Early yesterday morning, Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) requested a trading halt from the ASX ahead of Monday's session. The halt was expected to remain in place until Wednesday this week or until an announcement was released. Since then, the self-dubbed 'buy now, pay smarter' payment solution provider has announced a material partnership.
However, the Openpay share price remains halted at $2.41 following the announcement.
Expanding with Worldpay
According to the release, Openpay and its US business, Opy USA, have secured an agreement with the global payments provider Worldpay.
For those unfamiliar with Worldpay, it is a payment processing company owned by Fidelity National Information Services Inc (NYSE: FIS). In the latest quarter, FIS recorded US$3.3 billion in revenue from providing banking, merchant, and capital market solutions.
Under the newly signed agreement, Openpay and Worldpay will collaborate to offer flexible 'buy now, pay smarter' payment products and other solutions to merchants and customers in regions where Openpay operates.
To do this, Worldpay will integrate Openpay products onto its payment gateway. This will enable FIS merchants to quickly and seamlessly implement Openpay's payment solutions.
The partnership with FIS will be used by Openpay to acquire merchants in the United States. Subsequently, other regions where the integration is made available will be used to expand the company's merchant base. However, for now, the focus is on the US market.
Openpay share price chasing growth
The expansion with Worldpay comes only a week after the Openpay share price jumped on news of a partnership with EzyVet. The deal enables the ASX-listed company to break into the US$55.8 billion US and UK veterinary markets. EzyVet is a cloud-based practice management software for veterinary professionals, supporting over 40,000 licensed users.
The collaboration with EzyVet means vet clinic customers will be offered Openpay's payment solutions in any of EzyVet's practices. It is evident through this partnership and yesterday's announcement that Openpay is eager to continue expanding.
Although, this isn't exactly a surprise, given the outline in the company's H1 FY21 results presentation. Openpay specified it was preparing to roll out core verticals of automotive and healthcare in the UK. Furthermore, the company's third 'pillar of success' is to create large-scale, sustainable ecosystem partnerships.
Despite the recent partnerships, the Openpay share price has proceeded to fall 28% from mid-February. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dipped 1.2% over the same timeframe.
