Global Payments Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (Global Payments) operate as a payments technology company.
The company is delivering software and services to its customers globally, with worldwide reach spanning North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The payments technology industry provides financial institutions, businesses and consumers with payment processing services, merchant acceptance solutions and related information and other value-added services. The comp...
Global Payments Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (Global Payments) operate as a payments technology company.
The company is delivering software and services to its customers globally, with worldwide reach spanning North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The payments technology industry provides financial institutions, businesses and consumers with payment processing services, merchant acceptance solutions and related information and other value-added services. The company’s technologies, services and team member expertise allow it to provide a broad range of solutions that enable its customers to operate their businesses more efficiently across a variety of channels around the world.
Business Segments
The company operates in two reportable segments: Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. During the second quarter of 2023, the company completed the sale of the consumer portion of its Netspend business, which comprised its former Consumer Solutions segment.
Merchant Solutions segment
Through the company’s Merchant Solutions segment, it provides payments technology and software solutions globally to primarily small- and-medium sized businesses and select mid-market and enterprise customers. The company’s payment technology solutions are similar around the world in that it enables its customers to accept card, check and digital-based payments. The company’s comprehensive offerings include, but are not limited to, authorization, settlement and funding services, customer support, chargeback resolution, reconciliation and dispute management services, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security services, consolidated billing, and reporting.
In addition, the company offers a wide array of business management software solutions that streamline business operations to customers in numerous vertical markets. It also provides a variety of commerce enablement solutions and services, including specialty point-of-sale (POS) software, data analytics and customer engagement, human capital management and payroll, accounts receivable automation, inventory management and reporting that assist its customers with driving demand and operating their businesses more efficiently.
The company’s value proposition is to provide distinctive high-quality, responsive and secure services to all of its customers. The company distributes Merchant Solutions globally across three lines of business, including Point-of-Sale and Software Solutions, Integrated and Embedded Solutions and Core Payments Solutions. This allows it to fully leverage its capabilities across vertical markets and geographies. The company focuses on providing differentiated customer service from the sales process, to onboarding, to ongoing support across its business. The majority of its revenue is generated by services priced as a percentage of transaction value or a specified fee per transaction, depending on the payment type or the market. The company also earns software subscription and licensing fees, as well as other fees for specific value-added services, which may be unrelated to the number or value of transactions.
Distribution Channels
In the Merchant Solutions segment, the company actively markets and provides its payment services, enterprise software solutions and other value-added services directly to its customers and through a variety of partner distribution channels across three business pillars: Point-of-Sale and Software Solutions, Integrated and Embedded Solutions and Core Payments Solutions. The company has a wide array of distribution channels led by one of the premiere direct sales teams in the industry.
Many of the company’s payment solutions are technology-enabled in that they incorporate or are incorporated into innovative, technology-driven solutions, including software solutions, designed to enable merchants to better manage their businesses. The company’s technology-enabled solutions represent a substantial component of its revenues.
Point-of-Sale and Software Solutions. The company’s Point-of-Sale and Software Solutions business provide advanced payments technology that is integrated into point-of-sale systems and business management software solutions that it owns. The company has capabilities in cloud-based point-of-sale for restaurant and retail and leading software in other verticals, including education (serving colleges, universities, and kindergarten through 12th grade level institutions), real estate (primarily property management), and communities (serving event organizers largely in the health and fitness market). Its Point-of-Sale and Software Solutions business offers a range of features which are being combined under its Global Payments brand identity across all of its assets. This includes unifying the company’s POS businesses under a common brand, Genius, and leveraging its vast distribution channels to extend it globally. The company expects to complete the rollout of its Genius POS solutions by the end of 2025.
Integrated and Embedded Solutions. The company’s Integrated and Embedded Solutions business provides advanced payments technology that is embedded into business management software solutions owned by its technology partners who operate in numerous vertical markets and countries. Further, it also integrates its capabilities with shopping carts, ordering platforms, marketplaces and other digitally-oriented businesses through the same embedded payment stack it leverages with more traditional, vertically-specific independent software vendors. The company delivers these capabilities in physical and digital environments seamlessly.
Core Payments Solutions. The company offers its core payments solutions through its direct sales forces worldwide, as well as referral partnerships. The company offers its payments technology services, software and other commerce enablement solutions directly to customers across numerous verticals in the markets it serves. Although its primary focus is on building durable, direct relationships with merchants, it also provides its services to merchants referred by independent sales organizations (ISOs) and financial institutions.
