US payments giant VeriFone has ramped up its presence in New Zealand with the acquisition of EFTPOS New Zealand, from ANZ, plus a separate deal to buy out its locally owned distributor, Sektor Payments.VeriFone is battling the likes of Square, PayPal and Groupon in the United States and in other large markets. In New Zealand, where it does not face these competitors, it has been increasing its market share in recent years.Auckland-based Sektor Payments has been the exclusive distributor for VeriFone's system in New Zealand for the last three years and said it was now the largest EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) distributor.Square, PayPal and Groupon have no presence on the ground in New Zealand, and their local equivalent, Trade Me, has yet to offer a payments system for small businesses.VeriFone said it had agreed to buy EFTPOS New Zealand from ANZ for an undisclosed sum. ANZ said it would continue to be the merchant acquirer, as ANZ Merchant Business Solutions, while VeriFone would provide terminals and POS (Point of Sale) switching services.EFTPOS New Zealand has 160 staff and 40,000 customers. An ANZ spokesman said 60 of the staff would stay with ANZ.ANZ's managing director for business banking in New Zealand, Fred Ohlsson, said ANZ was focusing on its core business."While the merchant acquiring business is part of our core bank offering, the terminals and POS switching businesses are an increasingly specialist technology business and it makes sense for it to be owned by VeriFone," said Ohlsson.ANZ said there would be roles for all permanent EFTPOS staff after the sale, and EFTPOS New Zealand would continue to operate under the same brand name."These acquisitions reflect VeriFone's commitment to the New Zealand market," said Anthony Chalhoub, VeriFone's general manager for Australia and New Zealand.VeriFone said it would deploy its Point platform - acquired in Europe in 2011 - throughout New Zealand after the deal. It said EFTPOS New Zealand would report to VeriFone's Point division in Australia.Sektor's managing director, Rhys Warren, said Sektor Payments would be renamed VeriFone New Zealand.VeriFone and Sektor Payments did not disclose the terms of the deal. Sektor was owned by a Warren family trust.