Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• Processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) reported its revenues grew 60.2% year-over-year in the first quarter, to $1.2 billion from $739.4 million. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $105.9 million, up 16.8% from $90.6 million. For 2017, the company is raising its total revenue and net revenue guidance by $20 million owing to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to delay by six months the effective date of its new regulation for prepaid accounts. TSYS owns NetSpend, a major prepaid card program manager.
• Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. announced it will acquire Paymetric, a technology vendor for business-to-business payment. Paymetric is a portfolio company of Francisco Partners. Terms were not announced.
• In related news, Vantiv reported its total revenue grew 13% in the first quarter to $928.2 million from $818.6 million in the year-earlier period. Net revenue was $470.1 million, up 9% from $431.2 million. Net revenue for the Merchant Services unit rose 13% to $385.9 million, from $341.2 million, owing to a 10% increase in transactions and a 3% rise in net revenue per transaction.
• Discover Financial Services reported net income of $564 million for the first quarter, down slightly from $575 million in the year-ago period. Dollar volume for the company’s Payments Services unit increased 5%, to $47.1 billion, with volume for the Pulse debit network rising 4%.
• Payment services and wire-transfer provider Euronet Worldwide Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $28.1 million, down 3% from $29.1 million a year earlier, on revenues of $473.4 million, up 8% from $437.9 million in 2016’s first quarter.
• Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it lowered the fees on its Walmart2Walmart money-transfer service, which debuted three years ago. Walmart also said beginning in May it will offer the Bluebird2Walmart money-transfer service, which enables holders of American Express Co.’s Bluebird accounts to digitally send money for cash pickup at Walmart stores.
• Entrust Datacard Corp., a trusted identity and secure transaction technology provider, said it joined the PCI Security Standards Council as a participating organization.
• Payment gateway Shift4 Corp. said its EMV-certified payments services are available to users of Systems Products International, a software provider for resort developers and vacation property managers.
• Payments provider Merchant E-Solutions Inc. said it has added tokenization and account updating services to its payment-processing bundle with NetSuite, a business-management software provider.
• Cross-border payments processor PayCommerce Inc. announced it has reached a milestone with more than 100 banking and financial-services companies in its network spanning more than 80 countries.
