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Denmark-based processor PBS A/S will take over the payment-services unit of Sweden-based Strålfors AB, a move that will enable PBS to expand its reach in the Nordic region of Europe. Under the deal, announced Thursday, PBS will take over Strålfors Payments on 30 Sept. Strålfors handles 110 million to 120 million transactions each year, PBS says. PBS also gains Postens Betalväxel, or Swedish Post ePayment Services, which processes online payments in Sweden. PBS, which says it expects to absorb 60 Strålfors employees, already operates a sales office in Sweden that focuses on acquiring and the sale of payment terminals. "We can now offer a more complete Nordic package for our international customers," Flemming Jensen, PBS CEO, tells CardLine Global. "As we gain more knowledge about the Swedish market and customers we will be able to deliver more tailored solutions both locally and internationally," Jensen adds. The move in Europe toward a Single Euro Payments Area "creates a competitive market for payments processing" that will lead to more mergers and acquisitions, Gareth Lodge, an analyst in the United Kingdom for United States-based TowerGroup, tells CardLine Global. The Nordic region "is perhaps particularly prime for consolidation as the larger Nordic banks operate right across the region and into the Baltics, offering them the opportunity to make their processes more efficient," he says.
