2019 was a record year of fintech deals, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with companies in the sector raising a total of US$44.6 billion in funding, and a record of US$233.8 billion in M&A volume through 989 transactions, according to a research paper released earlier this year by Financial Technology (FT) Partners.

With the few announcements being made in this regard so far this year, 2020 is set to see the momentum continuing.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS) acquires Worldpay for US$35 billion (July 2019)

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), a fintech company, completed its acquisition of Worldpay, a payments processing services provider, in July 2019 for US$35 billion. With Worldpay in tow, FIS how boast three new business segments that aim to leverage the combined strengths of the companies.

Fiserv and First Data US$22 billion merger (July 2019)

US fintech provider Fiserv completed its US$22 billion all-stock acquisition of payments processor First Data in July 2019. Fiserv provides back-end processing for banks and credit unions while First Data is a leader in point-of-sale transactions. The merger gives Fiserv an end-to-end solution in the payments space and positions it as one of the largest merchant service platforms in the world.

Global Payments and Total System Services (TSYS) US$21.5 billion merger (September 2019)

Global Payments, a provider of payments technology and software solutions, completed its US$21.5 billion merger deal with TSYS, which provides payments processing services, in September 2019. The combined company provides innovative payments and software solutions to approximately 3.5 million predominantly small to mid-sized merchant locations and services over 1,300 financial institutions across more than 100 countries. The deal provides Global Payments with additional exposure in more than 50 vertical markets.

Intuit will acquire Credit Karma for US$7.1 billion (February 2020)

Intuit, an accounting, tax filing and financial planning software provider, confirmed in February 2020 that it plans to acquiring fintech startup Credit Karma for US$7.1 billion. Credit Karma allows its 100 million+ registered users check their credit scores, shop for credit cards and loans, file taxes and more. The deal would be Intuit’s biggest-ever acquisition to date. Intuit is the company behind QuickBooks, Turbo and Mint.

Visa will acquire Plaid for US$5.3 billion (January 2020)

Visa announced in January 2020 that it will be acquiring Plaid for US$5.3 billion. Plaid is a network that makes it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to apps, enabling consumers to easily share their financial information with thousands of apps and services such as Acorns, Betterment, Chime, Transferwise and Venmo. Visa said the acquisition represented “both an entry into new businesses and complementary enhancements to Visa’s existing business.” The deal will put Visa “at the epicenter of the fintech world,” the firm said.

Vista Equity Partners acquired D+H for US$4.8 billion (June 2017)

US investment firm Vista Equity Partners closed its US$4.8 billion acquisition of fintech provider D+H in June 2017. The acquisition resulted in Vista combining D+H with UK-based, Misys, a leading global software provider. The company said the combination aimed to “create a diversified fintech market leader with a global footprint and one of the broadest set of financial software solutions available to the market.”

Thoma Bravo acquired Ellie Mae for US$3.7 billion (April 2019)

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo completed its US$3.7 billion acquisition of Ellie Mae in April 2019. Ellie Mae is a leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. The company provides solutions that enable lenders to originate more loans, lower origination costs, and reduce the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency.

Mastercard will buy real-time payments unit from Nets Groups for US$3.2 billion (August 2019)

Mastercard announced in August 2019 that it will purchase the real-time payments unit of Denmark-based Nets Group for US$3.2 billion. The deal would be the biggest acquisition in Mastercard’ history and would give the card network the infrastructure for real-time payments between bank accounts in Europe, as well as a suite of associated applications and services. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2020.

PayPal acquired iZettle for US$2.2 billion (September 2018)

PayPal completed its US$2.2 billion acquisition of mobile payments startup iZettle in September 2018. iZettle is a Swedish fintech providing a range of products including payments, point-of-sales, funding and partners applications. PayPal said at the time that the acquisition was meant to help it accelerate growth and deliver a seamless commerce experience for merchants.

BlackRock acquired eFront for US$1.3 billion (May 2019)

BlackRock, a leading asset manager, completed its US$1.3 billion acquisition of eFront in May 2019. eFront is an end-to-end alternative investment management software and solutions provider. The company was combined with Aladdin, BlackRock’s end-to-end portfolio management software to “set a new standard in investment and risk management technology” and expand Aladdin’s alternatives capabilities to provide a whole-portfolio technology solution to clients, BlackRock said.