Deluxe Corporation is an American payments and business technology company. Its four business divisions comprise payments, cloud, promotional products, and checks. As of 2020, Deluxe has approximately 4.5 million small businesses and 4,000 financial institutions as customers. As part of its services, Deluxe produces personal and business checks[5] as well as offering marketing, web development, web hosting, and fraud protection services.[6]

Deluxe Corporation
Company typePublic
IndustryCorporate services
Founded1915; 109 years ago (1915), in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Headquarters
801 South Marquette Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota
,
United States 55402
Key people
  • Barry McCarthy (president and CEO)[1]
  • Scott Bomar (CFO)[2]
  • Cheryl Mayberry McKissack (chairwoman)[1]
RevenueDecrease US$ 1.8 billion (2020)
Increase US$ 44.5 million (2020)
Increase US$ 8.8 million (2020)
Total assetsDecrease US$ 1.9 billion (2020)
Total equityDecrease US$ 540.8 million (2020)
Number of employees
6,500 (2020)[3]
Websitewww.deluxe.com
Footnotes / references
[4]

Deluxe was previously based in the St. Paul suburb of Shoreview, Minnesota until the company announced in September 2020 that it would move its headquarters to downtown Minneapolis in 2021.[7] Its subsidiary brands include New England Business Services Inc. (NEBS), McBee (formerly Royal McBee) and Checks Unlimited.[8]

Deluxe has facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe to conduct its printing and fulfillment, call center, web server, and administrative functions.[9]

History edit

1915–1959 edit

Deluxe Corporation was founded as Deluxe Check Printers in Saint Paul, Minnesota by William Roy (W. R.) Hotchkiss,[10] after Hotchkiss secured a $300 loan.[5][11] Hotchkiss was the creator of speed-enhancing inventions, including the Hotchkiss Imprinting Press (patented in 1925), a two-way perforator, and the Hotchkiss Lithograph Press (patented in 1928). He also created the first personal flat-pocket checkbook and holder.[5] For most of its early history, Deluxe was primarily a check printing company. Business service operations were not added until later.[6]

1960–1989 edit

The company was privately held until 1965, during which time it began using magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) check printing technology.[12] By the 1980s, the company was facing reduced demand for its products and increasing competition.[13] In 1988, the company incorporated and changed its name to Deluxe Corporation.[14] In the early 1990s it expanded into customer service for businesses.[6]

1990–present edit

As use of digital payment systems gained popularity, Deluxe's core business was impacted significantly. In the mid-1990s, the company announced an expansion of its transaction processing and software businesses.[15] Deluxe began selling business forms and supplies, promotional products and branched out to offer other business services, such as payroll.[16] In 1999, Deluxe employed 15,400 people and operated thirteen check-printing plants whereas by 2004, Deluxe employed 9,300, with eight plants.[16] Deluxe acquired small business services provider New England Business Service in 2004.[17] Deluxe shifted its focus from printing products to primarily business services in 2008.[18] It launched an employee background-screening service called HireRight and expanded its service offerings through acquisitions.[18] This included the purchase of Hostopia (web hosting), Logo Mojo (logo design), PartnerUp (market intelligence), and the 2009 acquisition of search engine marketer MerchEngines.[19][18]

From 2010 onward, Deluxe expanded its offerings to include web hosting, marketing services, promotional items, payroll management tools, and other services by acquiring more than fifty companies,[11] including online printing service PsPrint and web-based marketing firm OrangeSoda,[5] email marketing company VerticalResponse (2014),[20] transaction processing company Wausau Financial Services (2014),[21] and logo designer LogoMix (2018),[22] among others. It also began offering echecks.[23]

Deluxe launched a reality television show called Small Business Revolution.[24][25][26] The show is distributed on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.[3][26][27] Co-hosts have included Baron Davis, Robert Herjavec, Ty Pennington and Amanda Brinkman.[28] In 2021, the show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Series.[29]

