Card Briefs: Hypercom Buying Australian Operations

Hypercom Corp. said it reached an "agreement of understanding" to acquire the Australian operations of its distributor, Advantage Group Ltd.

When the $1.5 million purchase is completed, Hypercom would take over distribution and support of its electronic payment products in Australia. Advantage Group, which had that country's exclusive distribution rights since 1988, will retain them for New Zealand, its home country.

"This transaction brings a very important market under the direct control of Hypercom," said the company's chairman, George Wallner. "We expect to be able to compete more effectively and provide better support to our customers."

In other Asia-Pacific developments, Hypercom announced the introduction to the region of its ICE and iCom systems during the Cards Asia '98 conference in Singapore.

ICE-Interactive Customer Equipment-is the company's new generation of compact point of sale terminals with touch-screen commands. The Pinnacle Internet Commerce Transaction System, known as iCom, is an electronic commerce package that includes a virtual wallet, point of sale system, payment system gateway, and digital certificate system.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER