HIGHLIGHTS:

Global Payments announces agreements to acquire Worldpay from GTCR and FIS for $22.7bn, this way amplifying global distribution channels. On a combined basis, the company will have extensive global reach and scale, serving more than 6 million customers and enabling approximately 94 billion transactions and $3.7 trillion in volume across more than 175 countries. At the same time Global Payments will divest its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion.

Barclays and Brookfield confirm partnership to transform the bank’s payment acceptance business. Barclays will invest £400m, while Brookfield will provide expertise to support the transformation. Brookfield may acquire a majority stake (70%) after three years, with Barclays retaining a minority share.

In other news…

ACCEPTANCE & PROCESSING

M&S was affected by a technical glitch which left customers across the UK unable to use contactless payments or click-and-collect services over the Bank holiday weekend. Payments online were not operating on 25/04/25. Back in May both M&S website and app were taken offline for several hours following a third-party service failure. 

Intesa Sanpaolo is the first in Italy to enable Bancomat cards on Google Wallet, allowing customers to make contactless payments on Android devices in-store via their smartphone.

PayPoint partners with Uber and Deliveroo to improve digital vouchers. PayPoint’s retail network can now offer customers the ability to purchase digital vouchers for Uber and Deliveroo.

CORPORATE ACTIVITY

Stripe expands global partnership with Tencent to enable digital wallet, Weixin pay, on Stripe terminal in 20 countries. This allows businesses using Stripe to accept Weixin Pay both online and in-person, providing a unified commerce experience and access to the global Chinese consumer market.

CRYPTOASSETS/BLOCKCHAIN/DLT

Bolt has launched a new “superapp” that offers one-click crypto trading, peer payments and a debit card with rewards, aiming to rival Coinbase, Zelle, and PayPal.

LITIGATION

The FDIC ordered Discover Bank to pay over $1.2 billion in restitution to merchants and a $150 million penalty for misclassifying consumer credit cards as commercial, leading to inflated interchange fees for 17 years. The Fed also fined Discover Financial Services $100 million.

MOBILE MONEY/WALLETS

Wise introduces new feature, “Spend with others” which allows a personal account owner to invite others (members) in the same region to a group. The owner has full control, while members can spend and add money. It differs from a joint account, offering shared spending with defined roles and permissions.