Deluxe granted at least $750 in company stock to all of its employees in April 2019.[3] Also in 2019, Deluxe secured a contract with Synchrony Financial.[3] In 2020, McCarthy created a new management team, including the company's first-ever chief revenue officer, and instituted a new organizational structure.[3][30] The company announced it would open its FinTech and Customer Innovation Center in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in 2021, focusing on payment and cloud services business.[31][32]

Deluxe acquired First American Payment Systems, a payment processing company, for $960 million in April 2021.[33] The deal was Deluxe's largest to-date,[33] and was aimed at growing Deluxe's digital payments business.[34] First American provides tools for merchants to process in-store and online payments.[34] Barron's reported that First American Payment Systems generated $300 million in revenue and the acquisition was expected to double the annual revenue of Deluxe's payments business.[33]

Company acquisitions edit

Year Company Business Notes
1994 T/Maker Computer software Acquired in 1994;[35] formerly an early personal computer software company. It later sold the software product lines of T/Maker to Broderbund.
2004 NEBS (New England Business Solutions/Services/Systems) stationery [36]
2008 Aplus.net, Hostopia, VerticalResponse web-hosting companies [37]
2014 SiteKreator Website building [38]
2016 180fusion digital marketing Purchased for an undisclosed sum[39][40]
2016 Liquid Web (assets)/RDM Corporation Web hosting Purchased assets from LiquidWeb, which later acquired Rackspace's cloud sites web hosting unit.[39][41] Liquid Web itself was not acquired.
2018 MyCorporation/LogoMix/First Data consultation [42]
2021 First American Payment Systems payment systems [43]
2022 TELUS Website and Marketing Services Web hosting [44]

Corporate overview edit

Deluxe Corporation is a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Formerly headquartered in Shoreview, Minnesota,[30] it is now located at 801 South Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.[7] Deluxe has four business divisions: cloud, payments, promotional products, and checks.[3][45] As of 2020, Deluxe's clients include the Federal Reserve,[3] 4.5 million small businesses and 4,000 financial institutions.[32] Through its systems for customers to send and receive payments, Deluxe processes more than $2.8 trillion in annual payments.[3][33]

