GoCardless, the bank payment company, has reached an agreement to acquire competitor Nuapay, the open banking business of EML Payments Limited, subject to regulatory approval.
The Nuapay acquisition will significantly scale GoCardless’ indirect channel proposition, consolidating its position as a key payment provider to existing and new customer segments including Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
By incorporating Nuapay’s offering into its bank payment platform, GoCardless will fast-track the rollout of new disbursement capabilities to its customers and prospects. This could also enable GoCardless to unlock new vertical sectors and use cases in areas including payroll, financial services, utilities, insurance, gaming and gambling.
Luke Fossett, general manager of GoCardless ANZ, said: “Acquiring Nuapay will not only accelerate the execution of our product strategy, but will also enable us to meet the demand for more comprehensive payment solutions from Australian and international businesses.
“The combination of both organisations will create a full-service bank payment provider that will help businesses collect and pay out via direct debit and PayTo, something our customers have been asking for across a range of industries. We know that approximately 95 million direct debit payments occur in Australia every month, and we estimate the volume of the payout and disbursements market to be almost double that, presenting a significant opportunity for GoCardless.
“The acquisition will allow customers to unlock these capabilities via a single payment provider. In addition, they’ll get access to advanced features to help them combat fraud and improve payment success rates — not to mention integrations into more than 400 platforms they use to run their business, from CRM to billing to invoicing.”
Transforming how the world pays
Businesses and partners will benefit from a full-service provider with a “relentless” focus on bank payments, enabling disbursements and payment collection through direct debit, real-time payments and open banking, alongside enhanced features for improving payment success and reducing fraud.
Brian Hanrahan, co-founder and CEO of Nuapay, said: “How the world pays and gets paid is being transformed, with account-to-account payments and open banking playing the central role in that shift. Building on that shared vision, this acquisition will result in a combined organisation with deep domestic and international payments and open banking expertise plus the scale to harness these opportunities for our clients and partners.”
The announcement is the latest milestone for GoCardless as it accelerates its path to profitability. In the last year, it has launched GoCardless Embed, a white-label product to PSPs to acquire customers at scale, and has engaged in new partnerships and renewed existing agreements with the likes of JustGiving, Xero and Ecommpay.
