Gateway Provider NMI Snaps up Creditcall in a Bid for Wider Payment Capabilities

Network Merchants LLC has agreed to acquire Creditcall, a United Kingdom-based payment gateway provider, processor, and vendor of EMV kernel software. Terms of the deal, including a price and an estimated closing date, were not disclosed in NMI’s official announcement. Roy Banks, NMI’s chief executive, tells Digital Transactions News the deal could close “within the next few weeks.”

With the acquisition, Roselle, Ill.-based NMI will add card-present EMV capabilities to go with a card-not-present payment gateway it white-labels for payments providers. It will also gain a foothold internationally, the company says. Creditcall maintains its headquarters in Bristol, England, but also has an office in New York City.

The combination of NMI and Creditcall will create a company processing more than $45 billion in annual payment volume and supporting more than 165 processor integrations and more than 100 device certifications globally, according to the companies.

“It was time for us to make a strategic shift,” Banks says. In particular, he says the deal was driven by the needs of NMI’s clients, which include independent sales organizations, independent software vendors, and value-added resellers. All of these are looking for capabilities across e-commerce, mobile, and in-lane channels, including EMV. These needs “have become more evident in EMV and card-present servicing, particularly with EMV certification,” he says.

While Creditcall, as its name implies, got its start in 1996 processing credit card payments for in-room phone calls for hotel guests, it has expanded over the years into broader gateway services. Included in Creditcall’s expertise is the development of EMV kernels, the root software for transactions at EMV terminals.

NMI also felt a need to accelerate development it had under way for omnichannel services, Banks adds. “Our partners are dealing with merchants doing business in multiple channels,” he says. As a result, a gateway serving just one market “is not going to cut it.”

Added Lars Pedersen, chief executive of Creditcall, in a statement: “We are excited to join forces with NMI as our solutions are highly complementary and will create a unique payment-technology company.”

Observers say the deal should enhance NMI’s offering significantly. “This does make a lot of sense. There are a select few gateways that can truly provide omnichannel processing,” says Rick Oglesby, principal at AZPayments Group, a Mesa, Ariz.-based consultancy. “Creditcall provides a comprehensive set of EMV solutions that are a great fit for a gateway.”

Funding for the deal was provided by NMI’s investors, Francisco Partners and Great Hill Partners. “We have great investors,” says Banks. “This [deal] is representative of their commitment.” He doesn’t rule out other acquisitions. “We could do more things like this,” he says.