Singapore: Payments firm 2C2P gets strategic investment from SafeCharge, to gain access to global e-commerce
By Shiwen Yap for Dealstreetasia.com,
Mobile payment is set to become a viable everyday tool over the next few years Southeast Asian payments provider 2C2P, incorporated in Singapore but based in Thailand, has attracted a strategic investment from SafeCharge International Group Ltd, which deals in advanced payment technologies, to foray into the $985 billion European and North American B2C e-commerce markets.
SafeCharge will acquire a minority stake in 2C2P though investment terms are undisclosed. The strategic deal sees Safeguard joining current investors in 2C2P including Amun Capital, Arbor Ventures, Digital Media Partners, GMO Payment Gateway and GMO Venture Partners.
2C2P focuses on omni-channel payment services that support banks, e-commerce businesses and retailers. It also enables electronic and mobile commerce apart from payments through bank channels such as ATMs, internet and mobile banking.
SafeCharge, which claims a diversified and blue-chip client base, provides technologies and risk management solutions for online and mobile businesses. A unit of SafeCharge, SafeCharge Limited, is an authorised Electronic Money Institution regulated by the Central Bank of Cyprus and is also a principal member of MasterCard Europe and VISA Europe.
According to a release, the firm maintains operations in the UK, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Israel, Germany, Austria and Ireland, indicating a footprint that stretches across Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe.
It also has the potential to grow in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), with a presence in Israel providing a gateway into the wider region. One report suggests that 80 per cent of the Arab world was unbanked as of 2014, with strong prospects for e-payments and mobile money that can facilitate greater financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked in the region.
Through this strategic partnership with 2C2P, SafeCharge aims to establish its Asian presence, a key growth region for the firm.
The deal will see SafeCharge’s customers in Europe and North America offer Southeast Asian payments to their customers.
2C2P Group CEO and Founder, Aung Kyaw Moe, said, “We are committed to expand our payment services, capitalizing on global e-commerce flows. We are empowering Southeast Asian retailers and merchants to connect to the world, providing more avenues for their customers to transact.”
David Avgi, CEO of SafeCharge said, “The addition of 2C2P’s Southeast Asian-regional payment solutions compliments the company’s current offering, enabling our customers to penetrate more global markets.
According to 2C2P, it has processed over $2.2 billion in FY2014, growing by over 440 per cent year-on-year versus FY2013. The firm secured a $7 million Series C investment in April 2015, bringing its total equity financing raised to over $10 million.
In June 2015, 2C2P was regarded as being amongst the top 25 healthiest payments firms, based on CBInsights data. Using their Mosaic framework to assess the overall health and growth potential of private companies in terms of momentum, market and money, they found the firm to be amongst a group of private firms that possessed strong fundamentals.
The article first appeared in Dealstreetasia
