Corporate VC, Krealo, acquires Chilean Multicaja’s digital unit for US$19 million

Contxto – Peru and Chile may be rivals, but that didn’t stop Peruvian VC fund Krealo from acquiring the digital business unit of Chile’s Multicaja for a whopping US$19 million.

In Summary

Based on the acquisition, Krealo will now oversee Multicaja’s digital unit. Included in this sub-division are support services for international payments, online top-ups, digital utility payments and pre-paid accounts.

The Chilean Banking Supervisor (SBIF) still plans to regulate the prepaid account business, however. Seeing that this is Krealo’s first investment in Chile, Multicaja anticipates two payments – 50 percent in 2019 and the remainder in 2020.

“Krealo chose this opportunity because of the growth potential of the digital payment industry in Chile, the human team of the Multicaja digital business unit, the recognition of the company in the local market and the synergy with its innovative open agenda,” said Marco Roca, general manager of Krealo.

“The vision for the future is to continue promoting access to digital payments in Chile. In particular, we want to continue with Multicaja’s plans in the world of prepaid cards with a supply of funds.”

In-depth

Multicaja began in 2007 as a Chilean payment-acquiring company. Since then, it has worked with over 17,000 affiliated merchants and 700,000 online users. Clients make an average of 115 million transactions per year.

Krealo is the “innovation arm” of Credicorps launched in 2018. It builds, invests and manages fintech partners in Peru, Chile and Colombia, hoping to attract 100 million new customers in the future. Centered around venture capital, the offshoot strives to enhance value propositions for current or potential Credicorps affiliates.

According to Krealo’s LinkedIn, “We are committed to strengthening the value proposition of Credicorp’s products through new complementary businesses, as well as providing better digital services to current or potential customers of the holding in the region.”

Credicorps is a Peruvian multinational financial firm operating in Chile, Colombia and Bolivia. The group has an eclectic business portfolio organized in four categories: universal banking, microfinance, insurance/pension funds, as well as investment banking/wealth management.  

Conclusion

It’s apparent that the Krealo team realizes how the financial sector is going through tremendous transformations. Based on the constant technological innovations and diversified customer expectations, it makes sense why the subsidiary went for the acquisition. News products, services and business models are likely to provide new assets for further regional expansion.

-JA