Compass, the consumer finance arm of the Mediobanca Group, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of HeidiPay Switzerland AG from HeidiPay AG, a growing Swiss Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) financial company with over 400 deals. Trade agreements with major distributors, premium brands and technology operators active in the region.

With this acquisition, Compass becomes the new consumer credit operator in Switzerland, able to benefit from a distribution license held by HeidiPay Switzerland AG.

The agreement also strengthens the partnership with Holding HeidiPay AG, a fintech dedicated to developing digital platforms to support BNPL in the world of e-commerce and for physical points of sale, of which Compass already owns owns 19.5% as of August 2022.

After the close of the transaction, HeidiPay Switzerland AG will continue to benefit from HeidiPay AG’s technology and services, ensuring the continuity of the unique BNPL offer on the Swiss market and today enjoyed by an increasing number of merchants. distribution and main brand applied.

With the implementation of risk management tools (initiation, collection and anti-fraud) and a large and in-depth customer database, Compass will be able to make the BNPL business scalable. and sustainable in a particular way that is difficult to reproduce in a pure way. fintech operators. This is in line with the goals of the “One Brand, One Culture” Strategic Plan 2023-2026, which stipulates that Mediobanca Group’s Consumer Finance division will significantly enhance its distribution through through an advanced digital platform, in addition to strengthening the customer base, including expanding into new geographic markets.

With this acquisition, Compass will be able to enrich PagoLight, BNPL’s proprietary full digital solution that can be integrated into e-commerce websites, thus providing the basis for further development. an international offer to support the typical multinational merchants of the online site. world.

Launched in 2021, initially available only to physical stores, PagoLight is now operating in Italy with over 12,000 physical points of sale (the network continues to grow to this day, with around 1,000 installations new/month) and in more than 150 e-commerce platforms with a combined capacity of attracting around 20,000 customers/month, also bolstered by the recent fintech acquisition Soisy.

“ This transaction has a strong industrial value for us and is consistent with the strategic guidelines of the Plan to 2026.”

“With the acquisition of HeidiPay Switzerland AG, we are launching the geographical diversification process of our Consumer Finance division, being able to count on advanced digital platforms in the provision of credit as well as on a value-oriented management approach that leverages the analysis and validation capabilities of the developed by Compass in over 60 years of activity ”

 –Alberto Nagel, CEO of Mediobanca.

“ The Swiss market is now considered among those with the greatest growth potential at European level for the Buy Now Pay Later sector.”

“Being able to count on hundreds of commercial agreements in the area guarantees us to lay the foundations for the further development of our customer base as well as our broader offer of consumer credit with a significant contribution already from the first year of activity”

–Gian Luca Sichel, CEO of Compass.

The transaction, the completion of which is subject to relevant regulatory approval and is expected in the second half of 2023, has a negligible impact on Mediobanca Group’s core Tier 1.