sQuid, ACT partner to form Smart Transactions Group
24 May, 2011
category: Contactless, Education, NFC
Transit and tourism solutions provider Applied Card Technologies (ACT) and digital payments company sQuid have inked an $87 million deal to form a new corporate umbrella, Smart Transactions Group.
The two UK start-ups currently operate contactless smart card-based networks, and now share plans to launch NFC and mobile phone-based solutions in the near future. ACT has specialized in visitor destination management systems, retail reward programs and ITSO transit solutions, while sQuid has focused on its pre-paid eMoney platform for the education and retail sectors.
Together the companies account for more than 500,000 payments and 50 million transit transactions every month.
As for Smart Transactions Group, the partners say they plan to roll out pre-paid travel purses, integrate transit and eMoney cards and launch NFC and mobile phone-based payments and ticketing. SGT has also set the goal of accelerating expansion in the UK, as well as launch small value payment and ticketing services in a number of emerging and fast-growing markets.
STG says it will have pro-forma 2011 revenues of approximately $15 million and its payments revenue is growing at a double digit monthly rate, while transit transactions are also expected to grow 50% in 2011.
“Smart Transactions Group is delivering real transactions across the UK and beyond and is already profitable. The new group services around 3.5 million consumers each day in the UK, and we are already expanding internationally,” comments Adam Smith, CEO of sQuid.
Gary Watts, ACT CEO, adds, “The formation of Smart Transactions Group allows us to accelerate our plans to deliver ‘pay as you go’ travel solutions across next generation technology and media.”
Watts and Smith are joined on the Smart Transactions Group board by ACT founder Duncan McNeil, Nucleus founder Peter Matthews and ex-senior UBS banker John Holland.