The Direct Pay Online Group, (“DPO Group”), a Pan-African online payments firm has acquired 100% of the equity in Virtual Card Service (“VCS”) to launch operations in Botswana and Namibia.

The acquisition follows a recent acquisition of 100% of VCS South Africa and PayGate (Pty) Ltd in South Africa to further expansion into Southern Africa.

According to Offer Gat, the DPO Group Chairman, “The VCS team have built a leading market position in the Botswanan and Namibian payments landscapes by offering a distinguished suite of services to all organisations requiring automated, high volume and secure card payment processing.  We look forward to working together to continue the Group’s growth story and expanding further within Africa.”

VCS was established in South Africa in 1996 and expanded into Botswana in 2008 and Namibia in 2010.  The company is one of the leaders in developing and implementing credit, debit and smart card processing systems for all major card issuer in Southern Africa.  The Company’s solutions assist customers in transacting in a simple and secure online environment, whilst the Company’s unique ‘Virtual Vendor’ system, which interacts with a bank’s existing legacy systems, provides vendor’s with an automated, electronic transaction system regardless of existing banking relationships.

Eran Feinstein, the DPO Group CEO says the move gives DPO a single contact point to accept payments, offer customer support and offer its customers the broadest suite of payment options in Africa and world-class security, technology, risk management and fraud prevention as well as expansion of the client base and growth in this geographical area thereby empowering every person and organization to have the option to pay and be paid online anywhere, anytime, and by any mode of payment.

“I am excited to be part of the DPO Group,” said Gordon Ashby, CEO and major shareholder, VCS. “We were drawn to the Group’s experience in the online payments processing arena and its deep understanding of Africa.

PesaPal, its major competitor in Kenya is also planning pan-African consolidation as it has operations in major business hubs on the continent and serves some of the premium clients DPO would do anything to bring to is fold.