Dive Brief:
- Bringing another payments business into its fold, Fortis Payment Systems, a Novi, Michigan-based payments software company, has acquired Payment Logistics, a La Jolla, California-based payment technology firm, according to a press release today.
- Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 43 employees at Payment Logistics will join Fortis as part of the transaction, bringing the Fortis headcount to 240, according to a Fortis spokesperson.
- The Payment Logistics staffers will continue focusing on payment tools for the retail and hospitality industries, according to the press release. Payment Logistics founder Dustin Niglio will continue to oversee the La Jolla staffers, per the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Leading up to the acquisition of Payment Logistics, Fortis has experienced its own growth. The company said in a press release last month that it has surpassed $20 billion in commerce transaction volume this year, an 80% increase from 2021.
“This acquisition strengthens our existing tools and infrastructure at Fortis, enabling us to amplify our tech stack for software partners,” Fortis CEO Greg Cohen said, per the release. “Additionally, it improves our ability to enhance the merchant and customer experience with embedded payments.”
The Payment Logistics acquisition is the latest in a string of mergers and acquisitions for Fortis over the past few years. Last year, Fortis acquired Swype at Work for an undisclosed sum and entered into a strategic partnership with Net at Work, Swype's affiliate company, according to a news release. In 2020, Fortis merged with Blue Dog Business Services, another payments tech company, per a press release. The year prior, Fortis also acquired Zeamster, an API payment gateway provider, but did not disclose the amount it paid.
Fortis noted that having Payment Logistics under its wing will bring multiple embedded payments partnerships. Earlier this year, Payment Logistics announced that it had integrated its PayLink technology within window company Window World’s software system.
Fortis’ acquisition of Payment Logistics comes as the overall payment industry faces a slowdown in venture capital funding. In Q2 2022, payment companies raised $7.59 billion in VC funding, down 18.7% from the previous quarter, according to an August PitchBook analysis. In PitchBook’s report, analyst Robert Le predicted that larger financial technology firms will buy smaller startups that specialize in particular niches.
Other analysts are keeping their eye out for more mergers and acquisitions as sky-high valuations for startups drop. Publicly-traded companies Coupa, Payoneer and Repay, could also be targets for future deals, per an Oct. 7 investor note from the financial services firm William Blair.