MoneyGram Buys ACH Processor to Beef up Bill Payment Services

Minneapolis-based remittance processor MoneyGram International Inc. is acquiring ACH Commerce LLC, a processor of automated clearing house transactions, in a deal expected to close by June 30. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but ACH Commerce will remain based in Ooltewah, Tenn., where it was founded five years ago by Deborah Hickok, president and chief executive. Hickok and her staff will become employees of MoneyGram's global funds transfer group, which serves retail businesses and includes the company's Travelers Express money orders and MoneyGram money transfers as well as utility bill-payment and emergency bill-payment processing. ACH Commerce, which processes transactions for more than 1,500 corporate clients, has developed a proprietary system that includes direct delivery of transactions to the Federal Reserve through a Fed terminal. The acquisition, according to a statement released by MoneyGram, will beef up the company's capabilities in bill payment processing, which currently include a walk-in utility-payment service and an urgent payment product offered under the ExpressPayment brand. The company's statement adds it will focus after completing the acquisition on one-time and recurring ACH payments and credit and debit card transactions over the phone, moving into “additional payment channels in coming months.” Phil Milne, president and chief executive at MoneyGram, said in the statement: “ACH Commerce is a leading ACH processor with impressive technology, and it will provide us with the systems platform and expertise to build our bill-payment business into a multi-faceted, full-cycle service.” ACH Commerce offers transaction processing over the Internet and phone, along with check conversion with remittance processing, check representment, and direct debit. It customers include billers, merchants, and banks. Founder Hickok recently was named to the Federal Reserve Board's consumer advisory council. MoneyGram International was spun off last June by Viad Corp., and includes two businesses, Travelers Express Co. Inc. and MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc.