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First Data Corp. will launch a venture designed to sell card-acceptance services in Germany and other parts of Europe, the United States-based transaction processor said Tuesday. First Data has signed an agreement with Germany-based financial institution WestLB AG to establish the new business, First Merchant Solutions. First Data will provide merchant-acquiring services, and the bank will provide the payment infrastructure and handle licenses, the company says in a statement. The venture comes amid moves in Europe to create a cross-border electronic payments system called the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA. The scheme is prompting financial institutions, card firms and other payment companies in Europe to consider partnerships with international payment businesses to offer cross-border payment services. "First Data's multiple partnerships in Europe are setting them up to be successful in merchant acquiring in Europe," Adil Moussa, an analyst with U.S.-based Aite Group, tells CardLine Global. "The expansion of First Data's merchant solution to Europe shows the direction that some of the top players in acquiring see growth: global acquiring. Going with an established partner helps avoid doing the grind work for SEPA." The challenge, Moussa adds, is creating "one global platform that is scalable enough and pliable enough to meet the needs of different countries but that can be maintained centrally in order to limit operating costs." Neither First Data nor WestLB responded to CardLine Global requests for comment.
