Spanish lender CaixaBank, Global Payments and Erste Group Bank have formed a joint venture to offer merchant acquiring and payment services in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
As per the agreement, Global Payments and CaixaBank will own a 51% stake in the joint venture, while the remaining 49% will be owned by Erste Group.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The joint venture was first announced by the companies in July 2015.
Announcing the deal, Erste Group board member responsible for retail banking Peter Bosek said: "By joining forces with two strong expert companies in this field we will increase the focus on our acquiring business and further upgrade the quality service that we provide to merchants across Central and Eastern Europe. The deal represents an important step for Erste Group in CEE and we expect it to lead to further growth in our payments business."
Majority owned by la Caixa Banking Foundation, CaixaBank offers Spanish retail banking and insurance, an international banking portfolio and industrial and real estate assets. It operates with 5,183 branches in Spain, which constitute its largest footprint.
Atlanta-Georgia based Global Payments has merchants and partners in 30 countries across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil. The company employs over 8,500 people across the globe.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataErste Group’s consumer banking footprint spans over 2,700 branches in the countries of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia. The bank has a client base of 15.8 million.
