The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has agreed to sell its credit card payment processing unit to Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital for $2.7 billion, according to the companies.

American Express Co. is looking at potential acquisitions that would strengthen its competitive position in alternative payments as credit conditions continue to improve and competition heats up for high-end consumers.

The mergers-and-acquisitions market in the accounts receivable management industry reportedly was active in the second quarter, according to a news release by Kaulkin Ginsberg, an industry M&A and strategic advisory firm.

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Fifth Third Bancorp has announced its Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC unit has acquired the assets of credit union processor TNB Card Services from credit union-owned Town North Bank of Dallas.

M&A transaction value in 2Q 2010 in the Accounts Receivable Management (ARM) sector surpassed $255 million, a 197% increase over 1Q 2010, and a sign of a strengthening M&A environment, according to advisory firm Greenberg Advisors LLC.

Prices for bad debt are up by as much as 15%, depending on portfolio quality, and a lack of supply likely will keep prices high in the near-term, according to several industry insiders. The freshest credit card debt is fetching between five cents and seven cents on the dollar.

Experian PLC said last week that it has purchased RentBureau, a credit bureau that tracks rent payments, from DSI Holdings LLC.

The management team at Synovus Financial Corp. decided to be an aggressive seller of troubled assets after taking a look at the bank's balance sheet and seeing what was coming up the pike.

Credit card delinquencies and chargeoffs at credit unions remained near all-time highs, even as the average balance on card accounts continued to grow in the first quarter, according to AssetExchange, a card broker for credit unions.

With more than $600 billion of bad loans, foreclosed properties and other assets from failed banks, federal regulators are counting on the private sector to help sell the loans rather than doing so independently.