NMI Expands Into Omnichannel Payments With USAePay Acquisition

Payments enablement firm NMI has acquired the payments solutions company USAePay to offer their joint customers more choices, NMI announced in a press release on Tuesday (Feb. 23). The acquisition will also elevate NMI’s technical capabilities and further cement its leadership position in global omnichannel payments.

“NMI has a history of continuously innovating to provide payment solutions that reflect changing market conditions,” said Vijay Sondhi, CEO of NMI. “We’re committed to providing our ISO, ISV, bank and FinTech innovator partners with the choice and flexibility they need to meet shifting consumer preferences across channels through our white-labeled platform.”

Sondhi added that USAePay’s solutions will complement NMI’s current tools while also bringing a new level of expertise to the team: “It will further establish our commitment to offering greater scale, breadth and depth in our solutions and resources to better serve the market. Our combination reinforces our position as the main independent player of scale delivering flexible, white-labeled solutions agnostic of acquirer or merchant account provider.”

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way people work, learn, shop and eat, making it more important than ever for merchants to offer a variety of payment methods. Omnichannel solutions are now the leading payment processing method regardless of industry.

The combined entity will make for a stronger global omnichannel offering, using each company’s top tools for eCommerce, unattended payments, retail and mobile payments. The acquisition will enhance NMI’s coverage in several important verticals, including retail and restaurants, where USAePay has a strong presence due to its card-present point-of-sale offerings, according to the release.

“This is an exciting move by NMI and USAePay. If there’s anything 2020 taught us, it’s the importance of omnichannel,” said Mike Strawhecker, president of The Strawhecker Group (TSG), an analytics and consulting firm focused on the payments acceptance industry. “The restaurant and retail industries are prominent examples of this, but it’s true across the board. With nearly a half-century between the two companies of transacting payments, they should be able to reliably innovate at a rapid pace.”

In an October 2020 PYMNTS interview, Carolyn Bojanowski, senior vice president and general manager of eCommerce for Sephora, said the company has partnered with Instacart and Klarna to offer customers more ways to pay.