Foundation Is Laid, Momentum Kicks In For Amaryllis

There comes a time in every startup’s life when momentum kicks in and everything becomes a whirlwind of activity. Or maybe that’s just startup life in general.

Either way, Amaryllis CEO Mark Bishopp said that’s exactly where the startup has found itself this past quarter, with many key developments to report.

Perhaps the most important of these was the completion of its certification with Vantiv. Bishopp said these certifications cover all things regarding payment facilitation: tools, platforms, dynamic payouts. As core differentiators for Vantiv, these capabilities are critical for partners like Amaryllis if they hope to offer their services to Vantiv’s clients.

Bishopp said that, going forward, the startup’s focus will be on getting clients and volume, which is why this and other recent certifications are so important: They provide the foundation for that growth. With the certifications in place, Bishopp said months of hard work by the startup team can now finally begin to pay off.

Another major development is the finalization of an ACI worldwide contract, which Bishopp said is still in negotiations but is nearing completion.

When that happens, he said, it will expand the startup’s global reach and create access to markets in regions that Amaryllis could not previously serve. Bishopp explained that the contract would connect Amaryllis to any remaining platforms that Vantiv did not.

Additionally, Amaryllis recently welcomed a new global head of sales, Chito Collins. Collins formerly worked at Bank of America Merchant Services, Vantiv and Sterling — a career path that synced up with Bishopp’s at several points.

Bishopp said Collins brings to the table a rich history of complex payment models knowledge and a force-of-nature kind of power through which she is able to score meetings with top clients.

“She’s always been looking for a company that can run as fast as she can,” Bishopp remarked.

In other news, Amaryllis has concluded a bridge round to its Series A funding round — amount to be announced next month — and was listed among Enterprise Security Magazine’s top 10 payment security solution providers.

Finally, Amaryllis is slated to appear at several conferences throughout the spring, including FinovateSpring in May and the Electronic Transactions Associations’ Transact 18 conference in April.

Bishopp said to look forward to some big announcements at Transact 18, where Amaryllis will have a booth. From there, said the executive, the startup will be announcing a big acquirer it’s now working with, new clients and upcoming products.

Bishopp and the company kicked off the conference season at Venture Summit West earlier in March.