RS2 plc - Launch of Direct Acquiring Business in Latin America

On 6 February 2020, RS2 Software plc announced that it concluded a partnership agreement with MoviiRed in Colombia to offer consumers and merchants direct issuing and acquiring services. In this respect, RS2 explained that this development represents the launch of its new direct acquiring business for the first time anywhere in the world. Moreover, as Colombia is one of Latin America’s fastest-growing markets, it is widely seen around the world as a market with outstanding growth potential. In fact, only 8% of merchants in Colombia accept card-payments, compared to neighbouring countries such as Brazil at 32%. On average, merchant payment acceptance for non-cash transactions across LATAM is around 23%. As a result, it is widely believed that Colombia is an underserved market. In this context, MOViiRED has already built a strong network of partners which includes large retailers, pharmacies, convenience stores and “mom & pop” shops apart from other businesses. Today, MOViiRED services more than 15 million people each month on its 60,000 points of sale network offering various services from mobile top-up, bill payments, sale of public transport tickets, prepaid digital content and money transfers.

RS2’s direct acquiring service will have the capacity to acquire transactions in an omnichannel environment, including e-commerce, MOTO and point of sale transactions. RS2 will also issue a variety of card products to consumers in Colombia including prepaid cards, loyalty products, money transfer and gift cards. Since 2019, MOViiRED’s has used RS2’s processing capabilities, including the RS2 single processing platform for issuing and acquiring. MOViiRED has also implemented the MOVii virtual wallet to provide cardholders and merchants with a frictionless payment experience. Although MOVii was launched less than a year ago, it is on track to become Colombia’s leading digital challenger bank, reaching its first 500,000 users by the end of Q1 2020.

Commenting on this new partnership agreement, RS2’s CEO Mr Radi El Haj said: “Today’s launch marks the culmination of three years of strategic development for RS2. We are launching a single global platform with a simple, one-API integration process which will provide consumers and merchants with services in both closed-loop and open-loop environments. We are pleased to partner with MOViiRED as the leading challenger bank in Colombia. Our partnership will combine our strengths, with MOViiRED speaking their customer’s language, plus their intimate knowledge of the challenges merchants and consumers face in Colombia today. It’s thanks to the strength of this partnership that we have chosen Colombia for the global launch of our new direct acquiring service, which we expect to roll out in Europe and North America this year, once the German Regulator BaFin has granted an e-Money license to our German Subsidiary.”

On his part, MOViiRED CEO Mr Hernando Rubio explained that the company’s goal “is to disrupt the current payment system in Colombia. RS2’s new direct acquiring business will enable merchants and consumers to transact using a single digital platform. With RS2, merchants can expect to be up and running inside 24 hours, rather than the usual time of couple of weeks. Ultimately, our objective is to disrupt cash usage in Colombia, working with RS2. We want our customers to pay without lengthy procedures and queues and at the lowest possible cost.”