Payments platform Tyro buys medical fintech startup Medipass

ASX-listed payments platform Tryo (ASX: TYR) is spending $22.5 million to acquire NAB-backed digital health payment startup Medipass Solutions

The deal gives an exit for the four-year-old Melbourne-based startup’s key investor, NAB Ventures.

Founder Peter Williams and CEO Jonathan Davey will also sell their stakes, in the 100% acquisition by Tyro, but will remain with the business, which was founded in 2017 and developed within NAB Labs.

The $22.5 million deal is split between approximately 60% cash and 40% Tyro shares and earmarked for completion this month if third party consents are received.

The Medipass team of 20 to join Tyro and lead a new health business unit

Medipass created a digital health payment platform for healthcare providers to accept payments without needing a terminal. It integrates with 17 cloud-based practice management and booking systems and has around 4,400 healthcare providers using it. Around 9,300 merchants are in Tyro’s health vertical and the company says there is limited overlap – around 200 providers – between the two ventures.

Tyro CEO Robbie Cooke said the rise of telehealth consultations means offering cardless digital payment options to patients is a commercial necessity.

“Our combination with Medipass is a significant step in building out Tyro’s core health vertical and is consistent with our strategy to build our offering through acquisition where there is a distinct opportunity to gain scale and to enhance our position in a key vertical,” he said.

“In this case we saw a compelling opportunity to add the digital claiming and cardless payments capabilities developed by the Medipass team to provide a unified commerce offering to our healthcare practitioners – providing enhanced payment and claiming options and simplifying payments in what is an extremely complex sector.”

Medipass’ digital health payments platform will be integrated with Tyro’s card-present health solution.

Medipass CEO Jonathan Davey said that by joining forces with Tyro, they can create the new global benchmark for healthcare claims and payments.

“Patients, practitioners, health funds and statutory payers will be connected in one simple and secure platform bringing much needed transparency and simplicity to the A$130 billion in payments and claims that are made every year,” he said.

Medipass had a revenue run rate for the 12-months to February 2021 of around $1.8 million and with an EBITDA loss over that period of around $1.5 million.