The unification of the two companies will create a compelling end-to-end solution for card issuers to migrate from magnetic stripe credit cards to both EMV-compliant chip-based cards and contactless payment-enabled mobile devices. The final terms of the acquisition are still subject to the completion of appropriate legal and financial due diligence and the agreement of definitive terms.

“Apple Pay will not only drive, but will create a ‘halo effect’ towards contactless payment in general.”

Proxama’s acquisition of Aconite is ideally timed to capitalize on the jumpstart of the Near Field Communication (NFC) and contactless mobile payments industries that both the October 2015 U.S. deadline for EMV adoption and the launch of Apple Pay in October 2014 have created. The EMV adoption deadline for card issuers in the U.S. was given additional urgency recently by President Obama’s signing of the BuySecure initiative that will secure payments to and from the federal government by replacing nearly nine million government-issued payment cards with EMV chip-and-PIN cards by early 2015.

Additionally, in a new report from Juniper Research, Dr. Windsor Holden, Head of Consultancy & Forecasting at Juniper, found that the launch of Apple Pay for the iPhone and availability of Host Card Emulation (HCE) in Android will drive broad adoption of NFC and contactless payments, forecasting that users of such services will increase more than five-fold by the end of 2019. Holden adds, “Apple Pay will not only drive, but will create a ‘halo effect’ towards contactless payment in general.”

Together, Proxama and Aconite’s technologies deliver an end to end solution that banks and card issuers need to migrate quickly, securely and directly from standard magnetic stripe credit cards to both EMV chip-and-PIN cards and Tokenization-based contactless mobile NFC payment systems like Apple Pay.

Aconite’s Affina Enterprise™, Smart EMV Manager and Aconite PIN Manager products have been deployed by banks and card issuers like Fiserv in the US, Nets, ICS and First Data in Europe to issue, manage and migrate tens of millions of EMV chip-and-PIN credit cards. Under the acquisition, Aconite’s products will be combined with Proxama’s CardGateway® and TapPoint® platforms, which have helped companies like MasterCard, Barclaycard, Softcard, Orange, Harrods, Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, Guinness, and many more become mobile payment and proximity commerce capable.

“We see this union as a way for banks, issuers and retailers to rapidly deploy secure EMV and NFC contactless payment solutions, as well as provide proximity marketing services, all in one go,” said Neil Garner, CEO and Founder, Proxama. “No other technology provider offers this suite of capabilities to support migration of cards and also drive card transactions in store using proximity technologies. We believe our offering places us in a position to lead the market, particularly in the US, due to our existing international expertise.”

Both companies have a strong business pipeline in the U.S. market where there is demand for the companies’ international expertise in the NFC and mobile payments industries. Aconite and Proxama’s history together dates back to 2008, when the two companies first collaborated on one of the world’s first technology demonstrations showcasing the ability to remotely manage NFC mobile phone applications.

“We have a great relationship with Proxama. Combining forces creates a compelling offering for the market, and the timing is truly perfect,” said Mike Woods, CEO, Aconite. “EMV adoption is something that affects everyone – from banks, to merchants, to consumers – so getting it right is important. But there is also increasing pressure for banks and brands to enable contactless mobile payments. Proxama plus Aconite means they can make one migration to accomplish both goals, and give consumers the experience they want that much faster.”