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Venture-capital firm Austin Ventures has invested $50 million and bought three independent sales organizations to form a new payment processor called Century Payments Inc., the company announced today. Rob Wechsler, a former executive vice president and head of global sales and services at Chase Paymentech Solutions, is CEO of the new enterprise, which is based in Dallas. Austin, Texas-based Austin Ventures bought Tampa, Fla.-based Symplicity Payment Solutions LLC, Dallas-based Beta Systems LLC and Atlanta-based Novera II LLC to start Century Payments. "We picked these three because they already are revenue- and profit-generating," Michael Rovner, an Austin Ventures partner, tells CardLine sister publication ISO&Agent Weekly. Century Payments will use the $50 million from Austin Ventures for additional acquisitions and to grow the existing business. "Now is the time ISOs and merchant acquirers are looking for strategic financing help," Rovner says. "There is business to be had, but it is a tough funding environment." In September, Austin Ventures said it secured $900 million for investing from pension funds and other large institutional investors. The fragmented nature of the ISO industry lends itself to consolidation, Rovner notes. "There are certainly a lot of regional [ISO] targets that would fit our profile" of companies to acquire, Rovner says. "The chance to build a national footprint for the small and medium-size merchant market is real attractive to us," Rovner says. Wechsler did not disclose how many merchants Century Payments has in its portfolio. The processor is hiring sales staff and will use independent sales agents and internal sales agents to sell merchant accounts, he says. Century Payments also has a referral program that enables third-party companies, such as wholesalers that sell products other than merchant-processing accounts, to refer their customers to Century Payments. Wechsler would not disclose the sales-commission plan. This is not Austin Ventures' first foray into payments. It also invested in PreCash Inc., a Houston-based stored-value card company, and Way Systems Inc., a mobile-payment terminal maker based in Woburn, Mass.
