Transaction Trends

It was an unseasonably hot July. Sure, July weather has always kept A/C bills high and ice cream truck Q3 sales reports strong, but this year is on track for a national record. And, like the weather, the payments industry, one built on clever partnerships, big sales and acquisitions, has had a sizzling summer.

Perhaps the payments industry acquisition that grabbed the most headlines was Cincinnati-based ETA member Vantiv’s reported $10 billion acquisition of British payments processing company Worldpay. The deal, announced in early July and reported to be completed in September, signals an increasingly global focus for the American payments firm.

But that deal scratches the surface of a busy July month. Last week, ETA member and e-commerce firm Stripe announced its acquisition of Payable after two years of partnership designed to streamline tax reporting for merchants. Two days earlier, ETA member Paysafe announced it expects to close a deal with ISO Merchants’ Choice that expands Paysafe’s “processing scale and product set for ISOs and merchants in North America,” according to a statement from the payments firm.

And then there was the week prior, when ETA member and French payments tech company Ingenico agreed to buy Swedish rival Bambora for $1.7 billion in a move to expand its digital transaction capabilities. ETA member and credit card network Mastercard announced its acquisition of artificial intelligence specialist Brighterion two days before the Ingenico deal made headlines on July 20^th.

July’s opening weeks were packed with freshly inked partnerships and acquisitions as well. In addition to the Vantiv-Worldpay merger, First Data announced the completion of a $750 million deal to acquire merchant acquirer CardConnect.  Visa announced a partnership with YellowPepper, a mobile payments developer in Latin America, while Stripe inked partnerships with China’s most popular mobile payment apps, Alipay and WeChat, to bring its merchants in touch with the growing market of Chinese consumers. All the while PayPal continued its partnership conquest, announcing deals with Microsoft, Visa and Citi among others.

Today, ETA announced the 2017 Strategic Leadership Forum opening keynote, titled “Is it Eat or Be Eaten to Succeed in payments?” featuring four payments CEOs from the top of the food chain. CEOs Marc Gardner of North American Bancard, Henry Helgeson of Cayan, Todd Linden of MCPS and O.B. Rawls IV of iPayment will provide SLF attendees with actionable insights on prospering through buying, selling or going it alone in the payments ecosystem. The keynote — designed to help payments innovators navigate the chess board of partnerships and acquisitions — will compliment a meticulously curated program of concierge-driven networking opportunities and conversations that will help facilitate the next round of ground-breaking, industry-driving deals. All in a setting fit for the top echelon of a $6 trillion industry.

The keynote — designed to help payments innovators navigate the chess board of partnerships and acquisitions — will compliment a meticulously curated program of concierge-driven networking opportunities and conversations that will help facilitate the next round of ground-breaking, industry-driving deals. All in a setting fit for the top echelon of a $6 trillion industry.

Register today for save $300 on the most exclusive registration in payments. Click here to reserve your spot at the table today.