The evolving FinTech landscape is often disrupted by digitally enabled and innovative solutions from new entrants. In this ever-changing and competitive environment, mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the industry and paving a new way to sustain growth for payment companies.  

15-year-old CardConnect FL took a bold step when it decided to team up with next-generation payment technology company Payzli in May, 2021. The inking of this merger highlights an important development in the payments space – the need to consolidate.  

Since its inception in 2006 as a sales partner office under CardConnect Corporate, CardConnect FL has processed billions in transactions each year for more than 5,000 businesses across the U.S., ranging from Fortune 500 companies to local coffee shops. The goal was simple – to make accepting payments as easy as possible while providing unmatched security to its customers.  

In 2010, CardConnect Corporate landed a $100 Million private equity, which allowed them to grow rapidly and intentionally. In 2016, the company went public through an SPAC and was valued at $350 million. 6 months from that date, First Data acquired them for $750 million, and approximately one year later, First Data and Fiserv did a massive merger for $22.5 billion.  

Over the years, however, increasing competition from independent software vendors, tighter margins and a lack of personalization generated a large disconnect and created a huge opportunity to serve those who were left behind. CardConnect FL’s leaders sensed a need to expand their product capabilities and their footprints in high growth markets, and better serve their current and future merchants and partners. They took it upon themselves to address the changing landscape they were experiencing as a long time key national partner for CardConnect. 

This is when Payzli was born. “Payzli was built to bring the future of payments to life and solve complex daily problems for merchants and sales partners. Just as ‘hitting the fast-forward button on a remote’, Payzli is methodically ‘fast-forwarding to the future of payments’ with an unbeatable blend of smart technology and tailor-made solutions,” says Naim Hamdar, President, Payzli.  

With a combined 75+ years in financial services market, Payzli’s founding team knew what had worked in the past, understood the gaps in the present and set sight on shaping the future of payments.  

“Payzli is adopting the latest technology stack to solve real issues that the payment industry has ignored for years. These simple yet ignored issues have allowed new players like Square and Stripe to run laps around industry giants. We’re dedicated to serving our merchants and partners and empowering them with tools to achieve the next level of success,” adds Hamdar.  

As a dynamic start-up, Payzli goes where other payment companies don’t. For most merchants, outdated POS equipment, fraud liability, a complicated fee structure, and lack of live human support remain key challenges. No single company offers payment processing solutions and business management software all at a flat, affordable price and live human support.  

With CardConnect Florida’s transformation into Payzli, old gives way to the new. “Our promise for the future is to make it better, and more enjoyable to accept payments. We are staffing up on client support reps, creating useful technology, and are committed to delivering an overall best-in-class payment experience. Hold us accountable to this promise as Payzli is your company just as much as it is ours!” assures Hamdar.  

The merger of these two entities will result in a more thoughtful approach to partner support, onboarding and internal underwriting and risk monitoring capabilities. In addition, merchants will receive homegrown technology and bleeding-edge point of sale offerings which will help expand their operational capabilities. The goal of this merger is to combine expertise from every aspect of the payments business and create the best of breed payments powerhouse. This big leap only happens when you have the alignment of forces combusting into a masterpiece.