WorldFirst UK Currency Giant Is Bought By Jack Ma’s Ant Financial Worth $700 Million

SA TeamDecember 24, 2018

Business

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Key Highlights

Alibaba’s Ant Financial bought UK financing company WorldFirst.

The deal between Ant Financial and WorldFirst worth $700 Million.

WorldFirst has transferred $95 Billion for 160,000 customers since 2014.

On stepping forward to expand business across the globe Alibaba’s Ant Financial, a financial services leviathan has plunk its first move in Europe by buying payment company WorldFirst, headquartered at London. The deal is worth $700 Million according to sources.

There are lots of benefits of the deal because it not only strengthens market connections between China and Europe and gives margins to small remittance companies which are now under pressure of bigger companies like Amazon and local players of Asia. Amazon is now building its own money moving services but this deal has come as a gift for China and Europe.

WorldFirst came into action in 2014 and it enables consumers and businesses to transfer money between countries at prices lower to banks. Under 15 years of service, it has become the world’s one of the top globally active money remittance company. The company claims to have transferred more than one Million transfers per day summing to an amount of $90 billion in the span of 15 years of its functioning.

Ali Financials renowned for its Alipay services has 550 million registered users and is famous for its China’s dominating mobile payment app. Alibaba is the one-third owner of Alipay which worth $150 billion. It is planning to expand the business and services of Ali pay beyond China and the Asia Pacific.

According to Quin, WorldFirst will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ant Financial but will retain its brand.

WorldFirst is financed by private equity investors but it usually used to hide its financial details. In October 2018 it revealed that has transferred $95 Billion for 160,000 customers (business and individuals).

WorldFirst has to sell itself to Ant Financial because it was facing massive competition from Amazon, LianLian, PingPong, and Airwallex. Amazon has launched Amazon currency converter for sellers to transfer funds without using ant third-party like WorldFirst. Amazon has also launched Amazon pay code, a new service build by Amazon with the Western Union to let people pay for goods in local currencies where Amazon has not reached right now.

This deal has tightened the grip of Ant Financial in the global market and has assisted in building a significant profile in Europe. Ant Financial acquired Nasdaq-listed MoneyGram for $1.2 billion in 2017 after it won a bidding battle for the global payment company.

Alipay is expanding its business globally at a great pace apart from China and Europe it has recently put $200 Million into Kakao Pay, Korea. The overall success of Alipay is its tight grip in China where it offers digital finances service covering loans, wealth management, and blanking and mobile payment.

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