Payment firm Ebury eyes Brazil as largest market after expansion, says executive
By Andre Romani
SAO PAULO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - British payment firm Ebury has started to widen its operations in Brazil, which it sees as having the potential to become its main market by revenue, the company's chief commercial officer told Reuters.
Ebury, which is majority owned by Spain's Santander , mostly handles currencies exchange in cross-border trade, and is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as next year.
"In 2024, we certainly will double the FX exchange volume done in Brazil compared to 2023," Ebury's global CCO Fernando Pierri told Reuters in an interview. The firm exchanged $4.86 billion in the country last year.
Ebury debuted in Brazil in 2021 through a partnership with local bank Bexs, which held an FX regulatory approval to operate within the country.
Ebury then purchased Bexs, closing on the sale in late 2023, allowing Ebury to fully integrate its operations, according to Pierri.
Still, the country is currently Ebury's third-largest market by revenue, behind only United Kingdom and Spain, the firm said.
"Brazil will be a very important chapter (for Ebury) in terms of the IPO, because Brazil will be one of the countries with the heaviest weight in terms of results for the company," he said.
Ebury is not specifically focused on turning Brazil into its main market, according to Pierri, though he believes "it will happen naturally" without providing a timeline.
Pierri, who is Brazilian, added Brazil's attractiveness for Ebury was based on the country's large exports, especially of agriculture-linked commodities, while he also sees opportunities in products aimed at facilitating payments for Chinese companies operating in the Latin America nation.
Elsewhere in the region, Ebury began operating in Chile last year, while it is also set to kick off operations in Mexico later this year, Pierri said. He added the firm intends to expand to other countries such as Colombia and Peru, although he did not say when those expansions may take place.
(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry and Aurora Ellis)
