Mercado Libre Acquires POS Provider Redelcom

The Latin American eCommerce giant Mercado Libre says it has acquired Redelcom, a Chilean payments service provider.

“Mercado Libre seeks to consolidate its value proposition in Chile and enhance the growth of its multiple payment tools and digital financial solutions,” the Argentine company said in a news release Monday (Dec. 13).

“This is part of its purpose to democratize trade and finance in Latin America and contribute to reduce financial inclusion gaps, helping to improve the quality of life of people and boosting the business of companies, especially SMEs and entrepreneurs,” the company wrote.

Mercado Libre, like Redelcom, is a player in the POS market throughout the region, selling more than one million terminals during this year’s third quarter. Chile has offered an impressive growth opportunity in the region, leading the company to look for ways to increase its offerings for small- to medium-enterprises.

“Redelcom has the best product in the market and, leveraging the expertise of the Mercado Libre ecosystem, we will continue to consolidate financial services in Chile,” said Matías Spagui, director of Mercado Pago.

“Redelcom is a company that is in tune with the purpose of democratizing commerce and achieving financial inclusion. Ninety-nine percent of its customers are SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs, and they will continue to receive the same quality of service,” Spagui said.

The Redelcom POS accepts payments from all debit and credit cars and from banks around the world. It also gives merchants tools to manage their money, such as a system that issues electronic receipts linked to the Internal Revenue Service.

Read more: Mercado Libre To Funnel $1.1B To Mexico Operation

The acquisition comes eight months after the news that Mercado Libre was planning to invest $1.1 billion to boost its warehouse space and services in Mexico, three times the amount the company spent in Mexico in 2020.

The investment represents a doubling of the company’s warehouse space, while also beefing up its services such as consumer credit, creating close to 5,000 jobs in the process.