Italy’s Post Office Eyes Payments, Card Processor Acquisition

Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service, is considering expanding its payments operations with the purchase of a card processing and electronic payments group, according to an unnamed source in the Italian daily MF.

Under the terms of the deal, Italy’s postal service would purchase LIS Holding, the parent company of LIS Pay. The former is a unit of IGT Lottery, an Italian sub-holding owned by New York-listed International Game Technology, the report said.

A banking source said the post office is reportedly working with UBS Group AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services firm, for the purchase worth 600 million euros ($679 million).

LIS Pay currently has a contract with Poste Italiane. It provides services for prepaid debit cards issued by PostePay, the post office’s payments division.

Mergers and acquisitions are not uncommon in the payments sector.

If the deal closes, it will be more evidence of strong merger and acquisition activity in the payments sector, which is consolidating on the heels of rising competition and the large investments in technology that it requires.

Last week, global payments company Payroc acquired East Commerce Solutions, a merchant service handling $2 billion dollars in annual processing volume.

Read more: Payments Company Payroc Acquires East Commerce

“East Commerce Solutions has always been a customer advocate first and foremost,” said East Commerce Solutions Founder Edward Medeiros in the release. “I am excited to increase our product offerings with Payroc’s technology stack and international reach, which will provide the opportunity to drive future growth for both companies.”

Founded in 1994, East Commerce does business throughout the United States, the company said.

In November, Payroc launched a partnership with the electronic pay processing firm Dynamic Solutions that allows it to expand to Puerto Rico and opens the door for expansions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.