Two South African entrepreneurs, Willem Büchner and Derek Keats, have sold Exipay Technologies B.V., their fintech spin-off, to Stitch, a South African online payments infrastructure provider. The deal, the terms of which remain undisclosed, comes just two years after Exipay’s inception.
Netherlands-headquartered Exipay, originally a spin-off from Mr. Büchner and Mr. Keats’ IT consulting firm, specializes in building fintech solutions. Its core offering focuses on in-person payment solutions for retail businesses, a sector Stitch identified as ripe for disruption.
The acquisition allows Stitch to broaden its product portfolio, integrating online and in-person payments into a single platform. This unified approach aims to simplify payment tracking for large enterprise clients across multiple channels. Stitch CEO Kiaan Pillay highlighted the growing demand for such integrated solutions within the South African retail market, where a significant divide persists between online and traditional payment systems.
Exipay’s six-person team has been integrated into Stitch’s operations, with the service rebranded as “Stitch In-person payments.” Stitch plans to market this new offering to its existing client base, which includes prominent companies such as Bash, MTN, Cell C, and MultiChoice.
“The in-person payments space has not been disrupted for enterprises,” Mr. Pillay commented. “Many players are addressing this for smaller businesses, but no one is tackling this for enterprises; it was the big reason we wanted to do this.”
Stitch’s decision to acquire Exipay, rather than partner with established in-person payment providers, underscores the company’s strategic focus on controlling its technology stack. Mr. Pillay explained that developing a similar solution internally would have required 18 to 24 months, potentially delaying the company’s broader strategy of offering a unified payment platform.
Founded in 2022, Exipay facilitates in-person payments through point-of-sale (POS) terminals for brick-and-mortar stores. The company reported processing R2 million ($106,000) in daily transactions in 2023. Earlier this year, Exipay secured €5.4 million ($5.6 million) in private funding from Izwe Africa, a fintech group providing credit to small businesses across Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia.
“This deal is attractive for both Exipay and Stitch investors. We are sitting under one roof,” Mr. Pillay added.
Stitch, established in 2019, has raised $52 million in funding to date. The company has expanded its operations into Nigeria and has previously articulated plans for further expansion into Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt. The acquisition of Exipay marks a significant step in Stitch’s ambition to become a leading pan-African payments platform.