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IndustryUpdate

Industrial vulnerability to cyber attacks high been committed to businesses in three areas: fair pric-
ing, proactive customer service and modern technology.
Positive Technologies examined information security Powered by Payroc, Park Place strengthens its promise,
risks present in industrial companies and found it was offering a wider range of sophisticated yet simple-to-
the second-most targeted sector by cybercriminals in use payment solutions, including POS systems from
2020. Researchers found that an external attacker can Clover, mobile terminals from Swipe Simple, a suite
penetrate a corporate network at 91 percent of industrial of ecommerce and software integrations, and the most
organizations, and Positive Technologies penetration trusted countertop terminals, Park Place said. Payroc
testers gained access to the industrial control system also enables Park Place to further minimize the cost of
(ICS) networks at 75 percent of them. Attack vectors for accepting payments for its clients through surcharging
accessing critical systems can be simple, and the poten- and cash discounting pricing platforms aimed at mini-
tial damage severe, researchers noted. They pointed out mizing merchants’ processing fees and integrating with
that once criminals have obtained access to ICS com- most popular payment solutions Park Place added.
ponents, they can shut down entire productions, cause
equipment to fail, and trigger chemical spills and life-
threatening industrial accidents. ACQUISITIONS

PARTNERSHIPS Apto Payments gains Vertical Finance
Apto Payments, a next-generation cards and payments
Adflex, Signifyd enhance B2B payments security company, acquired credit card startup Vertical Finance.
The move expands Apto Payments' product offerings
B2B payments specialist Adflex formed a partnership and team. Through the acquisition, Apto noted, it
with Signifyd, a specialist in commerce protection, to will gain Vertical Finance's innovative credit card plat-
enhance security checks and reduce fraud for its mer- form and rewards technology. Prior to the acquisition,
chant customers via machine learning, AI and velocity Vertical Finance's credit platform matched consumers
checks. Adflex said it processes more than 7 million sup- with high-quality boutique merchants and authentic
ply chain transactions a year for more than 4,000 busi- rewards to enhance their lifestyle pursuits; Apto will
nesses. It uses EMV 3-D Secure to offer authentication bring in Vertical Finance's team of fintech experts to
to its ecommerce customers and is bringing additional contribute to the company's growth, development of
fraud protection to its user base by integrating Signifyd’s new products and overall efforts to continue expanding
machine-learning technology into its B2B payment offer- access to financial services, Apto added.
ing via API. Signifyd’s platform is expected to enable
Adflex to use machine learning and big data to automate FortisPay purchases OmniFund
online order flows and separate fraudulent and legiti-
mate orders in real time. Fortis Payment Systems LLC, a payment technology
leader for businesses, independent software vendors
MOCA, QuikQ to offer fleet payroll cards and developers, said it acquired OmniFund, whose
cloud-based payments-as-a-platform solution is lever-
MOCA, a digital-first, next-generation card-based pay- aged by software and enterprise resource planning ERP
ment platform provider, and QuikQ, a full service, fuel solutions across the country. Founded in 2005, Omni is
payment solutions provider to fleets and merchants, dedicated to delivering superior commerce solutions for
entered into a strategic partnership. Under the agree- their software partners and business clients. The acqui-
ment, QuikQ will leverage MOCA’s payment platform sition will enable FortisPay to expand its platform of
to expand its fuel card offerings. QuikQ’s fleet driv- offerings and capabilities while pursuing new accounts
ers will benefit from MOCA’s contactless and digital- receivable and ERP initiatives, according to Fortis Pay.
wallet compatible physical and virtual debit cards and Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
real-time P2P payments, the partners noted, adding
that drivers will also benefit from MOCA’s mobile app Nuvei finalizes acquisition of Simplex
through which each MOCA Card can be monitored and
controlled. Also, new cards can be created on demand, Global payment technology provider Nuvei Corp. com-
come with unlimited cash-back rewards, and funds can pleted its acquisition of SimplexCC Ltd. Through its
be transferred freely between cards. proprietary fraud and risk management tools backed
by proven artificial intelligence technology, Simplex is a
Payroc, Park Place Payments form alliance leading fiat-cryptocurrency gateway connecting market
participants, including exchanges, brokers, wallet and
Women-founded Park Place Payments stated it formed liquidity providers, Nuvei stated. Simplex delivers infra-
an alliance with Payroc, the eighth largest nonbank structure for users to buy or sell digital assets including
merchants services processor in the United States. Since 45+ cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and sup-
its establishment, Park Place Payments noted, it has ports over 50 fiat currencies. Nuvei will offer Simplex’s

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