Self-Service Payments Firm Cantaloupe Reportedly Weighs Sale

Self-service payments technology and software company Cantaloupe is reportedly considering putting itself up for sale.

It’s one of the strategic offerings the company is weighing, along with a go-private transaction, Reuters reported Tuesday (Feb. 25), citing unnamed sources.

The company provides payments technology to power transactions in self-service situations, such as car washes or vending machines.

Cantaloupe did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Mergers and acquisitions in the digital payments space have come sporadically in the last two years, per the report. However, deals have been more robust for niche payment companies as larger firms look to bolster their offerings and as private equity firms increase their investments in the digital payments space.

For example, payments company Shift4 announced this month it would acquire tax-free shopping-focused Global Blue in a deal worth $2.5 billion, which CEO Jared Isaacman referred to as the “most significant” in the firm’s history.

Last year, Genstar Capital announced it bought a stake in AffiniPay, which provides payments to professionals like accountants and lawyers.

Months earlier, Canadian payments firm Nuvei was purchased by private equity outfit Advent International in a $6.3 billion deal.

Cantaloupe CEO Ravi Venkatesan discussed with PYMNTS the challenges of providing a frictionless experience for consumers making self-service payments in an interview posted Wednesday (Feb. 26).

For example, Amazon made headlines years ago with Amazon Go, its retail store concept powered by Just Walk Out technology. Although those efforts have been scaled back, Amazon Go opened observers’ eyes to what is possible.

“The mass market product is likely a convenience store where the traditional experience is still there, but there’s a grab-and-go section,” Venkatesan said. “People will gravitate there and then, slowly, that grab-and-go section will become bigger.”

There is potential to modernize retail so the experience melds shopping, buying and exiting the store, he said. Retailers need this upgrade, as “the fundamental layout, structure and experience of the store has not changed in a couple of centuries — and it has not moved on with technology.”