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Global Payments

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“Can Global Payments combine enterprise-scale acquiring (via Worldpay), vertical SaaS, and embedded finance services into a unified global commerce operating system that captures value across the entire merchant stack?”

Founded2001
HQAtlanta, GA, USA
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story

Founded in 2001 as a spin-off from National Data Corporation, Global Payments built its core around merchant acquiring and payment processing for SMBs. Through a series of transformative acquisitions — Heartland (2016), TSYS (2019), EVO Payments (2023), and Worldpay (2024) — the company has evolved from a domestic SMB acquirer into a global payment technology and software conglomerate processing nearly $4 trillion in volume across 100+ countries. The embedded finance strategy now centers on offering merchants and ISV/SaaS platforms access to payments, lending, and vertical software as an integrated commerce ecosystem rather than standalone processing services.

Last 12 months
2024-01
2024-11
2025-09
Product timeline
2000
Founded as a subsidiary of National Data Corporation; spun off as independent public company in 2001.· pivot
2016
Acquired Heartland Payment Systems for $3.8 billion, significantly expanding SMB merchant acquiring and restaurant/education verticals.· acquisition
2019
Announced merger with Total System Services (TSYS) in a $21.5 billion deal, adding card issuing and consumer solutions.· acquisition
2023
Acquired EVO Payments for $4 billion, expanding into Poland, Germany, Chile, Greece and B2B accounts receivable software.· acquisition
2024
Announced acquisition of Worldpay from FIS, pushing into large-enterprise acquiring and expanding international operations; combined entity to process nearly $4 trillion in payment volume.· acquisition
2025
Launched Genius POS system as an all-in-one point-of-sale and embedded merchant services platform for SMBs and enterprises.· banking
Acquisitions
Worldpay2026
Completed its ~$24.25B acquisition of merchant-acquirer Worldpay from GTCR and FIS, becoming a pure-play commerce solutions provider.
source ↗
Takepayments2024
Acquired UK SMB card-payments provider Takepayments to expand embedded payments among small British merchants.
source ↗
EVO Payments2023
Closed its $4.3B acquisition of EVO Payments, adding B2B software-led payments and reach across the Americas and Europe.
source ↗
MineralTree2021
Acquired MineralTree, a leader in B2B accounts-payable automation and software-led embedded payments.
source ↗
Zego2021
Acquired real-estate/property-management embedded payments platform Zego for ~$925M (later divested).
source ↗
TSYS (Total System Services)2019
Completed its ~$21.5B all-stock merger with issuer-processor TSYS, combining merchant acquiring with card-issuer processing.
source ↗
AdvancedMD2018
Acquired healthcare practice-management and integrated-payments software provider AdvancedMD for ~$700M.
Heartland Payment Systems2016
Completed its ~$4.3B acquisition of merchant-acquirer Heartland, expanding US integrated and vertical-market payments.
Regulated entities
3
regulatory licences held by Global Payments
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Global Payments’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Global Payments (self-operated)Worldpay for Platforms (subsidiary, self-operated)Heartland Payment Systems (subsidiary, self-operated)
Lending
in the full report
FX & payouts
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
4 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.

Global Payments — frequently asked

Who is Global Payments's payment processor?

Global Payments processes payments through Global Payments (self-operated), Worldpay for Platforms (subsidiary, self-operated) and Heartland Payment Systems (subsidiary, self-operated).

Who handles Global Payments's FX and cross-border payouts?

Global Payments uses Fexco Merchant Services Unlimited Company for FX and cross-border payouts.

What is Global Payments's embedded finance stack?

The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Global Payments's stack: Payments / PSP (Global Payments (self-operated), Worldpay for Platforms (subsidiary, self-operated) and Heartland Payment Systems (subsidiary, self-operated)); Lending (Buy Now Pay Later (merchant-facing BNPL integration), Merchant Cash Advance (referenced in 2026 Trends Report) and Working Capital (via Worldpay for Platforms embedded lending)); FX & payouts (Fexco Merchant Services Unlimited Company).

Where is Global Payments headquartered?

Global Payments is founded in 2001 and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA.

What companies has Global Payments acquired?

Global Payments's acquisitions include Worldpay (2026), Takepayments (2024), EVO Payments (2023), MineralTree (2021), Zego (2021), TSYS (Total System Services) (2019), AdvancedMD (2018) and Heartland Payment Systems (2016).

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