Bigcommerce makes Austin-based payments startup Zing its first acquisition

E-commerce startup Bigcommerce has made its first acquisition, buying payments startup Zing for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will see Zing’s team join Bigcommerce, while also expanding the company’s omni-channel retail capabilities and accelerating partnerships with point-of-sale providers Square, Lightspeed and NCR Silver.

Zing’s technology includes point-of-sale software that turns tablets into registers, and a back-office product that handles inventory management and the like. Zing’s products were already integrated with Bigcommerce’s platform, and its checkout software could be used with Square’s mobile payment app.

Sources told Re/code’s Jason Del Rey that Bigcommerce will discontinue Zing’s checkout software because it would rather work with established point-of-sale software developers like its partner Square.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, Zing co-founders Nate Stewart and Zack Angelo said they were excited to be joining Bigcommerce.

“From the earliest days of this company, when Zing was still a nascent idea, our mission was to help retailers simplify the process of running their stores so they could focus on growing their businesses,” the statement says.

“Similarly, simplifying commerce is a core mission of the Bigcommerce team. This year alone they have launched amazing product integrations with Alibaba, Intuit and Square to simplify and streamline backend operations for retailers.

“As part of Bigcommerce, we will be able to continue our work enabling seamless, omni-channel retail experiences for merchants selling both online and in-store, while also helping to build a new wave of capabilities for tens of thousands of businesses that have grown their business on Bigcommerce.”

Bigcommerce co-founder Eddie Maachalani was not available for comment but said in a statement the retail industry is heading in the direction where businesses of all sizes want to be able to deliver  “next-gen” experiences like in-store pick up, and ship-from-store.

“Nate and the Zing team have done a remarkable job extending the Bigcommerce platform in a way that enables our merchants to do this and more, and I have full confidence their expertise and IP will further advocate and expand our omni-channel strategy,” he says.

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