Netflix, Uber, Facebook, AirBnB, Spotify., Evernote. What do they have in common? In terms of payments, they all use the services of Adyen, the Amsterdam-based payments giant. Adyen operates in more countries and currencies than competitor Stripe, and serves large, international operations, while Stripe works with startups and developers. Adyen’s global focus is one of its strengths. It is embedded in Asian markets where cash and phone bills are the preferred payment methods.

CEO Pieter van der Does recently discussed Adyen’s “secret ubiquity,” meaning that your hard-earned money, dear reader, has very likely passed through Adyen’s system at one time or another. Adyen is arriving soon at points-of-sale in the U.S., a move which pits it against incumbents such as Chase Paymentech and First Data. Van der Does is not worried. Unlike those laggards, he said, “We’re a true IT company and have the freedom to move and innovate.”

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