Thales completes acquisition of Wynid Technologies

This strategic acquisition, marks Thales' commitment to developing its presence in the growing integrated payment market, and consolidating its position in the French market, where Wynid is a market leader. Integrated payment systems are becoming increasingly popular among large and medium sized retailers, as ever more powerful Electronic Cash Registers (ECRs) allow more of the card payment functions to be supported on their PC-based systems. Additionally, integrated systems allow payment from several points of sale to be managed at a central level and interfaced to existing in-store management systems. According to Frost and Sullivan, by 2007, over 70% of the ECR market will be for systems with integrated card payment. The full acquisition of Wynid by Thales, completes a period in which the two companies have worked in close partnership to supply integrated payment solutions to major players in the petrol retail market. Since the year 2000, Thales has held a 40% shareholding in Wynid Technologies. “Completing the acquisition of Wynid is a cornerstone in the development of our business in the fast-growing integrated payment market” said Christian F. Reiling, Vice President and Managing Director of Thales' e-Transactions business line. “Since becoming MD of e-Transactions at the beginning of this year, I have made the Wynid acquisition a top strategic priority”. Wynid Technologies, based in Montpellier France, has for the past 15 years developed and sold integrated payment solutions for attended and unattended points of sale (POS) in the retail and petrol market segment. With an installed base of over 50,000 POS in France alone, Wynid Technologies is renowned for its technological expertise and the robustness of its server-based payment system. In addition to its leading presence in the French market, Wynid was one of the first suppliers to gain complete EMV(*) approval for its integrated payment software. Becoming part of the Thales organisation will enable the Wynid team to deploy its electronic payment solution in markets where Thales has an established presence. According to Martine Aubry, Managing Director of Wynid, “being part of Thales is the best way to secure the future of the company I set up with François Trial in 1991. It will enable us to access new international markets and achieve a significant share of the global market for integrated payment solutions”.