Priority Commerce Moves Into Public Sector With IntelliPay Acquisition

Priority Technology Holdings is preparing to acquire government/utility payment processing company IntelliPay.

The deal, announced Wednesday (Aug. 26), allows Priority to extend its enterprise payments business into the public sector with the creation of Priority Commerce Government.

“IntelliPay has been a longstanding partner and has built a strong business serving state and local municipalities with unique payment acceptance and billing needs,” Tom Priore, CEO of Priority Commerce, said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“Acquiring high-performing partners in our ecosystem is an important part of our strategy to build out key verticals. Our shared vision for streamlining financial operations in the public sector makes IntelliPay a natural fit as we bring seamless payments and treasury solutions to this critical market.”

Based in Utah, IntelliPay makes software that lets government agencies, schools and healthcare organizations accept and manage payments. Priority said the establishment of Priority Commerce Government is expected to generate a little more than $4 million of incremental revenue to Priority Commerce for the remainder of 2026.

“Priority Commerce shares our commitment to helping organizations modernize the way they accept and manage payments,” said Casey Leloux, IntelliPay’s chief executive. “Together, we’ll be able to bring our solutions to more customers while continuing to serve the public sector with the reliability and integration capabilities our clients expect.”

The acquisition comes on the heels of Priority’s announcement of a partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which involves the company providing a new ticketing payment process for the NFL team.

Priority earlier this month released quarterly earnings showing a 9% increase in revenue, driven in part by an uptick in buyer-funded revenues.

In other news from the public sector payments space, recent PYMNTS Intelligence research April’s “The Power of Now: Moving Money at the Speed of Life,” a collaboration with Visa Direct, suggests that government disbursements could be an “overlooked lever” in financial inclusion. According to this report, the challenge is not only whether funds are approved but whether  recipients can actually use them when they need them.

According to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Direct “The Power of Now: Moving Money at the Speed of Life,” report, 40% of recipients had little to no options in how they received their most recent government payment, while 36% needed access to that money immediately, within hours or on the same day.

“Government disbursement delivery remains fragmented across rails and methods. Tax refunds continue to be tied to traditional account-based transfers, while other payment types still rely on paper checks and slow clearing processes,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “Consumers often have limited say in how they receive money, creating a disconnect between how urgently it is needed and how quickly it becomes available.”