Bahrain Financing Company Group in historical merger

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Middle East’s oldest money exchange house has taken a significant step following a recent merger with major international partners. After acquiring Finabir, the leading fintech and remittance platform in the MENA region and India, Prism Group AG and Royal Strategic Partners have signed a sales and purchase agreement to acquire BFC Group Holdings and its subsidiaries (subject to regulatory approval), including BFC Bahrain, BEC Exchange (Kuwait), BFC Payments and BFC Forex and Financial Services (India) via their newly created WizzFinancial platform.

“The recent merger of BFC Bahrain with Prism Group AG and Royal Strategic Partners is a major leap in the next growth phase of our company,” said BFC Group managing director and CEO Ebrahim Ezra Nonoo. Nonoo is going to lead the WizzFinancial platform and its international money transfer business in 170 countries. “We are excited that the acquisition will create a regional powerhouse with licenses to operate in 30 countries.

This merger is the largest in the Gulf among the money exchange houses.” Several formalities are being fulfilled with the concerned ministries in the Kingdom to finalise the deal, Nonoo stated. He added that the BFC brand would remain in place. “Bahrain Finance Company will operate in the same brand in Bahrain since it is a trusted and a popular name among our customers,” he said. When asked about BFC entering commercial banking, Nonoo said: “We have no such plans to date to enter into banking services, but we have plans to expand our products and territories.”

“Our online platform is popular and has been used by many of our customers for many years. As a reliable brand, we are entering the next phase of our growth by joining hands with Prism Group AG and Royal Strategic Partners.” BFC specialises in global money transfers, foreign exchange and wholesale currency services and has 120 retail branches throughout Bahrain, Kuwait and India. BFC has long-term partnerships with global financial services companies such as Citibank, Visa, MoneyGram , Xpress Money and UnionPay