Analyst Jared Drieling, business-intelligence manager at The Strawhecker Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based payments consultancy, suggests Harbortouch could one day offer an expanded line of so-called smart POS terminals, which run on apps that include payments but also a wide range of other business-management functions.
“Smart terminals are a hot item for ISOs to go out and sell,” Drieling tells Digital Transactions News. “This [new investment] is an opportunity to grow and take market share away from the smart-terminal players in the market. It’s a window of opportunity for Harbortouch, which is why it’s seeing increased interest from investment companies. [For acquirers], it’s all about adding value-added relationships to create that sticky relationship. If you can provide a smart terminal with value-added services, that becomes pretty sticky [and attractive to investors].”