Electronic payments technology provider ACI Worldwide has acquired e-commerce payment services provider Pay.On for $200 million, providing e-retailers with a global payments gateway that will let retailers reach growing overseas markets such as India and China, say analysts and an ACI executive.
A combined ACI-Pay.On can gives e-retailers the ability to sell their products outside of the United States and accept such foreign payment card brands as RuPay in India, China UnionPay in China and alternative payments in Europe such as Ukash, Skrill and giropay, says Lynn Holland, who oversees ACI’s retailer and merchant solutions as vice president and product line manager.
“We make sure that the e-retailer can securely accept payment in markets such as India, China and Europe with alternatives other than global brands such as Mastercard and Visa,” Holland says. As many consumers in developing economies don’t have Western credit cards, accepting the local payment methods opens up large markets that would otherwise be inaccessible, Holland says.
Pay.On acts as a payment gateway worldwide for banks and payment processors such as First Data Corp., Global Payments and Worldpay, says Wayne Johnson, a managing director with the Raymond James financial advisory firm.
Johnson says the ACI-Pay.On deal will enable the combined company to capture high-volume business and jumpstart ACI’s growing global service. The deal also complements ACI’s $205 million acquisition last year of fraud-prevention firm ReD by providing secure and efficient payment processing, he says.
Cross-border e-commerce volume is expected to grow 18% a year through 2019, says a study by eMarketer research.
Doug Johnson, senior vice president for payments and cyber-security policy for the American Bankers Association, a trade group, says the combined company will enable e-retailers to sell to online shoppers around the world. He says that may offer a new way for smaller web merchants to expand their sales, in addition to selling on online marketplaces such as those of Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc.
Holland says ACI’s acquisition of Pay.On will also provide online retailers with better fraud-detection services and let them more smoothly integrate customers’ loyalty points and other rewards into their payments.
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