Founders expect few changes with sale of iPay

ELIZABETHTOWN — The founders of a Kentucky-based online payment company expect few changes now that a new owner is in charge.

Dana Bowers, the co-founder of iPay Technologies, told the Elizabethtown News-Enterprise that there will be no job losses and that the operation will remain in Elizabethtown. Jack Henry and Associates Inc. of Monett, Mo., announced the purchase in May and completed the $300 million sale last week.

"It's great news for the employees," Bowers said.

The company specializes in online payments to banks and credit unions. Its 250 employees provide services to more than 3,600 clients who, in turn, offer online bill pay options to more than a million small business and consumer subscribers.

The publicly traded Jack Henry and Associates is a provider of computer systems and ATM debit card transaction processing services for financial institutions. The acquisition is the largest by Jack Henry to date.

"This is a key acquisition that supports our expansion in the electronic payments industry and further strengthens our payments offering," CEO Jack Prim said in a statement.

Jack Henry didn't have the capacity to perform the function of iPay, now its wholly owned subsidiary. So it won't consolidate it now that the sale is complete, Bowers said. The buyer has a rich history of acquiring companies and leaving them in place, she said.

Bowers also said she thinks iPay will retain its name but with a reference to Jack Henry, which was an iPay customer.

"They know how we do business," she said.

This story was originally published June 22, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Founders expect few changes with sale of iPay."