Specialised payments platform Paysafe has bolstered its payments footprint after it signed an agreement to purchase ecommerce payments company SafetyPay for $441m in cash.
According to Paysafe, this latest deal strengthens its strategic foothold in Latin America and builds on its recent acquisition of Peruvian alternative payments platform PagoEfectivo.
The company added that, together, the two recent acquisitions set Paysafe up to be the leading open banking and eCash solutions provider in Latin America, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets.
Founded in 2007, Florida-headquartered SafetyPay provides a secure e-payment method that enables cash sales through a variety of sales channels, such as e-commerce or call centers, for consumers who wish to pay directly through their bank account or in cash without a bank account.
The company operates primarily in Latin America and has over 90% bank coverage, over 180,000 cash collection points and serves almost 300 merchants in the travel, digital goods and entertainment sectors.
Following the closing of the deal, Paysafe claims it will be ‘uniquely positioned’ to capture a share of the nascent open banking market by integrating further Paysafe services and solutions into Latin America’s payments ecosystem including its digital wallet and gateway capabilities.
The acquisition will also see current SafetyPay CEO Gustavo Ruiz Moya become CEO of eCash for Latin America and global head of open banking.
Paysafe CEO Philip McHugh said, “We are very excited to welcome SafetyPay into the Paysafe family. The team has successfully built a market-leading payment platform that has become the de-facto open banking solution for Latin America. We look forward to partnering with Gustavo and the team to continue to build eCash and online banking solutions across LATAM and beyond.
“Furthermore, by combining the capabilities and open banking network of both SafetyPay and PagoEfectivo with our existing solutions in processing, digital wallets and eCash, along with our deep expertise in specialized verticals such as iGaming, travel and digital goods, we can become the true market leader in the region and provide merchants with unique and powerful combinations to grow their business.”
Paysafe chairman of the board Bill Foley added, “We are really pleased to see SafetyPay and PagoEfectivo become part of Paysafe and expand our payment solutions across card payment processing, digital wallets, eCash and online banking payments with a strong foothold in high growth Latin American markets.
“We see exciting synergies in key industry verticals like iGaming where we want to win. From the start, we have had a plan to grow in areas where we can achieve scale through operational efficiency. It is great to see the team execute and create more opportunities for growth.”
The acquisition is expected to be concluded in the fourth quarter of this year.
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