Digital Transactions
A report that Bank of America Corp. might not renew its joint merchant-acquiring venture with leading payment processor First Data Corp. left observers wondering what the break-up of one of the payments industry’s biggest players would mean for the companies involved, and the wider industry.
The joint venture, Bank of America Merchant Services, or BAMS, is the nation’s third-largest acquirer, having processed $840 billion in volume last year, according to rankings from Omaha, Neb.-based merchant-acquiring consulting firm The Strawhecker Group. A recent First Data regulatory filing says the venture settled $205.6 billion in volume in the first quarter.
