The Green Sheet Online Edition
May 12, 2025 • 25:05:01
News Briefs
Global, FIS trade places <- click to read full story
Global Payments and FIS are reshaping their core business focuses through a two-part deal: Global is selling its Issuer Solutions unit to FIS for $13.5 billion and reacquiring Worldpay from GTCR and FIS for $22.7 billion. The transactions, set for late 2026, aim to sharpen Global’s focus as a merchant solutions powerhouse, expanding its reach to 6 million customers and $3.7 trillion in annual volume.
FIS, meanwhile, will strengthen its payments suite with Issuer Solutions, which processes over 40 billion transactions annually. Market reaction was mixed, with Global’s stock falling and FIS’s rising. Both companies emphasized that the changes will enhance customer offerings and global capabilities.
Cap One gets final OK to acquire Discover <- click to read full story
Capital One secured final regulatory approval to acquire Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, with the deal set to close in May 2025. The DOJ cleared the merger on April 3, 2025, following earlier approvals by the Delaware State Bank Commissioner and shareholders.
The combined entity will become the largest U.S. credit card issuer, with $250 billion in card balances. Capital One’s CEO Richard Fairbank emphasized Discover’s global payments network and the strategic advantage of owning both a card-issuing business and a transaction processing network.
The merger is expected to boost innovation, security and community investment through a $265 billion Community Benefits Plan. Capital One will now be the only major issuer also operating a payments network.
Check usage, fraud plague corporations, AFP finds <- click to read full story
The 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey revealed that checks remain corporations’ most-used payment method—and their biggest fraud risk. Among 521 organizations surveyed, 91 percent still use checks, and 63 percent experienced check fraud in 2024.
Despite risks, 75 percent have no plans to reduce check use. The report also revealed rising business email compromise scams, with 63 percent of companies hit by third-party impersonation schemes. Wire transfers, ACH and checks are the main fraud channels. A bright spot: more firms recovered lost funds, with 58 percent recouping up to 75 percent of stolen money in 2024. Meanwhile, the federal government is phasing out checks entirely by Sept. 30, 2025.
Same-day ACH approaches $1 trillion mark <- click to read full story
The ACH network posted strong growth in the first quarter of 2025, processing 8.5 billion transactions worth $22.1 trillion—up 5.5 percent year over year. Same-day ACH saw record growth, moving 326 million transactions worth $897 billion, a 24.8 percent value increase from the same period in 2024. Person-to-person payments exceeded 100 million for the first time, rising 20.4 percent. Business-to-business ACH payments also grew 9 percent, with healthcare claims alone hitting 125 million transactions.
Internet ACH transactions rose 6.9 percent, though direct deposit slightly declined, likely due to growing earned wage access options. Nacha CEO Jane Larimer highlighted the network’s expanding role in fast, flexible payments. As same-day ACH nears the $1 trillion mark quarterly, its adoption across payroll, loan repayment, ecommerce and other use cases signals mainstream acceptance of faster payment rails.
The good, the bad and the ugly of BNPL <- click to read full story
A LendingTree survey found that 51 percent of U.S. consumers have used buy now, pay later services, though 52 percent regretted it, often due to late fees—41 percent admitted to missing payments. Despite regrets, usage remains high: 60 percent of BNPL users hold multiple loans simultaneously.
Younger adults and men are the most frequent users, and groceries are an increasingly common BNPL purchase, rising to 25 percent from 14 percent last year. Other popular items include clothing, tech and travel. PayPal leads the BNPL market, followed by Klarna, Affirm and Afterpay. The trend may expand further with new partnerships like Klarna’s BNPL option for DoorDash. While many users are confident they’ll repay on time, the data suggest overconfidence and rising debt risks. 
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