Global Payments Announces Acquisition of Total Systems
The number 8 ranked US merchant payments processor, Global Payments, today announced it would acquire Total Systems, the number 10 US ranked payments processor. The deal follows an accelerating wave of mergers and acquisitions in the payments sector. In the last twelve months, CardLinx members First Data and Fiserv announced a merger, followed by CardLinx member FIS and Worldpay.
CardLinx Insight
The announcement by Global Payments and Total Systems was expected by many in the industry. With its larger competitors having announced deals that will drive significant scale, efficiencies and broad payment services portfolios, Global Payments had little choice but to bulk up or be left behind. Payments has always been an industry that requires scale. The minimum hurdle for scale has been lifted higher by recent acquisitions.
For the card-linked and online to offline industry, these combinations mean that consumer and transaction data will be easier to tap from a smaller group of larger companies. These larger payment platforms will increasingly offer new and innovative value added payment services including new data and loyalty services that go beyond simply executing basic payment card transactions.