Kenya-based Direct Payment Online (DPO) Group has announced the acquisition of South Africa payments processing service, PayFast.
This is the the fifth company the group has acquired since its inception in 2006.“PayFast is a natural fit for DPO Group and this deal strategically follows our acquisitions of PayGate, VCS, Paythru and SiD since 2016,” says Offer Gat, Chairman and co-founder of DPO Group.
Though the size of the deal was not disclosed, the DPO chairman said the deal had been carried out through a mix of shares and cash. As part of the deal, the PayFast management team will remain key shareholders in the DPO Group.
But it is said to be the largest acquisition of a payments processing company in South Africa to date, even higher than the R100-million DPO payment to PayGate in a merger in 2016.
Eran Feinstein, CEO and co-founder of DPO Group says: “PayFast’s deep experience of payment processing and facilitation in South Africa complements and expands the services we can offer our business customers via the most diversified and robust suite of online payments options available in Africa.”
Founded in 2007 by managing director Jonathan Smit and Andy Higgins, PayFast has over 55 000 SA ecommerce merchants. Its Instant EFT service provides consumers with a secure alternative for making online payments.
According to DPO in a statement, the integration of PayFast into DPO’s services will increase the range of payment options available to DPO Group’s business customers, while providing a pan-African solution to PayFast’s existing customer base.
With the acquisition, DPO Group will now serve over 100 000 merchants across 18 African markets.
In addition, the merger will allow all of the DPO’s services to be available on a single platform to both DPO Group and PayFast merchants significantly improving their capacity to do business not only across Africa but also around the world.
