DUBAI (Reuters) – United Arab Emirates-based digital buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Spotii said on Tuesday its management would stay on to lead the company’s expansion after it was acquired by Australia’s Zip.
Zip, Australia’s second biggest BNPL firm, said on Monday it had bought the shares in Spotii it did not already own for $16 million. It later said it would rebrand Spotii as Zip.
Spotii Chief Operating Officer Ziyaad Ahmed said the day-to-day management remained the same as he and Chief Executive Anuscha Iqbal would continue to be heavily involved in the business.
Spotii, which says it is available in Gulf countries UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, has 650 merchants signed up to the platform and seen transaction volume rise at an average of 90% month-on-month since launching last year, according to Zip.
Ahmed said Spotii’s pace of expansion would likely accelerate following the acquisition, which Zip has said is expected to close in the third quarter.
Spotii would focus on expanding in the Middle East and North Africa, he said, declining to say which countries it would enter next.
Other Middle Eastern BNPL firms include Tamara, Tabby, Postpay and Shahry.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Mark Potter)
