Image credit: LinkedIn (PaySafe)
A week after acquiring US-based SafetyPay, UK-based fintech company Paysafe has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Berlin-based fintech company, viafintech, in an all-cash transaction. However, the sale price was not disclosed in the company’s statement.
As part of the deal, viafintech’s managing directors, Sebastian Seifert, Achim Bönsch and Andreas Veller, will become part of Paysafe’s expanding eCash and open banking solutions team, headed by Paysafe eCash CEO, Udo Müller.
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The deal is expected to be completed over the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and fulfillment of applicable laws and regulations.
Sebastian Seifert, Co-founder and Managing Director of viafintech, said: “We are delighted to become part of the Paysafe Group and believe this move will enable us to build on our business achievements to date and accelerate our future growth as Europe’s number one, non-banking, cash-in / cash-out infrastructure, further fuelling the shift away from legacy banking and driving more financial inclusion in general.”
How does the acquisition benefit Paysafe?
The acquisition will not only boost Paysafe’s growth opportunities in Germany but will also create revenue-generating opportunities to cross-sell viafintech’s alternative banking and payments solutions to its merchants globally. The acquisition will also allow the company to solidify its position as a global market leader for eCash and open banking solutions.
Paysafe had also acquired PagoEfectivo, a Peruvian alternative payments (APM) platform, earlier this month. On completion of the three acquisitions, The company’s eCash business will be able to offer their services in over 60 countries with over one million distribution points.
Udo Müller, CEO, Paysafe eCash and Open Banking, commented: “We are very excited to welcome a star player like viafintech into the Paysafe family. We believe the team is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the shift away from the legacy banking system in Germany and beyond as more and more challenger banks enter the market and consumers opt to use mobile-based solutions for banking and payments. By combining viafintech’s leading solutions with our existing eCash and APM portfolio, we are well-positioned as an essential payments partner to challenger banks around the world as consumer banking habits continue to evolve.”
viafintech: What you need to know
Viafintech offers the largest, bank-independent, payments infrastructure in the DACH region, allowing a popular alternative to the traditional banking structure.
Led by Achim Bönsch, Sebastian Seifert, Junichi Takemura, and Andreas Veller, viafintech provides digital payment solutions that help pay invoices, deposits, and withdrawals using barcodes with value-added services.
Currently, the company has a presence in five European countries under the brands of Barzahlen/viacash (in Germany and Austria) and viacash (in Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
The German fintech operates via 20,000 points of sale with over 20 well-known retail partners including, REWE, Rossmann, dm, PENNY, BILLA, SBB, Carrefour Italy, and Bonpreu.
Paysafe: What you need to know
Based out of London, Paysafe is a global payments provider offering a range of payment solutions for businesses and consumers across 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world.
The company’s solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics, and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments.
The UK company has 20 years of online payment experience, an annualised transactional volume of $92B (approx €78.4B) in 2020, and approximately 3,400 employees located in 12+ global locations.
Paysafe’s original product, paysafecard, uses a 16-digit PIN and enables customers to shop online without using an account or credit card, protecting their confidential financial information.
In 2018, the paysafecard team developed Paysafecash allowing customers to shop online first and then pay securely for their purchases with cash at convenient, nearby payment points. In 2020, paysafecard and Paysafecash reached a transaction volume of more than $4.6B.
Paysafe Q2 2021 result
The company published its Q2 2021 results recently, reporting revenue growth of 13 per cent year-on-year to $384.3M (approx €327M), beating analyst consensus of $378.45M (approx €322.8M).
Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $118.8M (approx €101.3M), an increase of 8 per cent, compared to $110.4M (approx €94.1M) in the prior year.
Second-quarter net cash from operating activities was negative $7.7M (approx €6.5M), compared to positive $123.5M (approx €105.3M) in the prior year. Free cash flow was $54.6M (approx €46.5M), compared to $96.2M (approx €82M) in the prior year.
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