Linkly (formerly PC-EFTPOS), an Australian payment solutions provider, has acquired the payment platforms of Melbourne-based Premier Technologies, including MerchantSuite, in a multi-million dollar deal.

The acquisition is expected to triple Linkly’s value while helping it in gaining market share in the online payment sector.

Established in 1986, Premier Technologies is a provider of cloud-based and managed contact center, IVR, and payments technology solutions.

Premier Technologies said that it has retained its cloud contact center business which will operate as Premier Contact Point.

The deal is said to propel Linkly into the online payment sector and strengthen its place as a major player in end-to-end payments and also in omni-channel solutions.

With the support of Potentia Capital, a technology-focused private equity firm, Linkly is said to handle over two billion in-store transactions annually. A considerable part of the transactions is made across Australia and New Zealand.

The deal with Premier Technologies puts Linkly on track to handle over four billion online and physical payments in 2021.

Furthermore, is claimed to help the company to become the only Australian-owned acquirer-agnostic payment provider that enables merchants to use the bank of their choice while implementing its payment solutions. This will ensure that the merchants’ banking and payments are intricately linked, said Linkly.

Anthony Chalhoub – Linkly CEO said: “The online space has long been a focus for us, having established ourselves as the leading payment provider to brick and mortar stores. This acquisition allows us to offer our customers the complete package of physical and online payment capabilities, as well as a true Omni-channel proposition.

“During the pandemic, there’s been an exponential growth in the number of online payments being made, and this is a perfect time for us to make a move into the space. We predict online payments will continue to grow as consumer behavior shifts towards online purchasing. Through the deal, we now have both online and offline covered for our customers.”

Linkly gains access to Premier Technologies’ payments clients and contracts while adding 50 plus employees across the latter’s offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Singapore, thereby developing a footprint in Asia.

Anthony Chalhoub said: “It’s exciting for us to be moving into Asia, especially given how well the Asian market has been performing. We’re looking to grow our Asian operations further in the near future, as part of our ongoing innovation strategy and expansion plan that will also see us move into other global markets.”

  Anthony Chalhoub, Australia, Fintech industry news, Linkly, Melbourne, PC-EFTPOS, Premier Technologies