First Data

First Data Corporation was a financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company's STAR Network provided nationwide domestic debit acceptance at more than 2 million retail POS, ATM, and at online outlets for nearly a third of all U.S. debit cards.

First Data had six million merchants, as of 2014 the largest in the payments industry.[3] The company handles 45% of all US credit and debit transactions, including handling prepaid gift card processing for many US brands such as Starbucks.[3][4] It processed around 2,800 transactions per second and $2.2 trillion in card transactions annually,[5] with an 80% market share in gas and groceries in 2014.[6]

History

In 1969, the Mid-America Bankcard Association (MABA) was formed[13] in Omaha, Nebraska, as a non-profit bankcard processing cooperative. First Data Resources (FDR) was founded in Omaha, Nebraska in June 1971 by Perry "Bill" Esping, along with Mike Liddy and Jack Weekly.[14][15] It started off by providing processing services to the Mid-America Bankcard Association (MABA). In 1976, First Data became the first processor of Visa and MasterCard bank-issued credit cards.[16] In 1980, American Express Information Services Corporation (ISC) bought 80% of First Data. The remaining 20% was purchased in 5% increments each subsequent year until June 1983. First Data Corporation was incorporated on April 7, 1989.[17] In July 1991, First Data purchased Signet Ltd, the operator of the Access in United Kingdom from its owners NatWest, Midland Bank, Lloyds Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.[18]

First Data Corporation was spun off from American Express and went public in 1992. In 1995, the company merged with First Financial Management Corp. (FFMC) and was then organized into three major business units serving card issuers, merchants, and consumers. Western Union became part of First Data as a result of the merger with FFMC.

Expansion

From 2001 through 2005, First Data acquired companies around the globe and in the US, including, in 2001, the acquisition of PaySys International and their VisionPLUS Payment Software System. VisionPLUS was followed by a $6.6 billion merger with Concord EFS, Inc. in 2004, which added the STAR Network and PIN-based debit acceptance at more than 1.9 million ATM and retail locations. Additional acquisitions and strategic relationships included GovOne, eONEGlobal, Paymap, Inc., and Taxware. Nevertheless, First Data eventually divested, closed down, or absorbed these businesses.

On January 26, 2006, First Data announced its intention to spin off Western Union into an independent publicly traded company through a tax-free spin-off of 100% of Western Union to First Data shareholders. The spin off occurred as planned on September 29, 2006.[19]

On April 2, 2007, it was announced that KKR had entered an agreement to acquire First Data[20] in one of the largest leveraged buy-outs in history,[21] and on October 1, 2007, KKR officially took over the First Data Corporation.

Under Frank Bisignano

In April 2013, First Data's Board of Directors announced that former JPMorgan Chase Co-COO Frank Bisignano had been named Chief Executive Officer of the company. In March 2014, Bisignano assumed the role of Chairman.[38] Upon taking office, Bisignano launched an equity ownership plan for all 24,000 of First Data owner-associates.[39]

In 2014, Bisignano promoted additions to the company's staff, such as Sanjiv Das, Himanshu Patel, Guy Chiarello, Cindy Armine-Klein, Andrew Gelb, Adam Rosman, Carmen Menendez-Puerto, Joseph Plumeri, Christopher Augustin and Michael Manos.[41][42][43][44][45]

In early 2014, First Data's STAR ATM Network adopted the Visa and MasterCard common application IDs for EMV-compliant debit transactions.[46]

Since joining, Bisignano tried to "transform First Data into a provider of new technology for small- and medium-sized businesses". In June 2014, First Data introduced the Insightics solution for small and medium size businesses. Insightics is a cloud-based software that enables small and medium size businesses to monitor key business metrics.[47][48] First Data created Insightics with Palantir.

In August 2014, First Data expanded its presence in Brazil with Bin, the company's acquiring solution developed specifically for the local market.[49] In September 2014, First Data announced it would provide encryption technology for Apple Pay.[50] Apple Pay allows payment with a single touch. With its integration into First Data's STAR Network, the company became a token service provider, supporting safe POS transactions in Apple Pay. Such transactions are used in venues such as all McDonald's restaurants in the US.[51]

In October 2014, First Data announced the Enhanced TransArmor Solution for small businesses. First Data's TransArmor Solution protects payment card data throughout the transaction process, incorporating several security and compliance products into one multi-layered solution.[52]

In late 2014, First Data announced its collaboration with Capgemini to develop new solutions based on First Data's AccessPLUS and VisionPLUS products, planning to offer new technologies in the second quarter of 2015.[53] The company also announced its partnership with Verifone, wherein merchants using integrated point-of-sale systems that process payments will have a security option when using terminals made by VeriFone Systems Inc.[54] In 2015, Samsung announced its Samsung Pay mobile system in conjunction with First Data. Samsung Pay uses NFC to make payments at POS systems that accept First Data's technology.[55]

In February 2015, First Data reported its first profitable quarter in 29 quarters since its 2007 privatization.[56] In July 2015, First Data acquired Transaction Wireless, a provider of gift card solutions.[57] In September that year, First Data Corporation acquired Spree Commerce, an open source e-commerce platform. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.[58]

In the biggest U.S. IPO of 2015 according to Bloomberg, First Data planned to seek a minimum of $2.5 billion, even up to $3.2 billion (according to Bloomberg) or $3.7 billion (according to the Wall Street Journal).[59][60][61] In October that year, First Data sold 160 million shares for $16 apiece, after offering them for $18 and $20.[62] It raised $2.56 billion. According to Bloomberg: "lowering First Data's debt level will be an important step for the company because it will free up money to invest in the business".[63]

type	Subsidiary
fate	Acquired by Fiserv
foundation	1971, in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
founder	Perry E. "Bill" Esping
location	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
key people	Frank Bisignano (CEO) Himanshu A. Patel (CFO)
products	Merchant services
industry	Financial services
revenue	US$ 12.05 billion (2017)
operating income	US$ 1.71 billion (2017)
net income	US$ 1.47 billion (2017)
assets	US$ 48.27 billion (2017)
equity	US$ 6.01 billion (2017)
num employees	22,000 (2017)
parent	Fiserv
homepage	FirstData.com
footnotes	‡R1R‡‡R2R‡

History

Expansion

Headquarters

Philanthropy

See also

External links

References

Under Frank Bisignano

2016 and 2017

Acquisition by Fiserv