Click here to read TransactionWatch | Subscribe to TransactionWatch
Significant traction continues to make headway in the merchant acquiring industry with the announcements of a couple sizeable deals. To start, Mastercard announced on Monday (April 19th) their intention to acquire Ekata for $850 million. Ekata is a digital identity verification provider that uses its proprietary Identity Engine to deliver unique risk scores and indicators for its client base of over 2,000 businesses across 230 countries. This acquisition falls in line with Mastercard’s multi-layered approach to security as it suites their new framework on fraud protection introduced in 2019. Furthermore, this transaction is expected to close by Q3 2021.
In other M&A news, Deluxe announced on Thursday (April 22nd) their agreement to acquire First American Payment Systems in an all-cash deal valued at $960 million. First American is a Texas-based ISO that serves more than 159,000 merchants across North America and Europe. With this acquisition, Deluxe is taking a substantial step into merchant acquiring as they broaden their payments strategy. Additionally, Deluxe anticipates that this acquisition will double their annual revenue for their Payments segment while also creating significant nearterm revenue synergies.