Payments companies are posting ‘for sale’ signs and big companies are pursuing acquisitions at a rate that suggests an increase in industry deal-making this year.
Over the past month, the embedded payments and card company Green Dot and software payments firm Flywire both announced that they’re undertaking strategic reviews, indicating the possibility of selling those businesses. Also, vending payments software firm Cantaloupe is reportedly pursuing such a review, according to the news outlet Reuters, which cited unnamed sources.
While those companies grapple with challenges unique to their businesses, addressing their problems has been made more difficult by U.S. stock market volatility in recent weeks, with Flywire, Green Dot and Cantaloupe seeing their stock prices drop in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, larger companies are gobbling up peers and rivals. Processor Shift4 Payments agreed to buy Swiss travel fintech Global Blue last month; American Express said this week it would acquire expense management firm Center; Flywire said it would pay $330 million to purchase hospitality payments firm Sertifi; Canadian fintech Nuvei said it would buy Paywiser Japan; and embedded payments and digital card company Marqeta agreed to buy the European electronic payments provider TransactPay for $47 million.
Through February, there has been a “slight uptick” in global industry deals this year, with 15, compared to 13 for that period last year, said Sam Wares, director of client success at industry consulting firm The Strawhecker Group. Those deals, especially the larger ones, “are going to resonate across the industry,” Wares said.