Spotlight On Payments: Mollie Capital’s Evolution from Payment Processing to Financial Services

Since its inception in 2004, Mollie, headquartered in Amsterdam, has transcended its role as a mere payment processor to become a catalyst for business growth across Europe. With a client base exceeding 200,000, Mollie has expanded its services beyond traditional payment methods like credit cards and PayPal, venturing into the realm of financial services with the introduction of Mollie Capital.

Mollie Capital represents a paradigm shift in business financing, offering a swift and adaptable solution for accessing funds. In contrast to the bureaucratic hurdles of traditional lending institutions, Mollie Capital distinguishes itself by charging a fixed one-time fee and facilitating repayments as a percentage of daily sales, thereby synchronizing repayment schedules with the merchant’s cash flow.

The recent launch of Mollie Capital in the UK marks a significant milestone in addressing the pressing need for accessible funding among SMEs in the country, particularly amidst a burgeoning startup landscape. Traditional lenders often burden these enterprises with onerous financial documentation requirements and protracted decision-making processes, stifling their growth potential.

Mia Hunter, the Managing Director of Mollie UK, underscores the significance of this launch, emphasizing Mollie Capital’s role in eliminating financial bureaucracy for SMEs. She highlights the historic neglect of small and mid-size UK merchants by traditional financial institutions, positioning Mollie Capital as a beacon of hope for driving sustainable growth through its streamlined funding mechanism.

Mollie’s commitment to supporting startups is further evidenced by its user-friendly application process, which allows merchants to apply for funding seamlessly after just 90 days of processing payments with Mollie. This accessibility streamlines the funding process, empowering startups to fuel their growth initiatives without unnecessary hurdles.

Moreover, Mollie’s emphasis on flexibility extends to its repayment structure, with merchants afforded the convenience of repaying loans through a fixed one-time fee and adjustable repayments tied to their daily sales volume. This approach ensures that repayment obligations remain aligned with the merchant’s revenue flow, mitigating financial strain and fostering a conducive environment for sustainable growth.

The impact of Mollie Capital reverberates through success stories from grateful entrepreneurs who have leveraged its services to propel their businesses forward. Sebastian Bakker, General Director of Cookinglife, attests to the pivotal role played by Mollie Capital in facilitating crucial investments during renovation, ensuring operational success during peak periods. Similarly, Tom Kapitein, Co-founder of Glamour your Hair, credits Mollie Capital for catalyzing a significant uptick in sales figures, enabling steady growth and customer satisfaction.

With its recent acquisition of a UK payment institution license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Mollie is poised to expand its footprint and offer fully integrated financial services to its UK-based clientele. This regulatory approval represents a strategic milestone for Mollie, paving the way for enhanced collaboration and growth opportunities in the dynamic UK market.

In essence, Mollie’s evolution from a payment processor to a comprehensive financial services provider underscores its unwavering commitment to simplifying payments and money management for businesses across Europe. As Mollie continues to innovate and empower entrepreneurs, it remains steadfast in its mission to dismantle financial barriers and champion effortless money management for all businesses, regardless of size or stature.

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Post-Brexit: data protection
Card processor sends sensitive data to wrong address
24 August 2022

Worldline SA subsidiary Payone GmbH has been accused of breaching data protection rules after it sent sensitive employee payroll information to the wrong address by accident. The Worldline Group holdS a 60% stake in the Frankfurt based company who have a small UK market presence.

In June 2021, one of Payone GmbH’s ex UK employees (the data subject) received a “potential data breach notification” from the firm advising him that his salary, National Insurance data, nationality (Special Category Data) was amongst various bits of information sent to an incorrect home address.

This included personal information such as the former employees name, age and address.  It also included details such as the date of birth and the amount of annual work bonus he received in his bank account amongst other identifiable data.

Payone GmbH confirmed that this document was sent out in error following an employee making a mistake when re-entering data processed by their third-party payroll provider.  The error arose when the employee was fulfilling an Article 15 GDPR request. The error was spotted by the data subject when he noticed in an email version of the document that the postal address was incorrect. An attempt to notify Payone GmbH of the error went in vain as the document was already irretrievably despatched.

The data subject was alarmed with the incident which exposed him to the possibility of fraudulent activity, amidst reasonable fears his data could end up on the dark web and used by criminals.  Habitually resident in the UK he complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in June 2021. He similarly raised the concern in Germany via The Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI).

The ICO reprimanded Payone GmbH for the error in their final decision letter.
Similarly, the HBDI cited a violation of Article 5(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relating to integrity and confidentiality.

The ICO stated in their July 2021 findings that Payone GmbH, “should take steps to ensure that all personal data records are accurate and up to date. Holding inaccurate information, such as addresses, does increase the risk of personal data breaches and poses risks to the security of information”.

The HBDI confirmed in their October 2021 findings that Payone GmbH had taken remedial action. They concluded that a monetary fine would not be imposed on Payone GmbH as they had taken technical and organisational steps in response to the data breach. Data subjects could now request their data in an autonomous portal.

The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, gave the Information Commissioner’s Office greater powers to tackle data breaches. The new ‘UK GDPR’ charts its own course after Brexit whilst seeking to maintain EU GDPR adequacy.  In extreme scenarios, organisations face penalties of up to £20m or 4 per cent of their global worldwide turnover, whichever is more.

In the years prior to GDPR, the ICO fines were capped at £500,000.

The data subject said: “I am just glad I spotted it; they were going to resend the document again to another wrong address. Prior to Brexit the process would have been commenced via the ICO who in turn would liaise with the HBDI on the data subjects’ behalf; but I found myself communicating with both authorities separately which was an additional step but in the end was surprisingly
effective. Unfortunately, Payone GmbH again sent my incorrect address to the
Workers Pension Trust in January 2022, and documents yet again went to the wrong address. In my opinion they have not learned from the first time and my complaint is sitting with the ICO yet again”.

The former employee is pursuing a remedy under Article 82 UK GDPR via
the Court’s of England & Wales.

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