German technology solutions company, Wirecard AG intends to pursue an aggressive growth strategy into East and West Africa, during this fiscal year.
Peter Stenslunde, executive director of Wirecard South Africa, says although the company has concentrated on growth in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region for the past year, the intention is to make inroads into the greater African region.
"Online and mobile payments are taking off in Africa, as a combination of improved Internet access, advanced financial systems and widespread mobile penetration help spur demand for services.
“E-commerce, online credit card payments, mobile wallet technology, as well as mobile money are high-growth industries in the region. We expect to make further acquisitions in South Africa, as well as East and West Africa, in the next six to 12 months."
Wirecard is a software and IT company, specialising in the outsourcing of white label solutions for payment processing and issuing products.
The company has a presence in South Africa after acquiring payment service provider MyGate, which enables merchants across Africa to accept a wide range of e-commerce payment options, particularly online card payments, in May 2017.
Speaking at the time of the acquisition, Wirecard said the deal will speed up its expansion into African markets. A statement said: "[MyGate's] integration into Africa's leading acquiring banks and the Visa network offers enormous value to us.
It also speeds up our expansion into the region and offers further potential to leverage synergies. In future, African merchants will receive a comprehensive payment solution along the entire value chain, from a single source.
"Our IP-based payment and risk management technology will benefit from the acquired business, which, in turn, is expected to be expanded with additional value-added services."
