Morocco's HPS plans fintech acquisition before 2027, CEO says

MARRAKECH, April 14 (Reuters) - Moroccan payment solutions firm HPS plans to spur growth with the acquisition of a fintech firm before 2027, the company's CEO said on Monday.

Casablanca-listed HPS operates in 95 countries and posted 2024 revenue of 1.267 billion dirhams ($140 million), up 6.4%.

Last December, it bought Dublin-based CR2, a digital banking and payment software developer.

The company is considering the acquisition of a financial technology firm that can bring added value in technology, including in artificial intelligence, CEO Abdeslam Alaoui Smaili told Reuters on the sidelines of Gitex Africa, a tech event in Marrakech. He did not elaborate.

In 2024, the company concluded 1.1 billion dirhams in total contract value, up 386%.

Nearly half of HPS's revenue comes from Africa, followed by Europe and the Middle East. HPS expanded to Australia last year and to Canada in 2023.

HPS seeks to build on its existing investments before expanding to Latin America, Alaoui Smaili said.

The firm, which runs the national payment switch in Morocco, sees moves by African central banks to legalize digital currencies - known as central bank digital currencies - as "an opportunity to increase digital payments and reduce the circulation of cash," he said.

For HPS systems, a CBDC will be "an additional currency to add in a transaction ... or an additional volume to manage," he said. ($1 = 9.23 Moroccan dirhams) (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi in Marrakech Editing by Matthew Lewis)