DENVER – First Data Corp. announced a joint venture Monday with Bank of America to provide merchant acquiring processing services.
Because BofA will be one of the acquirers, the venture will rank among the nation’s largest merchant processors.
BofA is contributing all of its 240,000 merchant relationships to the new firm, and First Data will provide about 140,000. The merchants generate a combined one billion transactions per month, the companies.
The launch of the Banc of America Merchant Services LLC comes two years after First Data dissolved its merchant acquiring operation with JP Morgan Chase, known as Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, after First Data was taken private in a huge deal by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Merchant acquirers are generally regional banks that take process commercial transactions for banks and credit unions.
The new company will be 48.5% owned by First Data and 46.5% owned of BofA, with a private investors group called Rockmount Investments LLC providing the other 5% of the start-up capital.
