Visa takes stake in U.K. fintech Global Processing Services

Two weeks after Mastercard invested in Marqeta, its archrival, Visa, has taken a stake in another fintech, Global Processing Services, or GPS.

The financial terms were not disclosed. No shareholders exited in the deal that gave Visa a minority stake, said GPS CEO Joanne Dewar.

Based in Britain, Global Processing Services has been partners with Visa since 2013. In 2019, GPS became Visa’s preferred issuer processor for its “fintech fast track” program in the Asia-Pacific region. “This investment represents a deepening of that partnership as we extend it across the world,” Dewar told Barron’s.

GPS generates less than $100 million a year in revenue, a person familiar with the matter said.

“GPS is an example of how we continue to invest in, and partner with, companies that provide valuable capabilities to the ecosystem and have potential to advance the payments industry,” Kevin Jacques, vice president of Visa Ventures, said in a statement.

Founded in 2007, GPS is known for providing the “tech behind the tech” and is the issuer-processor that enables fintechs like Resolut and Starling to provide payments. It has roughly 130 customers.

Dunedin, a U.K. private-equity firm, invested 44 million pounds ($56.8 million) in GPS in 2018. It retained a “significant minority” in GPS after the deal with Visa, executives said. Tony Kerr and Craig Dewar, GPS’s founders, continue to hold a large minority stake, the executives said, although the two men are no longer involved in managing GPS.

GPS also has a longstanding partnership with Mastercard (MA), Dewar said. The fintech is certified by both Visa and Mastercard to process and manage credit, debit, and prepaid card transactions globally.

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Source: Visa Takes Stake in U.K. Fintech Global Processing Services | Barron’s