The Company Quietly Handling Your Online Purchases

On a digital world map in the lobby of an Amsterdam office building, you can watch the synapses of capitalism’s hive mind fire in real time. Pop: A small bubble containing Airbnb’s logo flashes over Rio de Janeiro, signaling a payment processed on behalf of the hotel marketplace. Pop: There’s a monthly bill paid to Vodafone in London. Pop: a new subscriber to Spotify in Paris. Pop: a Netflix payment in Tokyo. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. During a busy second, 100 transactions can flash across the map. The daily average is 7 million.

This is the headquarters of Adyen, a payment processor whose 4,500 customers include many of the world’s best-known tech companies and largest retailers. Though virtually unknown to consumers, the 10-year-old company has quietly grown to handle $50 billion in transactions a year, twice the estimated volume of rival Stripe and 40 percent more than Square . And unlike those companies, Adyen turned a profit last year (€40 million, or $45 million).