Business
Euronet Worldwide, Inc., to Purchase Merchant Acquiring Business of Piraeus Bank in Greece
LEAWOOD, Kan., March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), a leading global financial technology solutions and payments
About this update from Euronet Worldwide, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"LEAWOOD, Kan., March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), a leading global financial technology solutions and payments provider, announced today it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Piraeus Bank Merchant Acquiring (PBMA) business of Piraeus Bank (Bank), the largest bank in Greece1. Included within this transaction is a separately negotiated commercial agreement for a long-term strategic partnership with Piraeus Bank for collaborative product distribution, processing and customer referrals. These agreements are the latest in a series of partnership arrangements with Piraeus Bank dating back to the early 2000s. Following completion of the transaction, Euronet will act as Piraeus Bank’s exclusive long-term partner for the provision of merchant acquiring services to Piraeus Bank customers. Euronet has agreed to pay €300 million, or approximately $360 million, for the segment’s acquiring services and assets that include approximately 205,000 POS terminals at 170,000 merchants throughout Greece, as well as the bank’s online merchant acquiring business. The in-store acquiring business represents approximately 20 percent of Greece’s market while the bank’s online merchant acquiring represents approximately 40 percent of online and digital transactions in the country. As part of the deal, Euronet will work collaboratively with Piraeus Bank to make available to its customers a wide range of advanced technologically enabled products and services, while Piraeus Bank will continue to promote and distribute the acquiring products through its extended sales channels, which include its customer service centers, marketing campaigns and approximately 500 branches throughout Greece. Euronet-Piraeus Bank Relationship Extends Into Growing Demand for Merchant Acquiring The purchase is the latest agreement between Euronet and Piraeus Bank, who have a long-standing collaborative relationship with each other. Euronet was already the Bank’s card issuing and merchant acquiring services provider prior to the agreement. In 2005, Euronet purchased the bank’s card issuing and merchant acquiring processing services, among other agreements between the two entities throughout the 2000s. The acquisition expands Euronet’s omnichannel payments strategy where the company uses its own proprietary technology to provide cash,...