Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Deluxe Buys Celero To Expand SME Payment Distribution
June 22, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments And Money Movement, SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data
Merchant Relationships And Payments Data Become The Prize
Payment processing is getting easier to buy. Merchant relationships are not.
On June 18, 2026, Deluxe announced an agreement to acquire Celero Commerce for approximately $625 million in cash. The acquisition adds a payment platform serving small and mid sized businesses, expands Deluxe's distribution network, and increases its exposure to payments and data services.
Deluxe expects Payments and Data to represent 57% of 2026 pro forma revenue following the acquisition, compared with 31% in 2020. The numbers suggest a company evolving well beyond its legacy association with checks and deeper into merchant payments, software channels, and transaction data.
Merchant Payment Relationships Are Becoming More Valuable
Celero generated more than $200 million in revenue during 2025 and reported a 28% adjusted EBITDA margin. Together, Deluxe and Celero processed approximately $70 billion in gross transaction volume during the year.
And then there's distribution. Celero operates through roughly 375 active partners and added about 60 new partners in 2025. Those relationships include banks, software firms, independent sales organizations, and other channels that already sit close to merchants.
See: How Canada Started Opening Its Financial Infrastructure
Processing volume can be bought from other providers, but trusted business relationships are harder to replicate. Deluxe isn't simply buying transaction flow. It's buying access to merchants through networks that took years to build.
Payments And Data Now Drive Deluxe's Strategy
Barry McCarthy, President and CEO of Deluxe, said the acquisition:
“immediately accelerates our transformation” and expands the company's reach across financial institutions, software providers, and partner channels.
The strategy reflects a widening trend in payments. Small businesses rarely purchase payment acceptance in isolation. They buy tools that help them sell, get paid, manage operations, understand customers, and make decisions. Payments are increasingly part of larger software and data ecosystems.
That helps explain why payment providers continue investing in merchant distribution, software integrations, embedded finance capabilities, and business data services.
Merchant Payment Competition Is Clustering
SumUp entered Canada targeting SME payments, banking, and business software services.
TD partnered with Fiserv and adopted Clover technology as part of its merchant services strategy.
Ownership questions around Moneris continue to highlight changing priorities in merchant acquiring and payment infrastructure.
Fiserv continues expanding Clover beyond payment acceptance into software and data driven business services.
Revolut expanded merchant payment capabilities for larger businesses through new in person payment infrastructure.
If The Trend Continues
If merchant relationships continue becoming more valuable than processing capacity, firms with trusted distribution networks may gain advantages across software, lending, treasury services, embedded finance, and business intelligence. The transaction suggests that payment providers increasingly view merchant access as a strategic asset rather than simply a source of transaction volume.
See: Payments Growth Increasingly Tracks Software Distribution
The tension is whether those relationships become easier or harder to transfer over time. As software platforms, payment providers, and embedded finance firms compete for the same businesses, distribution alone may not be enough. Firms will still need to demonstrate value beyond the payment itself.
Talking Point
If payment processing becomes widely available, what becomes harder to replicate, the payment rail or the merchant relationship?
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