JCB International Co., a Japanese payments company, entered a partnership with EVO Payments Inc. to allow merchants in the U.K. and Ireland to accept payments from JCB, according to a press release. 

The partnership will help increase JCB acceptance by small-to-medium sized merchants, according to JCB, particularly those utilizing integrated payments. The agreement also grants JCB additional access to independent software vendor providers that are active in the U.K. and Ireland. 

"Our partnership with JCB will allow the more than 130 million JCB card members to make payment at all EVO merchant sites across the U.K. and Ireland that are part of the JCB network," Darren Wilson, president, international, at EVO Payments, said in the press release. 

The expansion into Ireland and the U.K. follows a 2017 trial program in Poland where JCB gained access to EVO merchants.