AEVI and Vantiv announced at Money20/20 USA a major strategic partnership in North America to provide Vantiv's channel partners and merchants with an open application platform across the acquirer's SmartPay Series of hardware devices, according to a press release.

The companies said the offering is the first in the U.S. to provide a payment product with the security of next-generation smart terminals and the flexibility of an Android-based application marketplace. The venture is intended to enable Vantiv's small and mid-size merchants to benefit from increased functionality and versatility to efficiently run and grow their business.

"By offering more choice through an open application platform, we can drive a simpler smart terminal solution to help our partners and merchants win in the market," Scott DeAngelo, senior vice president of product at Vantiv, said in the release. "With this solution, we are placing our partners and merchants ahead of the curve, whether it's through core software applications addressing specific POS needs, growing revenue through loyalty and analytics tools, or protecting their bottom line with inventory and labor management tools."

AEVI's Marketplace will be available to channel partners as a plug-and-play solution for merchants, according to the press release.