Competitive overview edit

In 2000 The New York Times described John H. Harland Company' as "the second-largest printer of checks in the United States."[46] Walmart is another company that prints checks.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Kennedy, Patrick (October 6, 2019). "New Deluxe CEO focuses on solidifying shift away from legacy check business". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Grossman, Matt (June 2, 2021). "Deluxe Hires Scott Bomar as CFO". Dow Jones Newswires. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Dreyfuss, Joel (March 28, 2020). "The century-old company that invented the checkbook may be a key coronavirus economic player". CNBC. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "US SEC: Form 10-K Deluxe Corporation". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Burns, Jim (September 3, 2012). "Investor's Edge: As check printing business declines, Deluxe Corp. moves into services". The Post-Standard. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Goodrich, Laura (2011). Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to A. ReadHowYouWant. ISBN 978-1-4596-2640-9. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Kennedy, Patrick (September 14, 2020). "Deluxe moving its headquarters from Shoreview to downtown Minneapolis". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Deluxe Corporation Company Snapshot Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  9. ^ Bagby, Dyana (September 4, 2020). "Deluxe Corp. selects Sandy Springs to locate new technology innovation center". Atlanta Business Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Jay P. Pederson, "Deluxe Corporation", encyclopedia.com, retrieved August 8, 2022
  11. ^ a b Zaveri, Paayal (May 17, 2020). "A 105-year-old company that invented the checkbook explains how it transformed from a tangle of disparate businesses that 'no one really understood' into a sales powerhouse". Business Insider. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Cullman, Lewis B. (2004). Can't Take It With You: The Art of Making and Giving Money. John Wiley & Sons. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-471-66678-3. Retrieved November 3, 2016. Deluxe Check Printers + 1915.
  13. ^ Mariotti, John L. (1997). The Shape Shifters. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0-595-48195-7.
  14. ^ "Deluxe Corp. (DLX:NYSE)". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  15. ^ Tracey, Brian (February 20, 1996). "Deluxe Corp. CEO Expects Check Use To Begin Waning as Early as Next Year". The American Banker. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "CEO to retire at Shoreview, Minn., check printer Deluxe Corp". Pioneer Press. December 14, 2004.
  17. ^ "Deluxe completes $745 million takeover of NEBS". Boston Business Journal. June 25, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Depass, Dee (August 10, 2008). "Down but not out, Deluxe on a comeback". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  19. ^ Tartakoff, Joseph (July 14, 2009). "Check Printer Deluxe Purchases Search Engine Marketing Firm MerchEngines". Gigaom. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  20. ^ Campbell, Anita (July 26, 2013). "VerticalResponse Email Marketing Company Acquired by Deluxe". Small Business Trends. Retrieved November 21, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Ramstad, Evan (October 23, 2014). "Deluxe net falls on charge, buys Wausau Financial". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  22. ^ Ostuni, Amanda (May 10, 2018). "Deluxe Acquires LogoMix in $43M Deal". Twin Cities Business. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  23. ^ Arar, Denny (September 26, 2013). "New services tackle small business finance challenges". PC World. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  24. ^ Kennedy, Patrick (March 2, 2021). "Shoreview company's 'Small Business Revolution' comes home to help Black-owned firms". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  25. ^ Allen, Tess (March 2, 2021). "Deluxe Corp.'s 'Small Business Revolution' Turns its Cameras on Black-Owned Businesses". Twin Cities Business. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  26. ^ a b Allen, Tess (October 2, 2019). "Branding Out Loud". Twin Cities Business. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  27. ^ Williams, Nick (May 25, 2021). "After being furloughed, makeup artist launches beauty brand, is on reality series". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  28. ^ Kennedy, Patrick (March 2, 2021). "Shoreview company's 'Small Business Revolution' comes home to help Black-owned firms". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  29. ^ Pedersen, Erik (June 28, 2021). "Daytime Emmy Nominations For Children's, Animation & Lifestyle Categories Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Kennedy, Patrick (October 6, 2020). "New Deluxe CEO focuses on solidifying shift away from legacy check business". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  31. ^ Murchison, Adrianne (September 10, 2020). "Deluxe moving hundreds of workers into existing Sandy Springs office tower". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Catts, Everett (September 9, 2020). "Deluxe Corp. center is bringing 709 jobs and $10.2M investment to Sandy Springs". MDJOnline.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  33. ^ a b c d Beltran, Luisa (April 22, 2021). "Deluxe to Scoop Up First American for $960 Million". Barron's. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  34. ^ a b "Deluxe Signs $960 Million Acquisition Deal For First American Payments". PYMNTS.com. April 22, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  35. ^ "T/Maker Acquired". Macworld. Vol. 11, no. 9. September 1994. p. 33. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  36. ^ "Deluxe NEBS to Change Name to Deluxe Beginning Jan. 2, 2018". www.investors.deluxe.com.
  37. ^ "About: Deluxe Through the Years: 1980 - 2010". Deluxe.com.
  38. ^ "SiteKreator now part of Hostopia". Sitekreator.com. March 5, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  39. ^ a b "Deluxe Corp 10-Q". EDGARpro. August 5, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  40. ^ "180Fusion Inc profile (showing Inc 5000 rank)". Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  41. ^ Miller, Ron (August 8, 2016). "Rackspace sells Cloud Sites unit to Liquid Web". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  42. ^ "Deluxe Corp (DLX) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript". The Motley Fool. January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  43. ^ https://s28.q4cdn.com/332383136/files/doc_news/2021/06/Deluxe-Completes-Acquisition-of-First-American-Payment-Systems.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  44. ^ "TELUS Website Services is now EasyHosting by Deluxe". TELUS. October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  45. ^ Dignan, Larry (June 27, 2021). "How Deluxe transformed from paper checks to providing an SMB cloud, payments stack". ZDNet. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  46. ^ "HARLAND, Check Printer, to buy Software Maker". The New York Times. July 18, 2000. Retrieved July 25, 2022.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Business data for Deluxe Corporation: