BitPesa, a blockchain payments platform for Africa and Europe, has purchased TransferZero, an international, online money transfer platform.
TransferZero, a FinTech licensed by the Bank of Spain as an authorized payment institution, is a partner of Bankia, Spain’s third largest bank.
BitPesa, which is one of the few global companies to have licensing and infrastructure in both Africa and Europe, said the partnership enables it to plant deeper roots through UK and European licensing, bank accounts, and integrations.
Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and CEO of BitPesa, said: “Digital currencies and decentralized technology have hit critical mass in the financial services and payments space. It is no longer a question of whether this technology will have staying power—rather, which specific technology and what product iteration will launch and scale first. This past year was groundbreaking for digital payments and blockchain, as we saw Japan and Korea, two major Asian economies, come out with clear regulation that supported a booming sector. The UK, Europe, and Switzerland also solidified their position in support of payment companies using this technology,”
Under the acquisition, TransferZero will continue to operate under the same brand name and all of its employees will stay with BitPesa. The business will remain headquartered in Madrid.
By leveraging blockchain settlement, BitPesa says it can significantly lower the cost and increase the speed of business payments to and from frontier markets. Its clients include African businesses and multinational companies paying suppliers as far as China and Dubai, international remittance companies using its API services for white-label payments, and dozens of bank networks and mobile money operators across Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, and the DRC. Launched in Nairobi in 2013, BitPesa now has offices in Lagos, London, Luxembourg, and Dakar.
TransferZero enables international remittances and B2B services, autonomously or through the management of a personal advisor, in more than 200 countries and 34 currencies.It offers ‘unparalleled’ security in transactions with an innovative model of segregated and exclusive bank accounts for its clients according to its website.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