Credit and Debit Card Transaction Processing
Credit and debit card transaction processing includes processing the world's major international card brands, including, among others, American Express, Discover Card (Discover), JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay International and Visa, as well as certain domestic debit networks, such as Interac in Canada. Credit and debit networks establish uniform regulations that govern much of the payment card industry. During a typical payment transaction, the merchant and the card issuer do not interface directly with each other, but instead rely on payments technology companies, such as Global Payments, to facilitate transaction processing services, including authorization, electronic draft capture, file transfers to facilitate funds settlement and certain exception-based, back-office support services, such as chargeback resolution.
The company processes funds settlement under two models: a sponsorship model and a direct membership model. Under the sponsorship model, member clearing financial institutions (Members) sponsor it and require its adherence to the standards of the networks. In these markets, the company has sponsorship or depository and clearing agreements with financial institution sponsors. These agreements allow it to route transactions under the Members' control and identification numbers to clear card transactions through Mastercard and Visa. In this model, the standards of the card networks restrict it from performing funds settlement or accessing merchant settlement funds and instead, require that these funds be in the possession of the Member until the merchant has been funded.
Under the direct membership model, the company is direct members in various payment networks, allowing it to process and fund transactions without third-party sponsorship. Under this model, the company routes and clears transactions directly through the card brand’s network and are not restricted from performing funds settlement. The company is required to adhere to the standards of the various networks in which it is direct members. The company maintains relationships with financial institutions, which may also serve as its Member sponsors for other card brands or in other markets, to assist with funds settlement.
How a Card Transaction Works
A typical payment transaction begins when a cardholder presents a card for payment to a merchant, at which time card and transaction information, such as the card identification number, transaction date and transaction amount, is captured and transmitted to its network. The information is captured by a POS terminal card reader or mobile device card reader, which may be sold or leased to the merchant and serviced by the company, through a POS device or ecommerce portal by one of a number of services that it offers directly, or through a value-added reseller.
After the card and transaction information is captured, the POS device or ecommerce portal automatically connects to its network through the internet or other communication channel in order to receive authorization of the transaction. For a credit card transaction, authorization services generally refer to the process in which the card issuer indicates whether a particular credit card is authentic and whether the impending transaction amount will cause the cardholder to exceed defined credit limits. In a debit card transaction, the company obtains authorization for the transaction from the card issuer through the payment network verifying that the cardholder has access to sufficient funds for the transaction amount.
Issuer Solutions segment
The company’s Issuer Solutions segment is a leading provider of comprehensive commerce solutions supporting the payment ecosystem for issuers. Its offerings include core processing, enterprise tokenization, cardholder payments, authorizations, card production, document production and archival, contact center services, managed services, fraud strategy, implementation services, consulting solutions and professional services. The company also provides specialized solutions, such as virtual cards, accounts payable and expense management, commercial processing and real-time alerts.
With the majority of revenues generated from software solutions, its operations serve diverse customer segments, including global, regional, community banks, credit unions, retailers, financial technology companies and neobanks. The company’s go-to-market approach leverages direct engagement and partnerships with aggregators to deliver innovative service offerings across core processing, commerce enablement, managed services and professional services. Its strategic focus on fraud detection, rewards management and commerce enablement positions it to expand opportunities across these key client segments and drive continued growth.
The company is undertaking a comprehensive modernization of its Issuer Solutions segment, encompassing both technology and operations. These efforts enable it to deploy its cloud-native products and services across diverse market segments, use cases and geographic regions with increased agility and speed to market, all within a secure and compliant framework. The modernization of its core processing platform allows it to deliver enhanced, unified capabilities, greater operational efficiencies and innovative features for its clients, while also offering its full suite of capabilities in a modular format or as a comprehensive, integrated solution. The company has completed the development of its client-facing applications in the cloud and remain on track for commercial launches throughout 2025.
Issuer Solutions segment revenues are primarily derived from long-term processing contracts with financial institutions and other financial services providers. Payment processing services revenues are generated primarily from charges based on the number of accounts on file, transactions and authorizations processed, statements generated and/or mailed, managed services, cards embossed and mailed, and other processing services for cardholder accounts on file.
Strategy
The company intends to become the worldwide partner of choice for commerce solutions by providing its clients with a broad suite of world-class, differentiated products and services that make everyday commerce better. The company is also committed to excellence in execution, and delivering flawlessly at scale globally.
