Is DPO PayGate now Southern Africa’s biggest payment services provider?

Kenyan online payment services provider Direct Pay Online Group (DPO Group) has consolidated the six Southern African payments services startups it has acquired into one brand, DPO PayGate — potentially creating Southern Africa’s biggest payment services providers.

As part of the brand consolidation, Virtual Card Services (VCS) South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, PayThru, PayGate and 3G Direct Pay will all be rolled up under the DPO PayGate brand.

The consolidation makes DPO PayGate one of the biggest payment services providers in the Southern African region

Between 2016 and 2017 the Nairobi-based company acquired PayGate, PayThru, VCS in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana as well as SID Instant EFT.

Commenting on the consolidation in an email to Ventureburn on Thursday last week (12 April), DPO PayGate managing director Peter Harvey (pictured above) said DPO’s long game is to build a “truly pan-African payment solution”.

“This means incorporating in every country and providing sales and customer service locally in every country. A consolidated brand is essential,” Harvey said.

Read more: DPO Group to acquire Botswana, Namibia operations of Virtual Card Service
Read more: PayGate receives R100-million in funding, merges with DPO

The development effectively results in DPO Paygate becoming the biggest payment service providers in the Southern African region. Prior to the consolidation, PayGate alone had facilitated in excess of 10 million transacting customers and serviced in excess of 25 000 merchants.

DPO PayGate — which is based in Rondebosch, Cape Town — will be servicing the region out of its Johannesburg offices. In a press release last week the DPO Group said it had “established legal entities in more than 10 countries throughout Africa”.

Merchants to benefit

What does this actually mean for merchants or startups who have been using these brands, how will the re-branding affect them?

DPO PayGate assured merchants that they “will not experience any changes and will also benefit from the added clout of the new DPO PayGate offering”.

Merchants, Harvey said, will benefit from a “common interface and a single IT integration”, regardless of which country or countries they are operating in. “DPO can process their transactions in-country and support their operations in each country,” he added.

SID Instant EFT to remain a standalone brand

Another DPO Group company, SID Instant EFT, will continue to operate as a standalone brand.

Harvey explained the decision: “All the other companies were payment service providers (PSPs) offering merchants and customers a choice of payment methods in each region. SID is a payment method rather than a PSP, so we will keep the SID brand for our SID payment method and we allow other PSP’s to resell our SID product.”

In a statement DPO Group CEO Eran Feinstein said South Africa is an important market for the payment platform.

“DPO PayGate will manage this large market by utilising high-end technology, engaging and leading a highly skilled team, and maintaining the highest standards in the industry,” Feinstein said.

Featured image: DPO PayGate MD Peter Harvey (Supplied)