KORT Payments buys AptPay to add real-time rails across North America
What's the deal? KORT PaymentsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to acquire 100% of AptPayDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Toronto-based payments technology company specialising in real-time payments and payment orchestration. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions.
What does each do? KORT is an omnichannel payments provider focused on card acceptance, compliance, and risk management. AptPay, founded in 2019, moves money across multiple rails — including Mastercard Send, Visa OCTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Interac e-TransferDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, EFT, ACH, RTP, FedNow, and cross-border — through a single integration with built-in KYC, AML, and sanctions screening.
What's the endgame? The acquisition extends KORT beyond card acceptance into account-to-account payments and disbursements, letting customers collect and send funds through one provider. It also accelerates KORT's push into the US market.
What changes? After closing, AptPay will operate as a division of KORT under its own brand, with chief executive officer Shams Syed continuing to lead it. The company says customers and partners will be supported without interruption.
AptPay serves merchants and platforms across Canada and the US, with a strong presence in online gaming, digital assets, and financial services. "AptPay's real-time payout and orchestration capabilities are highly complementary to our platform," said Danny Chazonoff, president and chief operating officer of KORT.
Why now? The deal lands as Canada's Real-Time Rail is expected to begin a phased rollout in late 2026, raising the value of providers that connect businesses to multiple payment methods. AptPay had also announced a planned direct Visa Direct connection for real-time payouts shortly before the agreement.
The signal: KORT is assembling a broader North American payments platform, having bought Paysafe's direct-marketing processing business to enter the US and sold its MerrcoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → unit to PayFacto in October 2026. AptPay adds a multi-rail collections-and-payouts layer to that card-processing base — though with terms undisclosed, the payoff will hinge on execution and adoption.
Read more: prnewswire.com
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