Statement Of Preliminary Issues Released For Verifone Application To Acquire Smartpay

11 February 2020
The Commerce Commission has published a statement of preliminary issues relating to an application from Verifone New Zealand to acquire the assets used by Smartpay Holdings Limited (and its subsidiaries) to operate the Smartpay business in New Zealand.

The statement outlines the key competition issues that the Commission considers important in deciding whether or not to grant clearance to the proposed acquisition.

The Commission invites interested parties to provide comments on the likely competitive effects of the proposed acquisition. Submissions can be sent by email to registrar@comcom.govt.nz with the reference Verifone/Smartpay in the subject line. Parties should provide a public version of their submission at the same time for publication on the Commission’s case register. Any submissions should be received by close of business on 25 February 2020.

The Commission is currently scheduled to make a decision on the application by 30 March 2020. However, this date may be extended.

The Statement of Preliminary Issues and a public version of the application can be found on the Commission’s case register.
 

Background

Verifone New Zealand, through its subsidiary Eftpos New Zealand Limited, supplies terminals directly to merchants under the EFTPOS brand. It also supplies payment terminals to resellers on a wholesale basis and provides payment processing services. The parent company of Verifone New Zealand, Verifone, Inc., is a global manufacturer and supplier of terminals and payment processing services.

Smartpay Holdings Limited operates in New Zealand through subsidiary companies, namely Smartpay Limited, Smartpay New Zealand Limited, Smartpay Software Limited, Viaduct Limited, Smartpay Rental Services Limited and Smartpay Ethos Limited. Smartpay is a supplier of payment terminals to merchants in New Zealand.

The Commission will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

Further information explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on our website.

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