PayRetailers acquires Paygol and Pago Digital to unify $85b LatAm e-commerce market

By Edlyn Cardoza

PayRetailers, a leading LATAM FinTech payment specialist, recently announced the acquisition of two online payments platforms, Chile’s Paygol and Colombia’s Pago Digital. The two acquisitions strengthen PayRetailers’ breadth, and depth as the company moves to realise the potential of e-commerce payments across Latin America.

Paygol and Pago Digital perfectly fit PayRetailers’ acquisition criteria, providing innovative technologies and financial product suites, a clear customer focus, robust financial safeguards (such as PCI compliance) and cross border payment capabilities — alongside extensive presence within, and understanding of, local markets.

Paygol and Pago Digital support a comprehensive range of payment options. These capabilities further strengthen PayRetailers’ card processing capabilities across Latin America. The two brands have invested in awareness: Paygol is the official sponsor of Copa Chile Easy 2022, and Pago Digital has announced its sponsorship of Colombia’s premier football competition – the BetPlay DIMAYOR League.

To date, LATAM has suffered from a disjointed B2B e-commerce payments environment that sees online merchants forced to piece together services across multiple countries, regulatory jurisdictions and currencies.  

PayRetailers simplifies B2B e-commerce through a single, intuitive, and effective LATAM online payments platform. The strategy is to identify, select and acquire the perfect candidate companies — combining local innovation and insight, pan-regional reach, and world-class FinTech investment.  

PayRetailers founder and CEO Juan Pablo Jutgla said: “Countries, communities, companies and individuals are being transformed by e-commerce. Hyper-local access to vast international markets will generate new investment, jobs, education and opportunity for millions across our continent.”  

“Both Pago Digital and Paygol share our vision of democratising financial inclusion and clearly demonstrate a commitment to local communities through sponsorship. Today’s acquisitions take us closer to a seamless, barrier-free and open e-commerce payments platform that will bring financial inclusion from Tierra del Fuego to Punta Gallinas,” continued Jutgla.

The acquisition brings Paygol and Pago Digital access to PayRetailers’ extensive FinTech know-how, marketing resources and financial investment to grow at scale. 

Paygol CEO Carlos Varas said, “Paygol believes passionately in the power of local knowledge to bridge international borders. It’s an understanding that we share with PayRetailers as we now move forward together — to truly unleash the potential of e-commerce businesses across LATAM.”  

Pago Digital CEO William Talero said, “Pago Digital was founded on a vision of simple and accessible online payments. We’ve come a long way in 10 years and are now excited to move to the next level with PayRetailers: sharing technologies, expertise and insights to bring our customers ever-greater opportunity.” 

Royal Park Partners acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to PayRetailers on the Pago Digital acquisition.

As a part of its strategic growth roadmap, PayRetailers plans to expand its presence in LATAM. This includes deepening existing networks in key LATAM countries – alongside ambitions to grow into Central America and the Caribbean. 

PayRetailers’ mission to unify and simplify e-commerce payments has the potential to catalyse a currently underperforming market. While LATAM e-commerce is growing rapidly, reaching an estimated $85 billion in 2021, it is dwarfed by regions with integrated payment systems such as Europe (around $530 billion) and the US & Canada (around $500 billion). 

Jutgla concluded: “PayRetailers’ mission is simple: to realise LATAM’s vast e-commerce potential. This clarity of purpose drives us as we acquire the right companies at the right times to deliver the right capabilities. As Paygol and Pago Digital bring us a powerful new presence in Chile and Colombia, we are ideally placed to unify and simplify e-commerce — for seamless customer payment experiences across LATAM and beyond.”