Payment terminals giant PAX Technology appoints Michael Johnson as new CEO as it scales up Australian operations
One of the world’s leading providers of electronic payment terminals, PAX Technology, has appointed former First Data and Transaction Network Services executive Michael Johnson (pictured) to head its Australia/New Zealand operations, having acquired 100 per cent of PAX Technology Australia.
Announcing the appointment in Sydney today, the Hong Kong-listed R&D powerhouse said it was increasing its investment in Australia and New Zealand as well as introducing new Android payment devices for merchants. PAX has also installed a Hardware Security Module (HSM) in Sydney (to provide remote key injection (RKI) services to Australian, New Zealand and other APAC clients), designed to protect sensitive financial data and ensuring data sovereignty, where no domestic customer data leaves Australia.
While banking and financial services are a key target for PAX over the next 12 months, PAX has already had success with a range of acquirers and payment services providers and is in advanced negotiations with tier one merchants.
The PAX terminals run on an Android operating system, and offer a wide variety of value-added applications, satisfying the demand from merchants for greater functionality. PAX has a first mover global advantage having introduced Android models far earlier than its major rivals, including Ingenico and Verifone who stayed with their proprietary software before more lately moving to Android.
PAX is internationally acknowledged as the leader in Android payment devices both in the volume of shipments of payment devices and supporting technology including MAXSTORE Terminal Management System (SaaS cloud-based solution).
Michael Johnson succeeds CEO Nigel Lovell who co-founded PAX Technology Australia with COO Debra Taylor in 2017 and will retain an advisory role. Mr Johnson was previously Managing Director for the Payments Market business in APAC for TNS, and prior to that was Vice President of Global Service Delivery with First Data Australia and New Zealand.
PAX Vice-President Heidi Hoo said, “We are delighted to welcome Michael, who has the corporate experience to scale PAX Technology to become the dominant vendor across Australia and New Zealand. Our strategic acquisition of PTA will strengthen our global sales network and brand awareness in the Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) market and we are excited about the opportunities this presents.”
The Android-based portfolio is seeing increasingly high demands from merchants for terminal payment solutions and has recently moved into a custom-built manufacturing plant with capacity to ship a million terminals a month globally. PAX also invests heavily in R&D, with around 11 per cent of global revenue reinvested into R&D since 2020.
PAX will be releasing several new models into the Australian market in 2025, including the latest Android 14 5G model, along with a full field service and software support solution.
Existing customers in the transit sector include Virgin Australia, A2B taxi group, and Queensland Light Rail.
“Merchants are tired of the traditional bank offering and are demanding innovation. They want to choose their own software and terminal and then their acquirer with an emphasis on the consumer experience,” said Johnson.
“The payments landscape is evolving quickly, both internationally and in Australia,” Johnson said. “The new generation of Android devices, matched with the unrivalled capabilities of the MAXSTORE ecosystem, realise the full potential of what Android technology has long promised. It’s a real game changer.”
