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Vantiv Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are, separately, creating new looks for their brands.
Vantiv, which bought integrated-payments specialist Mercury Payment Systems LLC in 2014 for $1.65 billion, is renaming Mercury and Element Payment Services, an integrated-payments provider it purchased in 2013, as a single unit called Vantiv Integrated Payments.
This name change is a natural evolution for the companies, Matt Taylor, Vantiv group president of integrated payments and emerging channels, tells Digital Transactions News via email.
“They were acquired 18 months to two years ago, and this will allow Mercury and Element to go to market as a single name, single brand, focusing on integrated payments and the future of the integrated point of sale,” Taylor says.
Changes extend beyond the name. Taylor says sales partners and merchants will have quicker funding and more adept reporting features with access to a back-end settlement platform that can easily adapt to all merchant sizes. They also will have access to OptBlue, the America Express Co. program that offers incentives for signing up merchants to accept AmEx cards.
Symmes Township, Ohio-based Vantiv also updated its Vantiv Advantage program, which includes lead guarantees, a program to support merchants, and a developer network to provide online tools and information sharing.
Vantiv’s rebranding of Mercury and Element is not without precedent. Prior to becoming a publicly traded company in 2012, the company adopted the Vantiv name after having been known as Fifth Third Processing Solutions. It purchased online-payments specialist Litle & Co. in 2012 and rebranded it under the Vantiv moniker.
Meanwhile, PayPal’s branding move lies in the debut of its “New Money” campaign, which kicks off with a 45-second commercial during Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7. The “New Money” marketing campaign is meant to showcase ways technology can assist consumers with their financial decisions.
