Pioneering Bristol-based payment technology company CreditCall has been acquired by US fintech group NMI, creating a combined business accounting for payment volumes worth more than $45bn a year.
CreditCall, which also has an office in New York, has expanded since it was launched in 1996. In that time it has achieved a string of world firsts in the science of secure card payment processing, including developing the world’s first Chip and PIN card processing application for smartphones.
Originally used to make it easier to collect card payments in car parks and from vending machines, it has since moved into the retail and hospitality industries across the globe.
Its acquisition by NMI, which has offices in Utah and Illinois, will increase staffing to more than 160 staff and widen its reach into more markets. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
NMI is a leading provider of payment technology for independent sales organisations, independent software vendors and payment facilitators. This technology, and its expertise in e-commerce and m-commerce, will now be used to complement Creditcall’s industry-leading innovation in chip and PIN (or EMV), swipe and contactless payment technology, which are now the global standards for credit card and debit card payments.
NMI said it would also create the payment industry’s most versatile omni-channel payment gateway platform across North America and Europe. This would increase choice, accelerate time to market and remove payment complexities for integrators and their merchant customers.
Creditcall chief executive officer Lars Pederson, pictured, joined Creditcall as CEO in 2014 after leading tech companies around the world from California to Copenhagen, and has been responsible for its global initiatives and continued growth in the US.
He said: “We are excited to join forces with NMI as our solutions are highly complementary and will create a unique payment technology company. 
“By combining our EMV technology and card-present expertise with NMI’s market-leading card-not-present white-label payment gateway platform, we will become a one-stop-shop for omni-channel solutions for our partners and customers.”
NMI chief executive officer Roy Banks added: “The payment technology requirements of today’s merchants are more complex than ever – they need to accept and process payments in all sales channels and environments.
“The need for a single vendor and platform that seamlessly integrates and simplifies the complexities of card-present and card-not-present payments has never been greater, and the combination of NMI and Creditcall will finally deliver a true omni-channel solution.”
Creditcall started as a simple telecomms service to enable hotel customers to bill phone calls to their credit or debit card, which led to Creditcall name.
It completed a management buy-out (MBO) for an undisclosed sum in 2012 backed by FF&P Private Equity, the London-based private equity business of Fleming Family & Partners, and Bestport Ventures, also based in London.
They have now realised their investment with the sale to NMI, which itself is backed by global private equity firms Francisco Partners and Great Hill Partners, both of which specialise in investments in technology and technology-enabled businesses.
