(by NT Balanarayan & Brindaalakshmi K) Bangalore-based mobile point of sale (PoS) payments startup Ezetap has acquired the Hyderabad-based loyalty platform Clinknow which enables merchants create and offer real-time offers to their customers based on their transaction history. While the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, Ezetap informs that this acquisition will enable them to offer an integrated payments and loyalty solution for merchants across India. Post acquisition, Clinknow co-founder & CEO Abhishek Nayak and the Clinknow team will join Ezetap. Ezetap CEO Abhijit Bose claims that the integrated solution will be able to recognize a repeat customer during check-out and apply the best active offer. This is expected to help small and medium merchants who cannot afford to setup their own loyalty programs. It's worth noting that Ezetap had previously raised a strategic investment from American Express in March this year. Bose had then mentioned that the investment will allow them to enable additional value added services like loyalty points and rewards for consumers. Clinknow was started by Gharpay Technologies Services which was founded by Abhishek Nayak and Arpit Mohan in 2011. It also operated an offline cash collection network which apparently had more than 800 clients, and was later acquired by logistics company Delhivery in June last year. Clinknow analyzes anonymous transaction data and builds predictive models to target consumers based on their past purchases, propensity to buy, location and lifetime value among others. It also allows card issuers to create and present offers to their card holders when they transact with Ezetap merchants based on their profile…
