CAIRO: Actis, a pan-merging markets private equity investor, said Tuesday that their payment platform acquired Visa Jordan Card Services (VJCS) for $87 million. “The EMPH [Emerging Markets Payments Holdings] acquisition indicates confidence in the growth potential of Jordan's payment market,” the company said in the statement. “While the country has built an excellent payments infrastructure, consumer habits have not yet caught up to the extent that they have in other emerging markets.” The acquisition is the latest investment for Actis platform EMPH, which aims to be the leading payments business in Africa and the Middle East. “Our vision is for EMPH to become the Middle East and Africa's leading payment business through organic growth and a buy-and-build strategy,” Paul Edwards, executive chairman of EMPH, said in a statement. He pointed out that the new acquisition fits into their plans for expanding geographically. “We want to offer banks a complete world-class service; helping them respond to the increasing demands of consumers across the region: this agreement with VJCS deepens the EMPH offering and broadens its geographic reach.” In July 2010, Actis also invested $30 million into EMPH in order to acquire the Egyptian based Mediterranean Smart Cards Company (MSCC). VJCS, Jordan's largest merchant acquirer and effective national ATM switch, currently dominates the country's debit and credit card processing markets. The company owns 80 percent of point-of-sale terminals in Jordan and processes all Visa point-of-sale transactions as well as all inter-bank ATM transactions. “The move from cash to cards is one of the most exciting developments in emerging market consumer behavior, said Rick Phillips, Partner at Actis. “VJCS's success to date is a testament to the previous owners – a syndicate of Jordanian Banks and Visa International. They recognized that for the next stage of growth they needed a trusted payments specialist and we are delighted they chose EMPH.” While most Jordanians have a debit or credit card, they are underused as consumers usually pay with cash. According to Actis, card usage makes up only 5 percent of personal consumption expenditure with the average Jordanian adult using a card at point-of-sale machines just two times a year. With 100 investments professionals in nine offices throughout China, Africa, Latin American, and South East Asia, Actis has been investing in emerging markets for about 60 years. Currently, the company has raised $7.3 billion.
