The Paydirekt payment option is closing down due to insufficient success.
Paydirekt was intended to rival Paypal, but it ultimately didn't gain enough traction: Based on a report, German banks and savings banks are planning to discontinue the payment method Paydirekt. The "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" revealed, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, that German banks and savings banks aim to wind down and shut down Paydirekt by the end of this year.
The news outlet quoted a Paydirekt spokesperson saying, "There are ongoing discussions at shareholder level regarding the future of Paydirekt GmbH as the operating company." Once "decisions are made," they will share information about it.
Launched in 2015, Paydirekt didn't pick up much popularity. In 2021, there was a merger with the bank-supported project Giropay, but even with both methods combined, they only achieved a market share of less than 1% by the end of 2022. Paypal, meanwhile, processed roughly one-third of all online purchases in Germany during that period.
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Despite its initial intention to challenge Paypal, Paydirekt struggled to gain popularity over the years. By the end of this year, German banks and savings banks aim to shut down Paydirekt due to insufficient success in the market. Despite merging with Giropay in 2021, Paydirekt and Giropay only managed to capture less than 1% market share by the end of 2022, while Paypal processed a third of all online purchases in Germany during the same period.
