This acquisition was an opportunity for Edenred to rapidly establish itself on the Colombian market thanks to a well-known local brand with a portfolio of over 3,000 clients and a broad network of 28,000 affiliate merchants.
Entering into a high-growth country is in line with the geographic expansion strategy of Edenred, whose target is to enter 6 to 8 new countries by 2016.
"With this operation, our interconnections with Latin America are now complete. Colombia is a country where we need to be. It was the last large country in Latin America where we did not yet have operations" affirmed Jacques Stern, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Edenred.
A wide range of corporate solutions
The Colombian subsidiary markets 7 prepaid service vouchers. Primarily in the area of Employee Benefits, these solutions are available as cards and paper vouchers.
These solutions give employees additional purchasing power:
- Big Pass Alimenticio® for purchasing groceries from supermarkets and hypermarkets,
- Big Pass Education® for covering tuition and childcare expenses and buying school supplies,
- Big Pass Turismo®, a voucher to pay for living and travel expenses for holidays,
- Big Pass Regalo®, a gift voucher valid in major national stores,
- Big Pass Auto® for fuel and car maintenance costs,
- Big Pass Dotacion® for cleaning and purchasing workwear,
- Big Pass Salud® to pay for medical services and medicine.
The subsidiary also invites companies to benefit from consumer goods with Big Pass Plus®, a discount coupon solution accepted by a wide network of affiliate merchants.
In 2012, Big Pass issued €100 million in service vouchers. The subsidiary has 82 employees who are willing to take up new challenges and are enthusiastic about the changes that have been made since the acquisition.
"We are delighted to welcome Big Pass into the Group. The professionalism and warmth of the employees and the work atmosphere are factors that should ensure that business will be done smoothly and objectives will be achieved."
Jean-Louis Claveau, Managing Director Hispanic Latin and North America