This move should make it possible for Ingenico to break quickly into the Swiss payment terminal marketâ€â€Âsoon to receive a hefty boost from the EMV migration process. Adoption of the new standard in Switzerland will entail replacement of some 80,000 payment terminals in the next few years, and at attractive prices. And as in other countries that have changed over to EMV, the shift should also bring the overall market (currently estimated at 1 terminal per 90 inhabitants) up to the European average (1 terminal per 75 inhabitants). Focused on state-of-the-art point-of-sale technology, XA got its start in 2003 in the high-tech area around Fribourg, Switzerland. The company has developed a motorized payment terminal compliant with the ep2 standard and based on the Intel® XScale platform and Linux, one specially designed to meet the needs of the Swiss market. The XA brand has won major recognition from both large-scale retailers and the traditional merchant community, and the company’s pricing policy and concern for the market’s needs have placed it in the ideal position to conquer further markets in short order. “We are delighted with this merger,†commented Gérard Compain, Ingenico Group CEO, “because we will be benefiting from XA’s buoyant growth and its in-depth knowledge of the Swiss market. Up until now, we have had little presence in Switzerland, which happens to be a high-value market with major potential, especially for our merchant and service offers. With EMV/ep2 migration under way, we will be growing our business in the country fast, not only by winning a large share of the payment terminal market, but also by delivering related solutions and services. Acquiring an equity stake in XA was a move fully in line with our strategy for expanding our operations in those European countries where our presence has traditionally been weaker.†Pierre Bays, the CEO of XA, stated, “We are pleased to be able to count on Ingenico from here on in. Our aim has always been to offer our customers quality solutions geared to the specific needs of the Swiss market. Now, with the added strength of Ingenico’s product portfolio, we can step up deployment of our offer to cover any and all needs expressed on that market. As a result, Switzerland will soon be reaping the benefits of the highly competitive offers already available to merchants in neighboring countries. And above all, Ingenico’s world leadership virtually guarantees that our industrial project will be here to stay.â€ÂÂ
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