More Noteworthy M&A Deals in Fintech, Payments, and SaaS

Deluxe completes its acquisition of First American Payment Systems, Stripe acquires payments firm Bouncer, and Visa acquires Swedish open-banking firm Tink.

Deluxe acquires First American Payment Systems (FAPS)

On June 3rd, 2021, Deluxe completed the acquisition of First American Payment Systems. Deluxe is a US-based small business financial services and business technology company that has transformed from check-book manufacturing into an all-inclusive small business services company with more than 4.8 million active small business clients and over 4,600 financial institution clients. CEO Barry McCarthy, who spent 14 years at First Data Corporation, introduced the "One Deluxe" strategy to link Deluxe's multiple revenue streams.

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, First American Payment Systems provides credit and debit card processing and payment technology to merchants in North America, South America, and Europe, with a focus on ISVs. CEO Neil Randel has held the role for over 23 years. The all-cash $960 million transaction is the biggest in Deluxe's 106-year history and is projected to double Deluxe's existing payment segment revenue, with cross-selling opportunities into government, not-for-profit, and retail verticals and expansion into First American's global markets.

Stripe acquires payments company Bouncer

On May 14th, 2021, Stripe announced its acquisition of Bouncer to reduce fraudulent activity in its processed payments. Stripe, headquartered in Dublin and led by CEO Patrick Collison, has raised over $2 billion, operates in 43 countries, and reached a valuation of almost $100 billion. Bouncer builds card authentication technology and is led by CEO Will Megson. Integrated into Stripe's existing Radar fraud tool, Bouncer prompts customers to submit a live photo of their card and performs a sub-second risk assessment, adding a layer of security and reducing false positives. The acquisition follows Stripe's purchases of TaxJar, Paystack, and Touchtech Payments.

Visa to purchase Tink

On June 24th, 2021, Visa agreed to buy Tink, a Swedish open-banking firm. Visa, headquartered in San Francisco and led by CEO Alfred F. Kelly Jr., is a global leader in digital payments. Tink, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Stockholm, is the European open banking leader with over 3,400 integrated banks and institutions and over 10 billion transactions completed annually, offering products like Income Check and Account Check. The transaction is valued at SEK 18.2 billion, or $2.2 billion, in cash. Tink would gain access to Visa's global network while maintaining current operations. This followed Visa's blocked attempt to acquire Plaid, struck down by the US Department of Justice on antitrust grounds.

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