Cryptomathic Acquires Aconite Technology

Cryptomathic today announces the strategic acquisition of Aconite Technology, an end-to-end EMV® card lifecycle, transaction processing and PIN management provider.

Both Cryptomathic and Aconite Technology are widely respected for their long standing and deep expertise in the provisioning of secure infrastructure for EMV payments. The acquisition will enable the two firms to leverage their combined expertise to drive innovation in the space and better answer global demand for their services.

Dr. Peter Landrock, Founder and Chairman of Cryptomathic, comments: “In recent years Cryptomathic has been fortunate to work with many of Aconite’s clients and, over this time, it became apparent that our two firms could develop and deliver a stronger set of EMV infrastructure services as a single entity. Across our respective solution portfolios we have both complementary products and a smaller number of similar products. This means we have a great opportunity to consolidate where we would otherwise compete, and to reinvest those resources into extending our innovation and R&D capabilities. Ultimately, this will make our market offering more robust and more comprehensive.”

Steve Nichols, CTO, Aconite Technology, adds: “We’re really excited about what we can deliver as part of Cryptomathic. Our technical specialists are already collaborating with Cryptomathic on the development of new, innovative solutions focusing on demand areas like key management, self-service PIN selection and PIN change/distribution over digital channels. These are the kinds of functions that create real differentiation for card issuers by putting them at the forefront of the EMV payment user experience.”

In recent years, both Cryptomathic and Aconite Technology have demonstrated strong double-digit revenue growth. Post-acquisition, the increasing collaboration between the two firms is anticipated to accelerate expansion into emerging and growth markets for EMV payment services. South Africa, for example, is demonstrating considerable demand for specialist EMV infrastructure solutions from both challenger start-ups and some of the biggest established banks who are looking to re-platform to regain market agility.

“This acquisition is about consolidation of expertise and the opportunity to grow our market share, both in terms of revenue and geographic footprint,” adds Landrock. “We looked at several potential acquisition targets in this space, and Aconite Technology emerged well ahead of the alternatives. This is Cryptomathic’s first acquisition; it may not be our last.”

Cryptomathic and Aconite Technology will continue to operate as individual brands in the market place and their respective organisational and management structures will remain unchanged.