Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE), a specialized payments platform, reveals that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire German Fintech firm, viafintech, in an “all-cash transaction.”
viafintech, known under the brands of Barzahlen/viacash and viacash, provides the largest, “bank independent,” payments infrastructure in the DACH region, “allowing a popular alternative to the traditional banking structure,” according to a release.
For Paysafe, this strategic acquisition should support its growth opportunities in German markets, a key market for its international merchants. It also creates revenue-generating opportunities to “cross-sell viafintech’s alternative banking and payments solutions to its merchants around the world.”
As stated in the release:
“Paysafe’s core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallets, eCash and open banking solutions. It offers over 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world.”
viafintech was established in 2011 and integrates with virtual banking apps to offer an innovative “mobile ATM” concept which “enables consumers to make deposits or withdraw cash from their digital bank accounts at a nearby retail store using a barcode.”
As noted in the announcement, viafintech solutions are also used for bill payments and credit payouts, as well as for online shopping, “supporting millions of consumers in the region who don’t have bank accounts, or who simply prefer the heightened security of using eCash to pay online.”
Based in Germany, where it has a “market-leading” position, it also maintains a presence in five other European nations with plans to further its operations. It currently operates through a network of 20,000 points of sale with more than 20 established retail partners, and also has “deep relationships in the banking, bill payments, and eCommerce industries.”
As mentioned in the update:
“The combination of viafintech’s established banking framework and market leadership in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, together with Paysafe’s diverse payments portfolio and international merchant base, is expected to create compelling growth opportunities for each organization, both within Europe and beyond.”
As part of the deal, the viafintech team, which will include viafintech’s managing directors, Sebastian Seifert, Achim Bönsch and Andreas Veller, will “become part of Paysafe’s expanding eCash and open banking solutions’ team which is headed up by Paysafe eCash CEO, Udo Müller.”
As noted in the release, this recent acquisition further builds on Paysafe’s recent Latin American acquisition agreements with PagoEfectivo and SafetyPay and enables Paysafe to “solidify its position as one of the key players for eCash and open banking solutions.”
As stated in the announcement:
“On completion of the three acquisitions, the Paysafe eCash business will be able to offer eCash and open banking solutions in over 60 countries with over one million distribution points.”
Following the sale of their shares to Paysafe, viafintech’s majority shareholder – Glory Ltd., a global leader in cash tech solutions – will “enter into a new strategic partnership with Paysafe.”
The two firms have committed to a referral agreement that “enables Glory to offer paysafecard, one of Paysafe’s leading eCash solutions, as a form of payment within its in-store payments kiosks, and, in turn, for Paysafe to offer Glory’s cash technology solutions to its merchants around the world.”
GRENKE BANK AG, which has been offering viafintech’s German bank license and regulatory framework since 2017, as well as being a shareholder of the company, will “continue to provide the same banking service going forward.”
Udo Müller, CEO, Paysafe eCash and Open Banking, stated:
“We are very excited to welcome a star player like viafintech into the Paysafe family. We believe the team are 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.”
Sebastian Seifert, Co-founder and MD at viafintech, remarked:
“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 fueling the shift away from legacy banking and driving more financial inclusion in general.”
The deal is set to be finalized in the next few months, but it’s subject to customary closing conditions and “in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.” Until that time, the two organizations will “continue to operate independently,” the announcement clarified.