← Embedded Finance Index 2026

Global Payments

“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.
Takepayments2024
Acquired UK SMB card-payments provider Takepayments to expand embedded payments among small British merchants.
EVO Payments2023
Closed its $4.3B acquisition of EVO Payments, adding B2B software-led payments and reach across the Americas and Europe.
MineralTree2021
Acquired MineralTree, a leader in B2B accounts-payable automation and software-led embedded payments.
Zego2021
Acquired real-estate/property-management embedded payments platform Zego for ~$925M (later divested).
TSYS (Total System Services)2019
Completed its ~$21.5B all-stock merger with issuer-processor TSYS, combining merchant acquiring with card-issuer processing.
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.