IMGCAP(1)]
The order is different from three years ago, but the same five bankcard acquirers dominate First Annapolis Consulting's list of the world's largest acquirers. Based on the acquirers' estimated number of credit and debit card transactions in 2007, United States-based First Annapolis this week said U.S.-based First Data Corp. is the world's largest bankcard acquirer, followed by U.S-based Bank of America N.A, U.S.-based JPMorgan Chase &Co., U.S.-based Fifth Third Bancorp and United Kingdom-based Royal Bank of Scotland. The previous survey, which measured 2005 volume, gave Chase Paymentech LLC, a joint venture of First Data and Chase, the top rank. The companies plan to dissolve that venture later this year. BofA, First Data, RBS and Fifth Third followed in order. First Annapolis did not release specific transaction data for the companies. Joel Van Arsdale, a First Annapolis principal, said the criteria for the rankings changed from using the dollar value of transactions in 2005 to the number of transactions to soften the impact of currency fluctuations. The rankings signal that consolidation continues to shape the acquiring industry, Van Arsdale tells CardLine Global. "Market share gains have predominantly been a force of acquisitions," Van Arsdale says. Still, acquisitions have slowed, he says. "It's very much an opportunity to be a buyer, especially in regions like Europe where much of [acquiring] is controlled by banks," Van Arsdale said. But no obvious pool of buyers exists, he says. As for next year, Van Arsdale expects consolidation to continue to alter the market share of the acquiring industry.
