Blockbuster payments pact rings in the new year.

A large merger of this size was not unexpected, but the names of the partners turned most heads. Fiserv and First Data have decided the time is right to take bold action and combine their formidable resources in order to fend off competitive threats from emerging upstarts across the payments ecosystem. While this deal will take time to be approved and become operational, we offer some insights into its reasons and how it will impact current payments providers and their merchant clients.