The U.K. competition regulator leveled a $250,000 fine against Paypal Holdings Inc. in connection with its $2.2 billion acquisition of mobile point-of-sale provider Izettle AB in 2018. 

The U.K. Competition & Markets Authority originally notified Paypal in April that it was launching an investigation into the acquisition of Izettle. The agency informed Paypal in June that the company was not in compliance with its initial enforcement order, which called for the companies to operate separately in that market. 

The agency found that Paypal contacted 76 customers that had a presence in the U.K. regarding cross-selling pilot campaigns in France and Germany, and gave the impression that the two companies were operating together.  

Paypal was not pleased with the ruling, but indicated that it respects the process. 

"While we respectfully disagree with the CMA's conclusions, we understand the importance of Initial Enforcement Orders in the U.K.'s merger control regime and treated compliance with the IEO with the utmost importance throughout the merger review," a Paypal spokesman said via email. "The CMA has confirmed that the alleged infractions that led to this fine were not intentional and did not have any impact in practice."

The spokesman said the concerns were remediated right after the CMA raised concerns, adding that PayPal, while disappointed, takes compliance seriously and has learned from the process. 

Cover image courtesy of Izettle.