Payment industry leader Vantiv acquires firm to further eCommerce growth

Payment processing firm Vantiv hopes to extend its eCommerce reach with the purchase of a smaller company that specializes in payment management in internet sales and direct marketing. Vantiv announced its acquisition of Litle & Company, which is expected to increase Vantiv's client base of online retailers as well as institutional customers with expanded payment processing for point-of-sale, online and direct response sales. Litle's clients in the consumer-direct arena include Overstock.com, Ancestry.com and ShopNBC. "Our newly combined companies and our expanded solutions will provide even more value to our clients. We are pleased to welcome Litle & Company's impressive team, their channel partners and their valued customers to our family," stated Charles Drucker, president and CEO at Vantiv. Vantiv, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the third largest merchant acquirer and the largest PIN debit acquirer in the United States, based on the number of transactions it processes. It has developed a strategy that will expand its services into high growth areas such as prepaid, online and mobile payments while adding clients in the government, healthcare and education sectors. Litle & Company won the Stevie Awards in 2010 and 2011 for ecommerce customer service and innovations in products and services.