Merrco Payments rebrands to KORT Payments with new managing team led by Paysafe founders
Merrco Payments in Canada is preparing to assume a new identity, with the transition to be led by a fresh management team.
Merrco Payments to adopt new brand name
The Toronto-headquartered fintech announced this week that it will now be recognised under the KORT Payments brand.
Founded in 2016, Merrco provides e-commerce and point-of-sale (POS) payment solutions for the cannabis industry. It later merged with fellow Canadian fintech Payfirma in 2018 for enhanced payment processing capabilities.
Merrco’s transition to the KORT Payments brand comes after it completed its latest capital raise in June for an undisclosed sum.
The “group of pioneers” who lent their “strategic investment” to the raise are to now be installed amongst a new team managing the rebranding efforts, according to a statement.
Led by Joel Leonoff as CEO, the group are cited as the same founding force behind Optimal Payments, later Paysafe Group, which ultimately sold to private equity firms Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners for £2.96 billion in 2017.
Their ascent has ousted former Merrco co-CEOs Kiki Plytas and Nicholas Georgakakis, who will have both departed the company by the end of the summer.
“Over the last six years, it was my pleasure to serve our loyal merchants and partners,” Georgakakis writes on LinkedIn. “Moreover, the support of our tremendous staff, helped grow Merrco Payfirma into a profitable enterprise, processing billions in volume.”
For Leonoff, who previously served as president and CEO of Paysafe Group for over 12 years, the investment “has tremendous market potential, and we are excited to build upon its strong foundation”.
He adds the rebranded company will focus on “exploring strategic M&A opportunities and expediting growth into various verticals and new geographies”.
This endeavour will give way to “omni-channel integrated and e-commerce payment solutions”, the company’s statement continues, aided by the development of “appropriate products and technology platforms with a focus on the US and European markets”, to support KORT Payments’ “aggressive growth plans”.
To expedite this, the management team are confirmed to have “already begun tapping into their vast network of technology partners, salespeople, independent sales organizations (ISOs), bank partners, resellers and brokers”, and claim that the solution is currently attracting “top talent and new partners”.
