Tsys (TSS) announced today the formation of a joint venture with Central Payment Co., LLC, which will continue to do business under its current name. Tsys owns 60-percent of the joint venture, and it will operate as a TSYS affiliate.
Central Payment is a privately held direct merchant acquirer — based in San Rafael, California — servicing small- to medium-sized merchants through an Independent Sales Agent (ISA) model. Founded in 2005, Central Payment focuses on merchants in the restaurant, personal services and retail sectors.
"This joint venture with Central Payment enhances our distribution model, with its strong sales agent channel made up of more than 700 active, independent agents," said Mark Pyke, president of TSYS' Merchant Services segment. "This move is another example of our focus on growing our merchant acquiring business, and expanding beyond processing."
"This is an exciting opportunity for us to leverage the expertise of a well-respected company within the payments industry like TSYS," said Matthew Hyman, co-managing director of Central Payment. "Our partnership expands TSYS' merchant perspective, and our company culture aligns with their focus on people-centered payments."
Central Payment is a long-time TSYS client, which currently uses TSYS technology for payment processing. The joint venture will be governed by a board of directors including both TSYS and Central Payment executives. Financial Technology Partners LP and FTP Securities LLC (together "FT Partners") acted as financial and strategic advisors to Central Payment in this transaction.