The company benefits from the adoption of, and transition to, card and digital-based payments and are focused on expanding its share in its existing markets through software and service innovation leveraging the company’s industry-leading direct and partner distribution channels, as well as through targeted bolt-on acquisitions to improve its offerings and scale. The company also intends to enter and expand in markets through acquisitions, alliances and joint ventures around the world where it is best positioned for differentiation and scale.
Consistent with this focus, the company is pursuing the following strategic priorities:
Enhancing the company’s capabilities in cloud-based POS and software with a focus on key vertical markets, including restaurant, retail, education, real estate and communities;
Further investing in the company’s leadership position in integrated payments and embedded solutions where it offers tailored operating models and commercial structures for partners and customers;
Leveraging the company’s core payments channels globally to build on its broad capabilities, providing further growth opportunities;
Provide financial institutions, retailers and financial technology companies with leading end-to-end issuer processing services to launch, manage and deliver card programs for consumers, small and medium sized businesses and larger enterprises;
Deliver commerce enablement solutions globally to expand the company’s leading position as a client-centric, product-led company; and
Enable frictionless, best-in-class customer experiences, creating longer-term relationships.
Competition
In the United States, the company competes with a large number of providers, including but not limited to Fiserv, Inc. (‘Fiserv’), Worldpay, LLC (‘Worldpay’), Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, Elavon, Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, Bank of America Merchant Services, Wells Fargo Merchant Services, Toast, Inc., Stripe, Inc. (Stripe), Shopify Inc., and Block Inc. (Block).
The company competes outside the U.S. with financial institutions in the markets in which it operates, as well as both large providers (such as Worldpay, Worldline and Nexi) and new entrants (such as Adyen, Block and Stripe).
The company’s competitors in Issuer Solutions segment include, but are not limited to, Fiserv, FIS, Marqeta, Nexi, Worldline, i2c, Bill.com, AvidExchange, Billtrust, Adyen, Stripe and Zeta.
Dispositions
In December 2024, the company completed the sale of AdvancedMD, Inc. (AdvancedMD). Prior to disposition, AdvancedMD provided software-as-a-service solutions to small-to-medium sized ambulatory physician practices in the United States and was included in its Merchant Solutions segment.
Government Regulation
The company is subject to rules promulgated by the various payment networks, including Nacha, American Express, Discover, Interac, Mastercard, and Visa.
The Dodd-Frank Act also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has responsibility for enforcing federal consumer protection laws, and the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which has the authority to determine whether any nonbank financial company, such as the company, should be supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Federal Reserve) on the ground that it is systemically important to the U.S. financial system.
Because the company provides digital payment processing services to banks and other financial institutions, it is subject to examination by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (the FFIEC), an interagency body primarily consisted of federal banking regulators, and it is also subject to supervision or examination, as may be applicable, by various state and international financial regulatory agencies that supervise and regulate the financial institutions for which it provides digital payment processing and other payment related services.
Certain of the company’s subsidiaries hold payment institution (‘PI’) licenses. These subsidiaries are subject to regulation and oversight in the jurisdictions in which they operate. The company holds PI licenses in Poland, Greece, Germany, Spain, Malta and the Czech Republic, as well as similar licenses in the United Kingdom. As a PI, each subsidiary is subject to regulation and oversight in the applicable jurisdiction, which includes, among other obligations, a requirement to maintain specific regulatory capital and adhere to certain rules regarding the conduct and operation of its business, including the revised Payment Services Directive and the requirements under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (‘DORA’) and reporting obligations in respect of the Central Electronic System of Payment Information.
In many countries, the company is legally or contractually required to comply with anti-money laundering laws and regulations, such as, in the United States, the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, and similar laws of other countries, which require that customer identifying information be obtained and verified. In some countries, it is directly subject to these requirements; in other countries, it has contractually agreed to assist its sponsor financial institutions with their obligation to comply with anti-money laundering requirements that apply to them. In addition, the company and its sponsor financial institutions are subject to the laws and regulations, enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, that prohibit the U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with certain prohibited persons or entities. Similar requirements apply in other countries.
The company is subject to anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, and other laws that generally prohibit the making or offering of improper payments to foreign government officials and political figures for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or to gain an unfair business advantage.
The company is subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and various state laws to the extent it places telephone calls and short message service (SMS) messages to customers and consumers. The TCPA regulates certain telephone calls and SMS messages placed using automatic telephone dialing systems or artificial or prerecorded voices.
History
Global Payments Inc. was founded in 1967. The company was incorporated in Georgia in 2000.
