Total System Services Inc. has increased its stake in the credit card processor China UnionPay Data Co. Ltd.
The Columbus, Ga., processor, which bought a 35% equity interest in Cup Data in December, said Monday that it now has 44.5% ownership. Cup Data is the processing subsidiary of China's only card network, China UnionPay Ltd.
TSYS, which is mostly owned by the Columbus banking company Synovus Financial Corp., has said all along that it wanted to own more of Cup Data. When it announced the initial deal it said it expected to buy an additional 10.5% stake by March, but at its May analyst meeting it confirmed that its stake was still 35%.
"Achieving this important objective enables TSYS to fully focus attention on supporting Cup Data's efforts," M. Troy Woods, the president and chief operating officer, said in a press release.
TSYS said that Cup Data, which was founded in 2003, processes for 16 of China's 29 credit card-issuing banks, making it the country's largest back-end processor. It also said it has promoted David E. Duncan to managing director of TSYS Asia-Pacific. He had been senior director for international services, and he played a key role in the Cup deal.
