Mastercard (MA) Plans to Buy Minority Stake in MTN Group
Mastercard Incorporated MA recently announced its intention to buy a minority stake in the fintech business of MTN Group in Africa. MTN Group values its fintech arm at $5.2 billion. However, the size of MA’s stake is still not disclosed.
This move bodes well for Mastercard as it will help the company reap opportunities from the growing market in Africa. Moreover, as transaction volume increase, MA’s top line is likely to increase in the future. MTN Group will leverage Mastercard’s technology infrastructure to grow its remittance and payment services in Africa.
Africa is an attractive market for Mastercard, given the increasing use of mobile phones to weather obstructions in banking services. Wireless carriers have gained popularity due to this fast-growing space in Africa. Mastercard bought a minority stake in Airtel Africa’s mobile-money unit two years ago.
Mastercard has always promoted digitizing the money movement process, owing to its ease and cost-effective nature. A booming digital economy further provides an impetus to the tech giant to upgrade cross-border payments across different parts of the globe. MA’s intensified focus on strengthening its foothold in Africa is also clearly reflected in its latest move.
Mobile Internet connections are expected to grow rapidly in Africa due to low-cost smartphones. This growth in Internet connections is spurring demand for digital content, social media, e-commerce and online education. Hence, it is vital to make online payments easy and secure for both banked and unbanked consumers.
MasterCard is collaborating with governments, central banks, financial institutions, mobile network operators, large retailers and other stakeholders across Africa to understand the economic outlooks of its countries, their unique demographics, infrastructure challenges and hidden opportunities.
Other Business Service Players
Some other stocks in the Business Services space are Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. BFH, Envestnet, Inc. ENV and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS.
The bottom line of Bread Financial outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters, met once the average surprise being 126.3%. Bread Financial stands to gain from solid consumer spending, credit sales performance, strategic investments and a robust capital position.
Envestnet’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, met once, the average surprise being 4.1%. The company’s business model ensures solid asset-based and subscription-based recurring revenue-generation capacity. Several trends are creating significant market opportunities for Envestnet’s technology-enabled solutions and services.
The bottom line of Fidelity National outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters, missed once, the average surprise being 3.1%. The company is well-poised to grow on the back of its Future Forward initiative, rising demand for digital payment solutions, a healthy product portfolio and modernization efforts. The growing global e-commerce market holds tremendous opportunity for the company.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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