Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform, announced that it has completed its acquisition of PagoEfectivo, a market-leading, Peruvian-based alternative payments (APM) platform. For Paysafe, the investment gives it a strategic foothold in Latin America, one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets where merchants and consumers alike are demonstrating an increased appetite for alternative payment methods and open banking solutions. Together with its recently announced plans to acquire SafetyPay, the two Latin American investments position Paysafe as a prominent payments partner in the region.
PagoEfectivo, formerly a subsidiary of Empresa Editora El Comercio S.A., (“Grupo El Comercio”), is a market leader in Latin America in the provision of eCash and open banking payments that enable millions of consumers in the region, many of whom are underbanked, to transact online. Founded in 2009, PagoEfectivo payment options are now also used by consumers in neighboring Ecuador and the company plans to expand into further Latin American countries. Its solutions are particularly popular with merchants operating in the iGaming, digital goods, travel and eCommerce industries amongst others; closely mirroring the industries in which Paysafe specializes.
The integration process of combining PagoEfectivo with Paysafe’s eCash and Open Banking division under Udo Mueller will now commence with PagoEfectivo CEO, Juan Fernando Villena accepting a new leadership role within the division and the full team transferring over. Once the SafetyPay transaction closes later in the year, the expanded Paysafe eCash business will be able to offer eCash and open banking solutions in over 60 countries with over one million distribution points.
Philip McHugh, Paysafe’s CEO, commented: “This strategic acquisition is a success on many levels for Paysafe. First, it reinforces our strategy of building on our strengths in specialized payments and growing our presence in fast-growing regions. Second, it allows us to cross-sell more of our leading payments offering, including digital wallets and payment processing services, to an expanded merchant customer base that operates in industries we are very focused on. Third, the addition of Juan Fernando and his team to our eCash division brings us further talent and payments expertise; no doubt about it, PagoEfectivo has an impressive track record for growth, and for possessing the pioneering flair and customer focus that we look for in Paysafe.”
