Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE WPY), a global leader in payment technology, has announced major investment in Australasia for 2019.
The first is the opening of two sales offices in Australia; the second is the expansion of its global footprint to New Zealand after obtaining a local licence for acquiring card payments. These regional investments will enable Worldpay to serve its Australasian clients through an enhanced market presence and in-country payment processing.
This regional investment builds upon Worldpay’s commitment to the region, having been one of the first non-banking technology providers to launch a domestic acquiring licence in Australia in 2016. Worldpay’s new offices will be located in Melbourne and Sydney, with Sydney acting as the country headquarters. The new sites will not only help to better serve existing clients with rich payments expertise, solutions consulting and on-the-ground account management, but also deliver on Worldpay’s ambitious plans to boost its client roster, which already includes VGW, Skiddoo, Lonely Planet, Webjet, and Supernova, the owner of Sand & Sky, Coco & Eve, BodyBoss and SkinnyMint.
eCommerce in Australia is expected to grow by more than 37 percent over the next three years to be worth almost US$40bn by 2022[1], with New Zealand also experiencing high levels of eCommerce growth[2]. The buoyant market conditions have attracted a number of global brands to the region, giving shoppers more choice and have increased retailer competition for consumer spending. With 20 percent of consumers in Australia and New Zealand shopping via mobile every month[3], smartphone penetration alongside more frictionless payment methods offered by digital wallets could open new opportunities for retailers to differentiate their offering and grow mobile commerce.
Phil Pomford, General Manager, Global Enterprise eCommerce, APAC at Worldpay: “Australasia is an exciting region with lots of growth potential, but also its own unique set of challenges. By building a team of payments experts located in Australia, alongside the addition of a domestic card payment acquiring capability in New Zealand, Worldpay can offer a service that goes beyond the transactional. Our investment and addition of this new licence will enable us to further provide unparalleled access to global markets to help eCommerce businesses deliver on their international growth ambitions.”
The New Zealand card payment processing licence will allow Worldpay to process transactions domestically for merchants trading in New Zealand. This new licence means the global payments leader is one of a few providers to offer domestic acquiring capabilities in the country. It will also make it easier for New Zealand-based firms to trade with the rest of the world, creating a seamless payment experience for both domestic and international clients.
Pomford continued, “While there’s a lot of competition from traditional providers, Worldpay can offer something different. We’re already helping thousands of multi-national companies around the globe to drive sales, gain better data insights and enter new markets at scale. With our Australasian expansion, we want to show businesses in Australia and New Zealand that we’re the technology partner of choice to help them grow, and go global.”
Domestic acquiring in New Zealand will be available in Q2 2019.