Unsecured consumer credit provider RCS has acquired Mobicred. The company, owned by French group BNP Paribas now gets a foot in the growing buy-now-pay-later market to fund retail purchases.
Mobicred describes itself as SA’s leading online credit provider already. Founded in 2013, Mobicred’s platform is already integrated into more than 4 000 online stores in SA.
Online retailers like Takealot, Superbalist, NetFlorist and their traditional brick-and-mortar counterparts that have online stores have Mobicred as one of their payment options. Other big retailers that use it include iStore, Incredible Connection, Hifi Corporation and even travel providers such as Travelstart and Lyft Airlines.
Mobicred founder and CEO Jason Sive said the business has achieved 70% year-on-year growth since its launch.
RCS CEO Regan Adams said there has never been a better opportunity to tap into the growing e-commerce environment. Mobicred will add new brands to RCS’s already well-established shopping network of over 28 000 stores.
“Our acquisition of Mobicred enables us to better serve the needs of South African consumers who require a more diverse suite of credit solutions to help them access and manage their purchases. The acquisition of Mobicred was the natural next step in RCS’s digital transformation strategy,” he said.
He added that Mobicred will complement RCS’s existing offering perfectly as its customers can shift to any shopping platform of their choice – be it in-store or online.
“The acquisition also allows the group to tap into new customer segments, with a particular focus on Gen Z’s and Millennials – the biggest proponents of online sales in South Africa,” said RCS in the statement.
Adams said RCS’s parent company, BNP Paribas, is constantly looking for ways to bolster its engagements with more consumers. Because of the rapid growth in e-commerce, its core focus now is to marry RCS’s physical store footprint with more digital capabilities.
