In an effort to tap the booming merchant acquiring business,
Georgia-based
Total System Services, Inc.
(
TSS
) has entered into a joint venture with Central Payment Co., LLC.
The company said that it holds a 60% stake in the joint venture.
This undertaking will be temporarily supervised by a Board of
executives of both the companies for a brief tenure.
Per the contract, Central Payment will operate as a unit of
Total System and will retain its identity going forward. Both the
companies have shared a long-standing business relationship where
Total System provided its technology to Central Payment for
processing payments.
The co-venturers are expected to mutually benefit each other in
numerous ways. While Total System will benefit from Central
Payment's excellent distribution network that comprises over 700
active-and-independent agents, the latter will capitalize on Total
System's reputation and knowledge regarding the payments service
industry.
Lately, Total System has been focusing on fortifying its
existing relationships with various institutions. Last month, it
further consolidated its year-long business ties with
Bank of America Corporation
(
BAC
) by signing an agreement to provide its consumers processing
services related to its credit card portfolio in the U.S. for the
next six years.
The global payments industry is intensely competitive and Total
System faces tough competition from data processing, bankcard
computer service firms and third-party software vendors within the
U.S. as well as from international processors and third-party
software vendors. We believe that by undertaking these initiatives,
the company is bracing itself for a neck-to-neck fight with its
competitors like First Data Resources LLC,
Visa Inc.
(
V
),
Mastercard Incorporated
(
MA
) and
Discover Financial Services
(
DFS
).
Visa entered into an agreement with disbursement and bulk
payment solutions provider, Obopay Disbursements to pay out
electronic funds to a prepaid card. Soon after, the company joined
Air Canada to facilitate its Canadian customers with Visa debit
card to purchase Air Canada tickets using their debit cards.
Mastercard also joined forces with Rearden Commerce, provider of
various business and customer solutions, to offer a brand new
personalized website by deploying the latter's Deem commerce
platform. The newly launched website dubbed "MasterCard Business
Network" will enable the smooth facilitation of operations by small
and medium-sized businesses as well as aid them to streamline their
expenses.
Total System currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates
into a short-term Hold rating.
BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis
Report
DISCOVER FIN SV (DFS): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MASTERCARD INC (MA): Free Stock Analysis Report
TOTAL SYS SVC (TSS): Free Stock Analysis Report
VISA INC-A (V): Free Stock Analysis Report
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