Fintech bids for Wirecard's Aus and NZ businesses

The break-up of the various international businesses of disgraced payments processing company Wirecard continues after it emerged that Australian payments firm Change Financial is set to buy its Australian and New Zealand businesses for $7.8m.

According to a statement from Change Financial, there are three products within the Wirecard businesses that will be taken on - the card management platform, centrally managed testing hub and mobile payments.

Change Financial also stressed that the Australian and New Zealand operations are separate from the global group and parent company Wirecard AG that was at the centre of the accounting malpractice that led to its voluntary administration in July 2020. 

"The Wirecard business still remains an ongoing concern. Following a due diligence exercise and competitive sales process, Change Financial was selected as the preferred bidder and has signed a binding sale and purchase agreement with the administrators," Change Financial said.

The acquisition will bring in 120 new customers in over 35 countries adding significant scale and growth, said Change Financial. It also intends to upgrade Wirecard's platform to cater for the US market where Change Financial is hoping to onboard at least 10 new customers over the next year.

Other parts of the Wirecard empire are also set to be bought including its UK and Brazil businesses which will be acquired by Railsbank and PagSeguro Digital respectively. 

Elsewhere though Wirecard's legal problems are continuing. The Philippines' Anti Money Laundering Council has announced it is investigating 57 local and international “persons of interest” over their possible involvement in the Wirecard scandal. 

The Philippines financial sector became embroiled in the case when Wirecard originally contended that the missing $2.1bn was held in two Philippine banks, a claim which the banks and the country's central bank all refuted.