Cape Town-based fintech Stitch has announced its second major acquisition this year, coming less than three months after securing a R1-billion fundraising round. The company, which emerged from stealth in February 2021, has now raised a total of US$107 million in funding, including its recent Series B round of $55 million.
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Stitch is acquiring Efficacy Payments to directly offer card-acquiring services to merchants as a “designated clearing system participant.” This move aims to provide more seamless and cost-effective transactions for businesses. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
“By bringing Efficacy into the Stitch group, Stitch has become one of the first fintechs in South Africa to offer direct card clearing both online and in-person,” Stitch stated on Wednesday. As a designated clearing system participant, Stitch gains full control over the entire product lifecycle, enabling a comprehensive, end-to-end card product. Efficacy, launched in 2016, became the second fintech in South Africa to achieve this clearing system participant designation in 2021.
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The acquisition means Stitch will function as a single provider offering a financial services gateway, switch, and acquirer. This allows merchants to consolidate their technical, compliance, financial, and operational requirements for end-to-end acquiring services with one partner. Since Stitch is directly connected to Visa and Mastercard, it eliminates the dependency on intermediary acquiring banks or switches, reducing potential failure points in transactions.
This latest move follows Stitch’s acquisition of ExiPay in January 2025, which enabled the company to expand from online payments into the in-person payments space. “Today Stitch offers a true omnichannel payment platform, allowing multi-lane retailers, telecommunications operators, and other omnichannel businesses to modernise their in-store and online payment experiences,” the company added.
