Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, a merchant processing joint venture between First Data Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., has agreed to hand off the processing of its online foreign currency card payments to First Data.
The Denver processor, which owns 51% of the venture, announced the five-year agreement Tuesday. First Data's international division began using its OmniPay processing platform in July to handle transactions for Chase Paymentech's portfolio of global e-commerce merchants.
The deal is similar to one First Data International announced in February with HSBC Holdings PLC in Europe.
Lawrence S. Berlin, an analyst with First Analysis Securities Corp., said the deal with Chase Paymentech was not a surprise.
"I'd be a little more surprised" if Chase Paymentech had not partnered with its majority owner, Mr. Berlin said.
Cara Taylor, a First Data spokeswoman, said that the deal with Chase Paymentech will let merchants do business in multiple countries with a single processor.
"They don't have to have a merchant processor for each market they want to operate and sell their services in," she said.
The OmniPay platform, which is based in Dublin, can handle transactions originating anywhere and convert them into most major currencies in real time.
"That makes life easier for the traveling and Internet consumer," Mr. Berlin said.
The venture was created in October when First Data and JPMorgan Chase consolidated two merchant processing ventures: Chase Merchant Services, which was jointly owned by JPMorgan Chase and First Data; and Paymentech LP, which had been jointly owned by First Data and Bank One Corp. (JPMorgan Chase acquired Bank One in 2004.)
Chase Merchant Services was the No. 1 merchant acquirer in 2004, with $254.9 billion of volume, according to the industry newsletter The Nilson Report. Paymentech LP was No. 4, with $189.7 billion.
"As we continue to expand our capabilities to drive the growth of our merchants, we seek partners with scale and presence in international markets," Mike Duffy, the chief executive officer of Chase Paymentech, said in a press release. The OmniPay platform has "access to a range of global wholesale payment services that are compliant with cross-border card schemes and local regulations."
