Spire Payments Buys Thyron for Mobile and Chip-Card Capabilities

Spire Payments has purchased Thyron Payments Systems in a deal that will allow Spire to support chip-and-PIN and mobile payments alongside the new Spire payment terminals that are due to roll out in the second quarter.

Thyron, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Spire Payments UK Limited, will become the focal point for Spire’s mobile payment strategy. It’s a move that will aid Spire in its competition with larger terminal providers VeriFone and Ingenico. Spire did not say how much it paid for Thyron.

 “At our industry launch event last September, I promised our customers that Spire Payments would bring a new range of terminals to market in 2013, including a product that would address the evolving [mobile point of sale] market,” said Kazem Aminaee, CEO and president of Spire Payments, in a press release.

Thyron was founded in 1989, and recently has been ramping up its mobile capabilities. The company’s newest product, the PostMate Smart, provides mobile payment acceptance for small merchants such as plumbers, builders, gardeners and mechanics to accept payments by integrating with smartphones and tablets.

Thryon sells PostMate Smart to acquiring banks, which then provide them to their merchant customers. About 95% of small merchants using Thyron products opt for the model utilizing Bluetooth connectivity, rather than the model that operates on the 2G or 3G cellular system. Bluetooth lets user exchange data over short distances, making it appeal to merchants operating a mobile terminal.