Nuvei Acquires Paya for $1.3B to Expand Beyond Retail Payments

Canadian FinTech Nuvei said it will acquire payments firm Paya in a $1.3 billion all-cash deal.

The purchase combines “two people-first, technology-led, high-growth payment platforms,” Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Fayer said in a Monday (Jan. 9) news release, calling the deal the next step in his company’s evolution.

The news comes six months after reports that Paya was looking to find a buyer after getting takeover interest, and during a time of consolidation within the payments sector.

Based in Atlanta, Paya helps customers such as insurers, utilities and nonprofits collect payments, process checks and perform additional services.

Montreal-based Nuvei said in the release that Paya’s integrations with more than 300 independent software vendor (ISV) platforms and commerce solutions will let it “capitalize on the domestic and global software-led market opportunity.”

The deal also helps Nuvei diversify its business, as Paya’s customer base includes B2B goods and services companies, as well as clients in the healthcare, nonprofit, education, and government and utility sectors, the release stated.

PYMNTS spoke last month with Neil Erlick, Nuvei’s chief corporate development officer, about the shift in how businesses view payments.

“Payments, I’ve always said, [are] like the lifeblood of the entire commerce industry, whether we like it or not,” he said. “I think people are starting to come around to that thought of making the payment experience itself as good of a process as what the customer’s actually buying or what service they’re getting. They’re coming around and understanding the importance now.”

The deal, which is being touted as the first big FinTech deal of the New Year, follows in the wake of a trend that was underway last year and saw larger companies like Global Payments and Fiserv buying smaller rivals to help scale and diversity their operations.

In addition, last week saw the news that payments software provider ACI Worldwide, meanwhile, was in discussions about a potential sale, talking with private equity firms and working with financial advisors as it looks at interest in an acquisition.

As PYMNTS has reported, it’s gotten harder for potential suitors in any industry to come up with the capital they need to fund mergers and acquisitions. Would-be deals adding up to more than $150 billion have either been put off or canceled as financing grows scarcer.

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