Fiserv ends joint venture in Wells Fargo Merchant Services
Fiserv is preparing to terminate its joint venture in Wells Fargo Merchant Services (WFMS), which will expire on 1 April next year, according to an 8-K filing Fiserv made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 20 September.
Fiserv’s joint venture with Wells Fargo to expire
The filing states that Fiserv expects to receive “a cash payment or assets equal to the value of its share of the joint venture” upon expiration.
The associated non-cash impairment charge has been estimated to be between $400 million and $600 million, and will be recorded in Q3 2024.
The Milwaukee-headquartered payments processor has supported WFMS, which enables businesses to accept various forms of payment, including card, mobile and e-commerce transactions, since 2019, when it acquired a 40% stake in the joint venture as a result of its $22 billion merger with First Data.
Despite the expiration of the joint venture, the filing indicates that Fiserv has committed to continue processing payments for all “current and future merchant clients” of Wells Fargo’s merchant business, along with providing “other services”.
This commitment is reiterated in a statement from Wells Fargo: “Wells Fargo will continue working with Fiserv to provide processing for our current and future Merchant Services customers, although we will no longer operate as a joint venture. Our Merchant Services customers can expect the same level of service without interruption.”
Fiserv was contacted by FinTech Futures for comment.
