FIS

Dumping passwords in favor of interoperable, flexible identity is an evolution as bumpy as it is necessary. FIS and Worldpay’s combination stands to create tools that can smooth this road.

The FIS-Worldpay merger is the largest international payments deal to date, significantly topping the recent Fiserv-First Data merger that turned heads at the beginning of the year. But the FIS deal’s strategic implications could be more interesting than the raw numbers.

The companies could bring something new, such as merchant acquiring to community banks, but their merger could also cause anxiety about giant vendors.

Bank technology giants FIS and Fiserv are spending nearly $66 billion between them in just the past few weeks to add a broad swath of payments technology — including a few key nuggets that will help them go toe to toe with fintechs.

Given the size of the deal — which includes about $9 billion of Worldpay’s debt on top of a $34 billion bid — the pressure’s on to build a global powerhouse that can counter other major fintech mergers announced in the past weeks. FIS must also emerge as a nimble rival to the startups that threaten the old order.

The $35 billion deal could create "a global payments giant"; with the number of community banks dropping as low as 5,477, it may be time for new ones.

The financial services technology company FIS has agreed to buy Worldpay. The deal is valued at $43 billion and will allow FIS to counter the transaction processing scale Fiserv received when it acquired First Data this year. The merger price is based on a $34 billion bid plus $9 billion of Worldpay's debt.

Gateway Mortgage Group says its launch of a digital-only bank is scheduled for this summer.

One thing that excites Kim Bynan most about her job is seeing firsthand how new payments technology changes our everyday lives.

Fiserv’s $22 billion deal to acquire First Data creates pressure to scale core banking and payment processing that may force further industry consolidation.