FEMSA, the Coca-Cola bottler that owns the Oxxo convenience store chain, announced it has successfully closed on the acquisition of Mexican fintech startup NetPay. FEMSA had originally announced its intention to purchase the company in November.
NetPay, founded in 2008, offers payment services and solutions to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, such as payment terminals and electronic wallets. The company is based in Monterrey.
According to a FEMSA statement sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) in November, the acquisition will boost the company’s share in the fintech segment and the digital solutions markets as part of the company’s three strategic pillars – its Business-to-Business (B2B) division, Oxxo’s proprietary fintech Spin and the Oxxo Premia loyalty program.
FEMSA’s participation in NetPay dates from 2019, when the company acquired a minority equity stake in the startup. To buy the outstanding shares, the company closed a purchase deal with NetPay’s majority shareholders last year.
José Antonio Fernández Garza, CEO of FEMSA’s technology division Digital@FEMSA, said in November that the acquisition would help the company in its objective to transform “the relationship between the people of Mexico and their money,” and to help “independent entrepreneurs to strengthen their operations and increase their profitability.”
In 2021, FEMSA entered the fintech sector with their Spin by Oxxo service, which can be used to send and receive money from other Spin accounts, in addition to regular bank accounts and non-bank users. In February, the app had 5 million users and the company estimates it will reach up to 10 million this year.
There are over 20,000 Oxxo stores across Mexico and their loyalty program has 26 million users, according to analyst Marisol Huerta at Ve por Más bank in an interview with La Jornada newspaper.
FEMSA announced in February its decision to exit the brewery industry by selling its Heineken shares, prioritizing instead investment in the company’s most profitable businesses, such as the Oxxo convenience stores and digital services.
“Oxxo has managed to position itself as one of the main retail companies in the country,” said Huerta. “If there’s potential, they [FEMSA] always go after new businesses.”
With reports from El Economista, Bloomberg, La Jornada and El País
