Stitch, a South African fintech company known for its digital payment solutions, has acquired ExiPay, a startup specialising in in-person payment services for retail businesses.
The deal, whose financial details remain undisclosed, allows Stitch to merge online and in-person payments into a unified platform, enabling businesses to simplify payment operations across multiple channels.
This acquisition enables Stitch to address the gap between online and offline payment systems in South Africa’s retail market. The ExiPay platform, now rebranded as “Stitch In-person Payments,” offers enterprises an advanced solution to efficiently manage transactions at the point of sale (POS).
The system is designed to be compatible with existing devices and acquiring banks, allowing businesses to integrate it seamlessly into their operations.
Stitch’s in-person payment solution attends to enterprise-scale operations, providing an API that integrates smoothly with existing systems while reducing administrative burdens.
The platform supports terminal certifications, including Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE), and allows businesses to manage terminals across multiple locations.
It also provides flexibility at the POS by enabling payments through traditional card methods or alternative options, which can be combined with online payment systems for a unified commerce experience.
Added to this, businesses can choose between customising the solution through Stitch’s API or using the comprehensive Terminal Management Dashboard. This dashboard provides detailed insights into store and device performance, empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimise payment processes.
The platform supports omnichannel retail, offering customers a seamless checkout experience whether shopping in-store, online, or via mobile.
Security remains a top priority for Stitch. The platform is ISO 27001 and PCI DSS Level 1 certified, adhering to data protection standards to safeguard client and payment information. Direct integrations with multiple banks and networks ensure high reliability, faster issue resolution, and automatic payment rerouting to maximise transaction success rates.
ExiPay, founded in 2022 by Derek Keats and Willem Büchner, developed POS terminals that processed R2 million ($106,000) in daily transactions by 2023. The startup received €5.4 million ($5.6 million) in funding from Izwe Africa, a fintech group supporting small businesses in Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia. The acquisition brings ExiPay’s six-person team under Stitch’s operations.
Explaining the decision, Stitch CEO Kiaan Pillay stated, “The in-person payments space has not been disrupted for enterprises. Many players are doing this for smaller businesses in the market, but no one is tackling this for enterprises; it was the big reason we wanted to do this.”
With the acquisition of ExiPay instead of partnering with larger providers, Stitch retains full control over its technology stack. Pillay noted that building a similar solution internally would have delayed their plans by 18 to 24 months, making the acquisition a more practical choice.
Stitch’s integrated payment solutions are already trusted by enterprises such as MTN, MultiChoice, Cell C, and Bash. The company’s move into in-person payments is expected to make a significant impact on Africa’s payment space, enhancing convenience, reliability, and efficiency for large-scale businesses.
Founded in 2019, Stitch has raised $52 million in funding and operates in South Africa and Nigeria, with expansion plans targeting Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt.
“This deal is attractive for both ExiPay and Stitch investors. We are sitting under one roof,” Pillay added.
With a 24/7 support team and solid features such as automatic payment rerouting and detailed analytics, Stitch aims to transform the payment sector by simplifying transactions and reducing administrative burdens for enterprises, enhancing commerce for businesses across Africa.
