Toronto-based Rakuten Kobo Inc., one of the world’s most innovative eReading companies, has selected Worldpay, a leader in global payments, to manage its online payment processing and acquiring in Canada. Rakuten Kobo had been working with Worldpay in the US, Europe and Japan, and will now benefit from the eCommerce provider’s broad range of payment solutions and global expertise in its home country. 

Worldpay’s network accepts payments from countries covering over 99% of the global GDP. The extension of Worldpay’s relationship with Rakuten Kobo brings its extensive payments portfolio – including acquiring, gateway, alternative payment methods, fraud and risk management services – to one of Canada’s most innovative businesses.

The partnership is supported by Peoples Trust Company, Worldpay’s Canadian banking partner.  Peoples Trust specializes in providing quality and innovative payment products and services to companies operating in Canada by partnering with accomplished payment solutions companies like Worldpay. By working with Peoples Trust to process payments domestically in Canada, Worldpay will help its clients remain fully compliant with regional regulations and Canadian credit and debit card codes.

Rakuten Kobo’s partnership with Worldpay means it will be able to enhance its eCommerce offering in their home market, by accepting local payments in Canadian dollars, alongside the other payment currencies they offer their customers – and deal with a single payments provider across the markets they operate in.

“We could not be more excited about extending our relationship with Rakuten Kobo to Canada. It’s a privilege to work with such an innovative company on its home turf,” said Ron Kalifa, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Worldpay. “We pride ourselves on being a leading provider of payment and risk services for business everywhere, and look forward to bringing that expertise to a unique and innovative Canadian market.”

“We wanted to work with a payments provider that has a strong global pedigree and that could provide the end-to-end services we need to best serve customers in our home country. Worldpay fits the bill perfectly. They’ve helped us tailor our eCommerce approach to our growing user-base, and drawing on their global experience we’ve completely modernised our payments processes to make them simpler and more cost-efficient than ever,” said Dan Budlovsky, Executive Vice President, Finance, Rakuten Kobo.

“Peoples Trust Company has been providing boutique financial services to Canadians for 30 years, and in that time we’ve partnered with some of the world’s most innovative businesses operating in the country,” said Howard Klein, Senior Vice President, Peoples Trust. “Working with Worldpay is no exception, and this partnership with Rakuten Kobo is just one of the many exciting Canadian collaborations to come.”