Canada-based PayBright has made a strategic investment in Material, a solutions provider for independent retailers, as it expands its retail point-of-sale (POS) ecosystem.

Under the agreement, Material will serve as PayBright’s preferred POS solution for retail, adding to the payments company’s more than two dozen existing industry collaborations.

PayBright founder and CEO Dustin Magaziner said: “We introduced Material to PayBright clients, and their response was some of the strongest feedback we’ve received from a beta test.

"They shared how seamless integration was, how intuitive the system is to use, and how deep the e-commerce and in-store operations data insights were. That enthusiasm made our decision to invest easy.”

Material offers an integrated platform, combining hardware, software and payment capabilities for independent retailers such as boutiques, gift shops, sports apparel stores and pet stores.

The system is designed to support both in-store and online retail operations.

Through the platform, merchants can manage inventory, operate customer loyalty programmes, run marketing initiatives and monitor business performance across sales channels.

According to the company, its technology has supported more than 5,000 boutiques.

These retailers have collectively sold over $50m worth of merchandise through the Shoptiques e-commerce marketplace and generated $150m in physical store sales.

The press statement says Material’s founders built the platform from their experience as independent retailers to help small businesses address operational challenges.

Material co-CEO Marc Gugliuzza said: “PayBright is the most transparent, responsive, and pro-business merchant services provider we have ever worked with.

"Together, we’re supplying a seamless, affordable ecosystem designed to help businesses achieve smarter operations, stronger customer engagement, and sustainable long-term growth.”