Equifax Inc, the Atlanta, Georgia-based provider of credit management and check authorization services to the financial industry, has announced two acquisitions in Brazil, bringing its total investment in that market over the past month to almost $350m. The company acquired a controlling 59% share in Unnisa – Solucoes em Meios de Pagamento Ltda, a leading processor of bankcard and private label card processing, together with 34% of Proceda Tecnologia e Informatica SA, the country’s second largest IT outsourcing company, for a total of $150m. These two purchases, added to last month’s $197m takeover of the country’s leading commercial information company, Seguranca ao Credito e Informacoes (SCI), position Equifax as a leading player in financial information and outsourced transaction processing in the country. A spokesperson for Equifax said many of Brazil’s 210 banks still process their credit cards in-house, so the company sees a business opportunity there, as credit card usage has increased dramatically since economic stabilization took place in the mid-nineties. Until then, credit cards had suffered from the hyperinflationary situation that prevailed for over ten years. We can take care of our clients’ business throughout the credit lifecycle, from acquiring the customer base to analyzing its creditworthiness, monitoring accounts and even collections, the spokesperson explained.
