M&A in cross-border payments declined by 35% this year

• New FXC Intelligence insights show that mergers and acquisitions in the cross-border payments space from Q1-Q3 declined by around 35% this year, when compared to the same period last year. 
• There have been declines across most types of businesses, in particular B2B payments, consumer money transfers and payment processors. Whilst there is no individual factor driving the decline of M&A in this space, there are a few macro factors that may be playing a role in the overall decline of fintech M&A.
• The biggest disclosed M&A this year was Worldpay’s acquisition by GTCR at $18.5bn. With the exception of this acquisition there appear to have been fewer disclosed acquisitions relevant to cross-border payments to achieve multi-billion dollar status this year compared to last year.

According to a new FXC Intelligence report, the number of notable mergers and acquisitions in the cross border payments space from Q1-Q3 declined by around 35% this year – from 161 in 2022 to 104 in 2023 – when compared to the same period last year. 

Amongst companies making these acquisitions, there have been declines across almost all types of business, with the exceptions of card issuers. 

In particular, across B2B payments, consumer money transfers and payment processors, there appear to have been substantially fewer significant mergers and acquisitions reported this year, driving down the overall totals. We see a vast majority of the activity is occurring in the US, with around 33 out of 90 acquiring companies having a headquarters in the country while 27 acquirees are based there.

Joe Baker, senior copywriter and author of the FXC report said:

“It is difficult to point to specific factors driving the decline of M&A in the cross-border payments space without making generalisations, due to the wide scope of the companies we assessed. 

“However, various macro issues have been suggested as playing a role in the overall decline in fintech M&A this year, including the challenging global economic climate as well as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this year, which may have deterred companies from spending big on acquisitions.” 

The biggest disclosed M&A this year was Worldpay’s acquisition by GTCR at $18.5bn. With the exception of this acquisition there appear to have been fewer disclosed acquisitions relevant to cross border payments to achieve multi-billion dollar status this year compared to last year.

FXC Intelligence analysed data from various third parties and news outlets to determine the status of M&A in the cross-border payments space. 

Due to the frequency of acquisitions and their varying levels of relevance, FXC Intelligence establish a criteria for the businesses to meet to qualify for assessment:

• One or both companies must have a substantial business focus in cross-border payments.
• Acquisitions need to be a significant stake of the acquiree’s business.
• Acquisitions need to have been publically reported in established third parties media outlets.