Page 48 - GS180601

Feautres

TSG's new directory of U.S. acquirers

he Strawhecker Group recently released its lat- Smart strategies
est report on U.S. merchant acquirers. Titled
Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers, it provides That doesn't mean significant growth isn't occurring
T data on more than 256 acquirers and ISOs, further down the list, particularly for the companies
including processing volume, number of transactions, that have partnered with or acquired ISVs and/or state-
technology, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, and of-the-art gateways and are approaching merchants with
other factors contributing to growth. comprehensive business solutions, rather than leading
with payment processing. Experts have long discussed the
Most noteworthy to Jared Drieling, TSG's Senior Director need to make this transition. The data from TSG indicates
of Business Intelligence, is that Worldpay now occupies the companies doing so are succeeding.
No. 1 spot. "There was a large merger between Worldpay
and Vantiv and now, under the Worldpay brand, it has Reflecting upon the traditional acquiring model, Drieling
become the largest merchant acquirer," he told The Green said, "Upgrades, cost, service problems, software that's not
Sheet. interconnected, different portals that aren't talking to each
other – these can be a nightmare for merchants."
He added that M&A activity has been brisk over the past
12 to 18 months, particularly among the top 50 acquirers, He said what leads to excellent outcomes for all is to come
which are eager to gain technological assets. One thing in with a "what can we do for you?" approach. "Ask, 'How
that hasn't changed, however, is that the industry is top can we make your business more efficient?'" he said. "Let
heavy. "In the U.S, there's $5.5 trillion in card spending them know they no longer have to access multiple portals
each year, and the top 10 acquirers process about 80 but instead can use one touchscreen to operate and view
percent of all those dollars," Drieling said. everything in real time. And with cloud-based features,
the merchant can be on
vacation and still have
access to all information."

Square, which with $60 bil-
lion in processing volume
hit the No. 12 spot, exempli-
fies this shift. "Square has
been moving up quite rap-
idly," Drieling said. "Clear-
ly, it's no longer a dongle
company; it's much more
a software-focused com-
pany. They're diversifying.
… And they're no longer
focused just on micro mer-
chants."

Opportunity also exists in
offering integrated busi-
ness services to relatively
untapped markets, like B2B
and government payments,
as well as merchants in tra-
ditional verticals who have
shied away from traditional
electronic payments, Dri-
eling noted. "Overall, the
payments industry is very
healthy," he said. "It's a tide
that's raising all boats."

48