Nov 01, 2021
Acquisition accelerates Paysafe’s growth in Germany and other key markets where consumers continue to move away from the legacy banking system.
London – Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE), a leading specialised payments platform, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of market-leading German fintech company, viafintech. viafintech, known under the brand viacash, offers one of the largest bank-independent alternative payments infrastructures in Europe, allowing a popular alternative to the traditional banking system. For Paysafe, the investment allows it to expand in critical markets and position itself as the essential payments partner to challenger banks around the world.
viafintech was founded in 2011 and integrates with digital 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; something that is becoming increasingly popular in the region as bricks and mortar bank branches close and fast-growing challenger banks and digital wallets disrupt the market. viafintech solutions are also used widely for bill payments and credit pay-outs, as well as for online shopping in general, 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.
The integration process will now commence with viafintech’s team, including managing directors, Sebastian Seifert, Achim Bönsch and Andreas Veller, becoming part of Paysafe’s expanding eCash solutions’ team which is headed up by Paysafe eCash CEO, Udo Müller.
Udo Müller, CEO of Paysafe’s eCash division, commented:“This is a very exciting acquisition for Paysafe. By combining viafintech’s leading payment solutions with our own eCash and alternative payment portfolio, we are very well positioned as an essential payments partner to challenger banks around the world. This comes at a crucial point in time as we experience a consumer shift away from the legacy banking system and more and more challenger banks are entering the market and offering mobile-based solutions for banking and payments.”
Sebastian Seifert, Co-founder and Managing Director of viafintech, added: "Becoming part of the Paysafe Group will help 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. We are excited to be starting this next chapter and doubling our efforts to strengthen financial inclusion and shift away from legacy banking."
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About Paysafe Limited
Paysafe Limited (“Paysafe”) (NYSE:PSFE) (PSFE.WS) is a leading specialised payments platform. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, and online cash solutions. With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualised transactional volume of US $100 billion in 2020, and approximately 3,400 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments. Further information is available at www.paysafe.com.
About Paysafe’s eCash Division
Paysafe is a global market leader in the provision of eCash payment solutions. The goal of its eCash division is to target simple and secure online transactions through prepaid and online cash solutions. Today, it is available to purchase in over 650,000 sales outlets in over 50 countries and its brands include paysafecard, paysafecard account, paysafecard Mastercard® and Paysafecash.
Its original product, paysafecard, uses a 16-digit PIN and enables customers to shop online without using an account or credit card, protecting their confidential financial information. In 2018, the paysafecard team developed Paysafecash allowing customers to shop online first and then pay securely for their purchases with cash at convenient, nearby payment points. Paysafecash is already available in nearly 30 countries. In 2020, paysafecard and Paysafecash reached a transaction volume of more than US$ 4.6 billion.
For more information, please go to www.paysafecard.com
About viafintech
viafintech was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
The company integrates with digital banking apps to offer an innovative “mobile ATM” concept which enables consumers to make deposits, transfers or withdraw cash from their digital bank accounts at a nearby retail store using a barcode.viafintech solutions are also used widely for bill payments and credit payouts, as well as for online shopping in general, 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.
A market leader in Germany, viafintech also has a presence in five other European countries where it is known under the brands of Barzahlen/viacash (in Germany and Austria), and viacash (in Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Spain). It operates via a network of 20,000 points of sale with over 20 well-known retail partners including REWE, Rossmann, dm, PENNY, BILLA, SBB, Carrefour Italy and Bonpreu.It also has deep relationships in the banking, bill payments and eCommerce industries.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Paysafe Limited’s (“Paysafe,” “PSFE” or the “Company”) actual results may differ from their expectations and estimates and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “anticipate,” “appear,” “approximate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “foresee,” “guidance,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “seek,” “should,” “would” and variations of such words and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, and potentially adversely, from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. While the Company believes its assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, the integration and outcome of the viafintech transaction; and other factors included in the “Risk Factors” in our Form 20-F and in other filings we make with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in their expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circ*mstances on which any statement is based, except as required by law.
Contacts
Media enquiries - Paysafe
Kate Aldridge, Kate.aldridge@paysafe.com
+44 (0) 750 0797547
Media enquiries - viafintech (German press only)
Ulrike Czekay, Ulrike.czekay@viafintech.com
+49 163 741 3434
Investor enquiries - Paysafe
Kirsten Nielsen, kirsten.nielsen@paysafe.com
+1 (646) 901-3140
