- Nium has announced that it has acquired Socash, which is an alternative payments brand based in Singapore.
- Socash reaches financial outlets and e-commerce merchants operating online and also allows for cash transfers to take place in person at shops and cafes.
- “With this acquisition, Nium can offer a lower-cost payment processing alternative for digital merchants, spanning local payment acceptance through to global payouts,” said a senior figure at Nium.
Nium, a cross-border payments provider operating globally, has announced that it will acquire an international money transfer provider based in Singapore.
Nium said that it had acquired Socash, which is an alternative payments brand.
Socash is designed to bring together financial outlets and those selling products online.
It also allows customers to deposit and withdraw funds and to make payments at tens of thousands of physical locations such as shops and cafes.
In a press release, Nium shared more details about what it expected to see in the partnership.
It said, for example, that it would mean that Nium had the support to accept lots of payment forms – especially ones that are highly localised.
“The acquisition provides Nium with the team and technology to enable multiple forms of local payment acceptance for digital commerce, especially in emerging markets,” it said.
It also said that the move would help bring cash to the table – cash is used heavily in the target markets of the new partnership.
“Cash is still a preferred method of payment across the Asia Pacific and Latin American markets, and the acquisition of Socash allows Nium to accept cash for transactions online – bridging the physical and digital worlds,” it explained.
It also said that the platform that the two firms would offer would be full-stack in nature.
In a statement, the chief operating officer of Nium praised those behind Socash for creating a platform that is “impressive”.
Pratik Gandhi, who is also the firm’s co-founder, said that the platform brought together real-world and online payments.
He went on to say that there was significant potential for Socash to cut costs.
“When compared to current in-app payment costs, we estimate Socash saves up to 30 percent in commissions paid,” he said.
He added that the acquisition would mean that Nium’s own cost to its online seller customers would go down – and that the new arrangement would span the whole range of geographical payout levels.
“With this acquisition, Nium can offer a lower-cost payment processing alternative for digital merchants, spanning local payment acceptance through to global payouts,” he explained.
There is a lot going on in the online money transfer sector. To get more details about what’s happening, just head over to our reviews pages where you can see all the information you need – and perhaps even find the next provider you intend to use.