Major Processors Prepare to Disrupt the Latin American Market through Strategic Acquisitions

Monday, November 15th, 2021

Payment processors serving North America are preparing to disrupt Latin America mainly through strategic acquisitions.

In the most recent takeover deal, Nuvei Corp. announced that it had acquired Paymentez LLC, a decade-old payments provider that enables more than 80 payment methods in Mexico as well as 10 countries in South America. The firm did not specify the terms of the deal.

The new acquisition follows two recent acquisitions by rival payment processor Paysafe Group Holdings Ltd., which brings the company deeper into South America and highlights the efforts of established payments firms to secure high-potential global opportunities.

Paymentez is a Miami-based company that specializes in payment services. The firm provides payments gateway services. It also deals in prepaid cards and acquiring, supporting online gaming, delivery services, transportation, sports, etc. Paymentez is the acquirer for merchants in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, and Venezuela. The payment enabler serves up to 4000 merchants.

“Taking over Paymentez expands our market by growing and fortifying our Latin American footprint. It also intensifies our regional processing abilities allowing us to support even local payment avenues,” says Philip Fayer, chief executive of Nuvei. SafetyPay is an international payment processor serving 19 countries, mainly in Latin America. 

But US processors are not blind to Latin America’s promising payment market.  Last month, PaySafe publicized that it had entered an acquisition deal to swallow SafetyPay for $441 million. In a separate deal, Paysafe acquired Peru-based payment enabler PagoEfectivo for $110-million.

It’s obvious that these established companies are looking to enable payments in local markets and benefit from Latin America’s growth potential. 

 “Latin America’s e-commerce is expanding exponentially, to stand out as one of the fastest-flourishing markets around the globe,” Fayer said. “The Paymentez takeover will ensure we have the right tech and competencies to serve new customers, expand our services and fortify relationships with our customers worldwide.”