Stitch is a fintech startup in South Africa that provides online payment infrastructure for large businesses. It has acquired ExiPay – a startup offering in-person payment options for retail businesses. The acquisition will allow Stitch, for an undisclosed sum, to integrate online and offline payments into one platform. This will make it easier for businesses track payments across channels. This acquisition expands Stitch’s product offering, allowing the company to offer an omnichannel solution that combines in-person and online payment capabilities for enterprise customers. The acquisition is a response to the increasing demand for integrated payment systems in South Africa’s Retail market. The gap between online and offline payment systems is still significant.
Stitch integrated ExiPay’s 6-person team into its operation, rebranding it as “Stitch in-person payments”. Stitch will sell the new service to clients like Bash MTN Cell C and MultiChoice. Stitch CEO Kiaan Pillay said that the in-person payment space hasn’t been disrupted by enterprises. “Many players in the market are doing this, but no one tackles this for enterprises. It was the main reason we wanted to do it.” Pillay said that building a similar platform in-house would take 18-24 months, which would have delayed the company’s plan to offer a single payment platform.
ExiPay, founded in 2022 by Derek Keats & Willem Buchner allows physical stores to accept payments in-person through point-of sale (POS) terminals. The company claimed to be processing R2 million ($106,000), in daily transactions, by 2023. In 2024 it received ahref=””https://www.f6s.com/exipay-techologies-b.v” “rel=””noreferrer noopener””target=””_blank” “,>EUR5.4 million ($5.6million) from Izwe Africa. This fintech group provides credit to small business in Ghana, Kenya, Zambia.
This deal is attractive to both ExiPay investors and Stitch investors. Pillay continued, “We are all under one roof.”
Since its founding in 2019, Stitch has raised funding of ahref=””https://www.cbinsights.com/company/stitch/financials” “rel=””noreferrer noopener””target=””_blank” “>$52 millionsand expanded into Nigeria. It has also spoken about plans to expand in Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya.
