the deal has been put on hold while awaiting approval by the CMA.

PayPal Chief Executive Dan Schulman said: “We are pleased the CMA has provisionally cleared our transaction. We look forward to adding iZettle’s products and services to our platform to help small businesses access even more affordable tools to run their shops and compete against retail giants.”

iZettle was founded in 2011, and offers a range of financial products which include payment and point of sale solutions. Following the deal, PayPal will be its parent company.