Intel to invest in ClickandBuy payment service

by Nancy Gohring

January 18, 2007 —

Intel Capital invested an undisclosed amount in Firstgate Holding AG, owner of hosted online payment system provider ClickandBuy LLC.

The deal, announced on Wednesday, will help fund ClickandBuy's global expansion into Asia and Latin America and will strengthen it against competitors, the companies said. Intel Capital is the investment arm of Intel Corp.

Around 7,000 merchants use ClickandBuy's payment system that can handle many different currencies, various tax schemes, credit card processing and live customer care. The system also features fraud prevention to protect customers and merchants against Internet fraud.

ClickandBuy has experienced rapid growth recently, according to Intel Capital, driven by an increase in broadband penetration which has encouraged downloads of content like music and video.

Current ClickandBuy customers include Apple Inc.'s iTunes store, Skype Ltd., Financial Times Deutschland and the U.K. newspaper The Independent.

ClickandBuy has attracted additional investment recently. In 2006, 3i Group PLC made a

IDG News Service