Commercial Card Merger Planned By Emerchants, Store Financial

Australia-based commercial card firm Emerchants Payment Solutions is reportedly looking to make a strategic acquisition in the U.S.

Reports on Thursday (April 28) said Emerchants is seeking to raise $36.7 million to purchase Store Financial, a payments company operating in the B2B payments and payment card space.

Emerchants shares are temporarily halted from trading as a result, reports said; unnamed sources said the companies have already agreed on a takeover at $35 million.

Reports added that the rumored acquisition will nearly double Emerchants’ total revenue.

Store Financial works to help digitize and streamline supplier payments through payment cards, virtual cards and other solutions. In an interview with PYMNTS last year, CEO Eric Mettemeyer discussed the role virtual cards can play in improving B2B payments — largely through the addition of more and higher-quality data attached to a payment made via virtual card.

He added that Store Financial looks to help organizations convert 30 percent of their spend to virtual cards.

Last month, reports emerged that Emerchants’ European arm partnered with Paysafe to deliver payout card products for the gaming industry across Europe. The collaboration uses Emerchants’ prepaid card solution for consumers to access winnings from online gaming.

While an Emerchants acquisition of Store Financial would pull the Australian company into a major market of commercial cards, analysis published late last year by Packaged Facts actually pointed to Asia — specifically, China — as the world’s fastest-growing commercial card market.

The region’s economic growth, coupled with rising corporate travel volume, means corporate card use is on the rise, the report said.