PromisePay rebrands to Assembly Payments and nets partnership with Gumtree

Australia-based payment firm PromisePay, which raised $10 million last year, has a double shot of news this week: it has rebranded to Assembly Payments and inked a major partnership deal with Gumtree.

The deal will see Gumtree, which is owned by eBay, introduce a new services-focused business in Africa. Gumtree Connect links users with local home services, such as cleaners, machine repairs and more in same way as apps like ThumbTack in the U.S. and ServisHero in Asia. It’s for that business that Gumtree has selected PromisePay Assembly Payments, which built its payment service specifically for marketplaces with features like credibility checks, dispute resolution, etc.

Gumtree Connect is initially available in South Africa, one of Gumtree’s most notable markets with six million registered users, but there is the potential for expansion further down the line.

“Assembly Payments was chosen after a lengthy global search for the ideal payment partner. Their expertise in areas such as fraud, chargebacks, compliance, escrow and customer support has meant they are a great fit for Gumtree,” Gumtree’s head of verticals Andre Hugo said in a statement.

As for the name change, Assembly Payments’ CEO and co-founder Simon Lee told TechCrunch by email that it “better reflects the nature of our platform.”

“Payments are the centerpiece of a great customer experience,” Lee continued. “And companies are sick of being stifled by old, legacy payments systems. So we tore the whole system and apart and let anyone re-assemble it however they like.”

Founded in 2014, Assembly Payments claimed it has increased its revenue by 25 percent month-on-month over the past year. It said it is active on over 100 platforms, including Airtasker, Hipages, Flippa and Carsales.com.au, and has raised over $13 million from investors.