The Ha Noi-based company, a subsidiary of Germany’s Wirecard Sales International Holding, has been present in Viet Nam since 1999. — AFP/VNA Photo

BC Card, a Republic of Korea-based credit card issuer, has acquired 100 percent stake of Vietnamese point of sale (POS) terminal provider Wirecard Vietnam in a bid to expand its foothold in Southeast Asia.

Wirecard Vietnam, the largest POS system supplier in Viet Nam, offers one-stop-shop payment solutions, from back-end software to front-end hardware, to around 40 local banks and payment services firms.

The Ha Noi-based company, a subsidiary of Germany’s Wirecard Sales International Holding, has been present in Vietnam since 1999. Its revenue reached a record high VND137.3 billion ($5.95 million) in 2019, up 15.5 per cent from the previous year. Its after-tax profit hit VND12.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2018.

The parent corporation last year filed for insolvency after it admitted 1.9 billion euro in cash had gone missing from its balance sheet, forcing Wirecard Singapore to divest its entire holding from the Viet Nam company to BC Card.

“Despite the challenging circumstances of the international sales processes amidst a pandemic, we succeeded in preserving another Wirecard subsidiary in Asia,” said insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe.

BC Card, meanwhile, is the RoK's biggest payment processing company and local brand network. It has been collaborating with a number of major banking and payment services firms in Vietnam, such as National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), LienVietPostBank, and Sacombank.

“BC Card has decided to take over the stake of Wirecard Vietnam to directly run a business in the local market, and to increase its presence there,” said BC Card CEO Choi Won-seok.

The transfer of the stake will be completed by the third quarter this year after the RoK firm pays for the acquisition. — VNS