70 Belfast Jobs Created By US Company

Investment by a US Payment Technology company in Belfast is to create 70 new jobs, according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Merchant Warehouse will set up a Technology Development and Customer Support Centre in the city.

The Boston-based company provides payment technologies and merchant services to around 80,000 merchant customers.

The Belfast operation will support growth in the company by adding in-house engineering and development resources.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered £840,000 of assistance towards the job creation.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "Invest NI has worked hard to secure this high quality, knowledge-based investment for Northern Ireland, in the face of competition from other locations.

"In this it was aided by very positive reports from other US investors who have set up here, who promoted the availability of highly qualified staff, and the strong support from local universities and government agencies, as well as cultural and logistical alignment.

"This kind of high calibre investment reinforces Northern Ireland’s position as an excellent location for specialist firms in the important IT and financial services sectors. In addition these new jobs will contribute some £2.7m a year in salaries to the economy."

Henry Helgeson, Merchant Warehouse’s Chief Executive Officer, said: "Invest NI’s offer of support was crucial to our decision to locate the new technology division in Northern Ireland. We have been at the forefront of product innovation in the area of payment technologies and we are confident that the new Belfast centre, which will support our accelerated product evolution and enhance our overall customer support, will help us to maintain our competitive edge."

(IT/CD)