STOCKHOLM, Sweden — PayPal, a U.S. based, leading technology platform company that enables digital and mobile payments on behalf of consumers and merchants worldwide is set to purchase Swedish online commerce startup iZettle for $2.2 billion.

The acquisition would strengthen its platform for handling payment transactions at small businesses — expanding PayPal’s reach into shops in Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

In an open letter on iZettle homepage, Jacob de Geer discussed the next chapter in the companies history following the announcement of the acquisition.

“Combining our assets and expertise with a global industry leader like PayPal allows us to deliver even more value to small businesses to help them succeed in a world of giants,” iZettle chief executive Jacob de Geer said in the release.

The Stockholm-based startup founded in 2010, is used by nearly a half million merchants, according to PayPal. It is expected to handle about $6 billion in transactions this year, taking in gross revenue of approximately $165 million in the process.

“Small businesses are the engine of the global economy and we are continuing to expand our platform to help them compete and win online, in-store and via mobile,” PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman said in a release.

“In today’s digital world, consumers want to be able to buy when, where and how they want.”

Big news – iZettle to join forces with PayPal. Becoming a part of the PayPal family will give us and our merchants an amazing opportunity to grow and expand. We’re so excited! Read Jacob’s thoughts on the news here: https://t.co/6Pc9eKOTKx pic.twitter.com/881a9TtzGq

— iZettle (@iZettle) 17 maj 2018