Groupon acquisition Feefighters further support to business partners

News and technology information Beijing time March 24, according to foreign media reports, the United States Group purchase site Groupon has acquired a three-year business account and payment service provider Feefighters, further to the business partners to provide support.

Feefighters, a us-based start-up company based in Chicago, announced in Friday that the company had been bought by Groupon. Feefighters's web site allows corporate customers to compare the rate of credit card transactions and choose a credit card service provider. Last September, Feefighters launched the Samurai product, a service that is equivalent to a "channel" between a merchant and a credit card payment network. Samurai users can link to any one or more credit card payment service providers. Feefighters wants Samurai to be able to change the way other services can only lock a credit card payment provider.

Feefighters said the acquisition would not have a significant impact on its product line and that most of the team would join Groupon. "Our consistent goal is to help small businesses operate more effectively, through a combination with the local business services pioneer Groupon," Feefighters co-founder and CEO Sien Har Cooper wrote in a blog: We can achieve that goal better than being an independent company. Mr Harper said the Samurai service, as well as the feefighters and samurai brands, would remain after the acquisition.

In recent weeks, Groupon has bought a number of startups, including mobile payment application developer Kima Labs, location technology provider Hyperpublic, and E-commerce data analysis company adku.

Groupon's acquisition of Feefighters was apparently designed to get the latter's technology and support Groupon's business partners. Groupon has recently increased its support for businesses, such as the launch of the booking Order Management Service Groupon Scheduler this month. The service, developed by Opencal, a Canadian start-up company, allows businesses to manage their programs easily and directly accept orders from consumers.

Feefighters received 1.6 million dollars in venture capital, including Excelerate Labs, Hyde Park Angels, Startups, Sandbox team, OCA Venture and Arizona Bay Marvell.

As of January this year, Feefighters said, the company's services have saved customers 30 million of dollars in transaction processing fees, averaging 40% per customer. Feefighters has been planning to expand its current payment offerings to other corporate financial services, including payroll and employee health insurance.