dLocal to Acquire Payments Startup Aza Finance in Potential $150M Deal
TLDR
- Uruguayan payments unicorn dLocal has announced its intent to acquire Aza Finance, a cross-border payments and FX platform operating across 17 African countries
- The deal, pending regulatory approval, marks dLocal’s most significant move into the African continent to date
- While the acquisition price was not disclosed, Bloomberg reports a valuation of approximately $150 million
Uruguayan payments unicorn dLocal has announced its intent to acquire Aza Finance, a cross-border payments and FX platform operating across 17 African countries. The deal, pending regulatory approval, marks dLocal’s most significant move into the African continent to date. While the acquisition price was not disclosed, Bloomberg reports a valuation of approximately $150 million, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Founded in 2013 by Elizabeth Rossiello, Aza Finance was one of the first African fintechs to leverage Bitcoin-based remittances. It later evolved into a full-service foreign exchange and payments platform, managing over $2 billion in transactions for clients in more than 115 countries.
The acquisition gives dLocal a footprint in markets where it previously had no presence, including Botswana, Mozambique, and Guinea, and allows Aza Finance to tap into dLocal’s global merchant network. dLocal, which operates in 13 African markets, gains access to Aza's infrastructure across 17 countries, expanding its total regional reach.
The deal is part of a broader uptick in African fintech M&A, following moves by LemFi and Stitch earlier in 2025. As African markets become more integrated and infrastructure matures, expect more such strategic transactions as global fintech players look to plug into Africa’s fragmented but fast-growing financial rails.
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Points clés à retenir
The dLocal-Aza Finance deal highlights a growing trend in African fintech: cross-border payment infrastructure is now a top target for global acquirers seeking high-growth, underpenetrated markets. For dLocal, which has already scaled across Latin America and parts of Asia, Africa represents the next frontier in its strategy to dominate emerging market payments. Unlike traditional buyouts, dLocal typically structures deals based on transaction volumes, often combining cash and revenue-sharing models to avoid full operational integration while still capturing value from local payment flows. This flexible acquisition strategy allows it to rapidly scale its global footprint without the overhead of full ownership. For Aza Finance, the acquisition marks a milestone in its 11-year journey. After starting as BitPesa, using Bitcoin to cut remittance costs, it rebranded in 2019 to signal its shift to institutional-grade FX and payments services. Recent backing from the Development Bank of Southern Africa and prior acquisitions—TransferZero (Spain) and Exchange4Free (South Africa)—have helped it build a robust pan-African payments network.
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