Moneycorps consolidates its expansion plans in Brazil and strengthens its position in the UK at the same time marking the end of a profitable year for the international money transfer firm.
Following a series of national and international deals that marked the year that is coming to an end and included the agreement to buy US-based corporate international payments business, Commonwealth Foreign Exchange Inc., in May, Moneycorp has announced two more acquisitions, one within its domestic market, the UK, and an international one with the aim to consolidate its presence in Brazil.
- Read bout Moneycorp's other deal news
The Moneycorp Group is ready to formalise the agreement to take control of Novo Mundo Corretora de Câmbio, a fast-growing Brazilian foreign exchange business, which has seen an increase of 31% in turnover in the last two years from the original pairing with Moneycorp. Having secured the Brazilian Central Bank and Presidential approval, the British group, which has seen profit growth of 20% over recent years, will take control of a majority interest in the business already within the network of its partnerships in early January 2018.
Nick Haslehurst, CFO of Moneycorp said: “Our two latest acquisitions further strengthen Moneycorp’s local and international offering. Finalising our purchase of Novo Mundo is part of Moneycorp’s long-term ambition to establish a firm foothold in a market that has shown great promise for FX and international payments moving forward.”
This Brazilian addition will bring to Moneycorp further presence in the market with offices across São Paolo, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador that provide a range of foreign exchange services already comprising international payments, bank notes, and MasterCard currency card services to both corporate and private costumers. These services and products will soon be directly integrated into Moneycorp’s own brand and platforms.
A stronger domestic presence
The same plan will be rolled out for customers and products of the second addition announced today, the UK-based currency specialist, First Rate FX Ltd. Same destiny for the entire First Rate FX team, who has a 13-year history in foreign exchange and has been responsible for over 20,000 transactions in the past two years. Founders, Lisa and Christopher O’Brien, will now sit in the leadership team of Moneycorp Group and the rest of the team will be moved from their base in Canary Wharf to their new firm’s headquarters in Victoria.
“Whilst our global expansion plans are set to continue, we also want to bolster our presence here in the UK. First Rate FX is a well-established currency broker with a customer base that is well-suited to Moneycorp’s proposition. We look forward to welcoming the First Rate FX team and continuing to work with its founders, Lisa and Christopher, to ensure their successes continue as part of the Moneycorp brand”, commented Haslehurst.
With both acquisitions the Moneycorp Group brand will secure a stronger presence in the international payments market transferring newly acquired customers onto its own main payments platform, which already provides services to customers globally via app, mobile, web, and phone, as well as sophisticated technology for payments, and through Moneycorp branded offices in Spain, France, Gibraltar, Romania, Australia, US, and Ireland. Over recent years, the expansion of Moneycorp’s platform, customers, has seen organic profit growth of 20%.
- Read our review of Moneycorp
- Want to learn about mobile money transfer apps? read our reviews
