Analysis

Lloyds Cardnet, the bank’s merchant services joint venture with Fiserv, returned to growth in 2025 although the recovery came at a price. Volume grew for the first time since 2020, cashflow was strong and the business was able to pay a dividend to its parents. But income per transaction fell sharply.  Cardnet is owned 51%… Continue reading Lloyds Cardnet returns to growth →

Business of Payments – September 2026 It’s been a busy summer in the payment business as the major players gave their first half updates. They are telling a consistent story. Modern PSPs with developer-friendly technology are attracting the best, fastest-growing customers. The incumbents are left servicing the old economy and growing slowly, if at all.… Continue reading Newsletter – September 2026 →

Flatpay, the hyper-aggressive SME payment unicorn from Denmark, has published its 2025 annual report which shows fast growing revenues and widening operating losses.  Founded in 2022, Flatpay claims to be the fastest growing payment business ever and might be right. In June 2026, the business said it had reached €20bn annual volume at €100m annualised… Continue reading Flatpay: Growing fast, burning faster →

Nexi reassured investors with another quarter in which it delivered what it promised: modest growth but strong cashflow.  Total revenues grew 1.1% in Q2 to €915m. Merchant solutions, the largest division was flat as the impact of new merchant signings was offset by the migration of the Banco BPM portfolio in Italy. This was 140.000… Continue reading Nexi – low growth, strong cashflow →

The first detailed numbers from the combined Global Payments (GPN) and Worldpay reveal just how different the two businesses are. And the scale of the opportunity if Global can bring Worldpay’s profitability anywhere close to its own. Global Payments is notoriously discreet with its public disclosures. The 10-Q document has historically given little detail on… Continue reading Global Payments: the Worldpay margin opportunity →