September 17th, 2012 - hibu plc (“hibu”), a leading provider of digital services connecting local consumers and merchants, and Global Payments, a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services, today announce a strategic partnership. Through the partnership with Global Payments, hibu will provide local businesses in the UK with the ability to accept card payments from consumers for their goods and services.
At a time of great change and opportunity in the payments market, this is a significant further step for hibu as it implements its strategy to deliver exciting new digital services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
hibu’s experienced sales team will be one of the largest to offer payments services in the UK, initially to its existing customer base of more than 300,000 SMEs. Global Payments has a market leading card processing capability and together the partnership will offer high quality payment services for SMEs that are differentiated by:
• Access to the latest innovative technology including mobile devices
• Transparent, simple and cost-effective pricing
• The opportunity to access a growing range of digital services from one provider, hibu
Chris Davies, Managing Director of Global Payments, said: “We are excited about our partnership with hibu and are delighted to be working with them. We continue to be impressed by their professionalism and commitment and are looking forward to working together to provide SMEs with access to new payment opportunities.”
Tony Bates, Chief Financial Officer at hibu, said: “The payments market is changing rapidly. With this new initiative we will help SMEs across the UK to take advantage of the new technologies and services that are emerging. We will also help them to obtain a high quality, cost effective service from a provider that they know and trust. We look forward to working with Global Payments to provide this new opportunity.”
Ends
About hibu
hibu helps communities thrive by facilitating millions of connections each year between consumers who want to find products and services locally and the merchants who provide them.
hibu helps consumers find local businesses and shop in new, innovative ways. Its dedicated online hibu markets provide comprehensive, convenient access to local goods and services. hibu helps merchants compete in the digital world with a broad range of marketing and commerce solutions delivered online and through hibu’s direct sales teams. Building on its heritage as a premier directories provider, hibu continues to offer a full range of print- and distribution-based marketing services.
hibu operates in the UK, US, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Peru and US Hispanic markets. In the year ended 31 March 2012, hibu had 1.2 million SME customers and total revenues of £1.6 billion.
For further information about hibu, visit www.hibu.com.
About Global Payments
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Global Payments, a Fortune 1000 company, offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. Visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com for more information about the company and its services.
Enquiries:
hibu – Media
Jon Salmon
Tel: +44 (0) 118 358 2656
Mobile: +44 (0) 7801 977340
Twitter: @hibupressoffice
Global Payments
Siobhon Watson
Tel: +44 (0) 207 593 2943
Distributed on behalf of hibu plc by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)