Visa to Acquire Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay in Argentina. Prisma provides credit, debit and prepaid card issuer processing. Newpay is a multi-network infrastructure provider that operates real-time payments services, the Banelco ATM network and the bill payment platform PagoMisCuentas.
Short history
2014: Prisma was formed through the merger of Visa Argentina and Banelco, but this was an internal local reorganization — not a full acquisition by Visa from external owners.
2019: Visa, together with 14 Argentine banks, sold a majority stake (51 %) of Prisma to private-equity firm Advent International as part of a regulatory-mandated divestment — so Visa actually reduced its ownership at that time.
2022: Advent acquired the remaining stake, taking full ownership of Prisma.
Advent International, a leading global private equity investor, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Prisma and Newpay, subsidiaries of Group Prisma, a leading Argentine payments company, to Visa.
During Advent’s ownership, the group underwent a strategic transformation, resulting in the separation of the business into three focused and independent platforms — Prisma, Newpay, and Payway. This transaction represents the sale of two of the three platforms, with Advent retaining ownership of Payway, the group’s merchant acquiring business.
Prisma is an issuer processing platform in Argentina, processing more than six billion transactions annually as a trusted partner to the country’s leading banks. Newpay provides payments and cash access infrastructure in Argentina, enabling real-time account-to-account payments — including instant transfers and Transferencias 3.0 (Pagos con Transferencias) — and interoperable QR payments across the ecosystem. Newpay also provides electronic bill payments (PagoMisCuentas) and is an ATM operator in the country (Banelco).
The transaction highlights the strategic value of Prisma and Newpay as important payments infrastructure in Argentina, supporting everyday payment flows and connecting financial institutions, merchants, and consumers across the country. The acquisition marks an accelerated evolution for Prisma and Newpay, pairing a global payments network with a scaled local platform to drive innovation, operational resilience, and expanded capabilities for clients.
“This transaction reflects the strength of the platforms the Prisma team has built and the valuable role they play in Argentina’s payments ecosystem,” said Juan Pablo Zucchini, a Managing Partner at Advent. “We believe Visa is well positioned to support the continued evolution and long-term success of Prisma and Newpay, and remain excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Payway.”
As a standalone growth platform, Payway will continue to expand into higher-value merchant solutions such as instant payments and QR, fraud and security solutions, and embedded financial services. These initiatives are expected to deepen merchant relationships and expand recurring revenues as digital payments adoption continues to accelerate.
“Advent has played a central role in helping to shape our value creation agenda, which has focused on technology modernization and product innovation, alongside continuous improvements in service quality, reliability, and client experience, all designed around supporting clients and long-term partnerships,” said Martin Kaplan, CEO of the Group, who will remain as Payway’s CEO. “We’re thrilled to continue working with the Advent team, and see significant long-term potential in Payway as a standalone platform, supported by the continued digitization of Argentina’s economy, a steady shift from cash to electronic payments, and increasing demand for advanced merchant solutions.”
“Over the course of our partnership with Group Prisma, our focus has been on building resilient, independent platforms with clear strategic positioning”, said Chris Egan, a Managing Partner at Advent. “We are proud of the growth and the results that the Group has been able to achieve, and are confident that, under Visa’s ownership, Prisma and Newpay will continue supporting businesses across Argentina, helping merchants, financial institutions and service providers operate more efficiently and serve their customers better.”
„Upon closing, the combined technology platforms of Prisma and Newpay, together with Visa’s global network and value-added services, will accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies such as tokenization, biometric authentication, intelligent risk tools and agentic commerce solutions. These end-to-end capabilities will improve services from issuers and enhance speed and security for consumers, while delivering agnostic processing that supports any card brand processed by Prisma and all payment methods offered by Newpay.” – Visa said in a press release.
“This acquisition is an important step for Visa in Argentina, strengthening our client partnerships and advancing innovation across the payments ecosystem,” said Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa. “By bringing together Prisma’s and Newpay’s deep local expertise with Visa’s global solutions and technology, we will empower our clients to make payments simpler, faster, and more secure for consumers and businesses.”
“We see significant opportunities to expand digital payments adoption and modernize financial services, capabilities and infrastructure across the country,” said Gabriela Renaudo, Group Country Manager, Visa Argentina and Southern Cone. “This investment reflects Visa’s commitment to contribute to Argentina’s growth and enhancing its competitiveness in global commerce.”
Advent has deep global payments experience and a long-standing presence in Argentina. Since 2008, the firm has invested or committed US$9.4 billion in eighteen payments companies globally. Recent investments in the sector include Nuvei (a global payment service provider with a primary focus on eCommerce enterprise merchants), myPOS (a leading provider of payments solutions to sole traders and merchants in Europe), Mangopay (a leading payments solution provider for marketplaces and platforms) and Medius (a leading provider of cloud-based accounts payable automation). In parallel, Advent has invested in six Argentine businesses since 1998 across pharmaceuticals, consumer, and financial and business services.
The transaction is subject to closing conditions and is expected to close in Q1 2026.
Prisma operates in Argentina and other Latin American countries, processing more than 75 million cards for more than 90 issuers. It develops secure, high-quality technological payment solutions, connecting entities, banks, fintechs, and consumers across the entire value chain to simplify everyday life. With 40 years of market experience, it provides processing products and services for credit, debit, and prepaid card issuers through Digital Issuing, its digital card issuance platform that enables rapid market integration. Its offering includes back-office services, card issuance and personalization, customer service, and fraud management, among others.
Newpay manages and processes instant peer-to-peer transfers—via both ATMs and the digital channels of Banelco network banks —and Transfer Payments (PCT), handling approximately 300 million transactions per month. Newpay manages utility and tax payments for over 7,500 affiliated companies through PagoMisCuentas as well as the Banelco ATM network, with more than 7,000 ATMs nationwide. The company offers secure, flexible, and high-quality payment technology solutions to drive digital payments.
Payway is the leading merchant acquiring services provider in Argentina. It develops technology that enables merchants to accept and reconcile sales through the broadest range of payment methods. Its solutions reach more than 700,000 payment points through its merchant clients and payment aggregators. Through Payway, merchants can accept payments via credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and banking apps in-store, online, over the phone, and on public transportation.
Its payment solutions and value-added services include POS terminals, QR payments, direct debit, payment links, financial services such as early settlement and financing, processing solutions for payment aggregators, a reconciliation and self-service platform through the “Mi Payway” portal, and solutions to enhance online payments, including authentication, transaction monitoring, and tokenization.
Advent is a leading global private equity investor committed to working in partnership with management teams, entrepreneurs, and founders to help transform businesses. With 16 offices across five continents, we oversee more than US $100 billion in assets under management* and have made 448 investments across 44 countries.
Since our founding in 1984, Advent has developed specialist market expertise across our five core sectors: business & financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial, and technology.
*Assets under management (AUM) as of September 30, 2025. AUM includes assets attributable to Advent advisory clients as well as employee and third-party co-investment vehicles.
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