After capitalizing on disparate payments-industry acquisitions, U.S. Bancorp’s NOVA Information Services says it’s time to adopt a new global identity. Elavon replaces not only the cornerstone NOVA name, but its multitude of merchant-acquiring and processing subsidiaries, such as First Horizon Merchant Services and euroConex.
Evalon will also be the calling card for the former Citibank Card Acceptance business in Europe that NOVA bought in 2005, and the change will be duly noted in the U.S. hospitality industry where Elavon’s presence was boosted in February with the acquisition of gateway firm Southern DataComm. Southern DataComm brought aboard $50 billion in annual gateway traffic through 50,000 merchants.
NOVA’s new name arrives in an evolving industry, where consolidation is pushing more merchant-acquisition business to the big fish and awarding those with geographic reach and multiple capabilities. For example: Elavon’s 2007 year-end deal with Target for point-of-sale electronic check conversion that could amass 80 million checks annually, according to Elavon CEO Stuart Harvey. “It’s a market that is consolidating and rewarding companies that can operate most efficiently,” he says. “We have end-to-end process control, which not only includes bank-card business, but check [and] healthcare … that rely on efficient networks. There’s much more value-add and upside to having a global brand.”
