Few people know First Data Corp. better than David P. Bailis. Starting in 1989, he worked on everything from health-care payments to e-commerce and held titles as diverse as general counsel and chief administrative officer. He retired in 2001 to dabble in his own financial-services consulting businesses. But he came …

Despite some poor fourth-quarter financials, shares of First Data Corp. rose nearly 7% this morning after the big transaction processor announced plans to spin off its fast-growing and biggest subsidiary, Western Union, to First Data shareholders. Denver-based First Data also ended speculation that it might sell its lackluster Card Issuing …

With Ed Labry this week taking over First Data Corp.'s acquiring business, including First Data Merchant Services, some industry observers are figuring the Denver-based processing giant may be looking toward spinning off both the merchant division and the lucrative Western Union franchise as independent companies some time within the next …

The new chief executive of First Data Corp. is likely to bring renewed focus to the processing giant's merchant-acquiring business and move quickly to resolve the drag on growth represented by the company's processing business that supports card issuers, say industry observers. At the same time, Henry C. (Ric) Duques, …

In a move that could lead First Data Corp. to sell its shrinking card-issuing operation, the Denver-based processor announced today it has hired investment banker Morgan Stanley to investigate options for the unit. The card-issuing business, one of three principal processing operations at First Data, has been rocked in recent …

Nashville, Tenn.-based independent sales organization iPayment Inc. today reported its revenues and processed charge volume more than doubled in the first quarter compared to the year-ago period, with much of the growth driven by a December acquisition of a merchant portfolio from First Data Merchant Services. In a conference call …

Merchant transactions processed by First Data Corp. grew 38% to 5.28 billion in the quarter ended March 31, sending acquiring processing fees up 19% to $682.7 million?or almost 13 cents per transaction–at the Denver-based processor, according to first-quarter figures released today together with comparisons to the year-ago period. Merchant transactions …

First Data Corp. has begun to process MasterCard transactions at 123 Burger King Corp. outlets in Canada. The processing deal expands on one the Denver-based processor has for card processing at Burger Kings in the U.S. The card transactions at the Canadian Burger Kings are part of MasterCard's Quick Payment …

First Data Corp. may have become the first third-party processor to achieve certification on Discover Financial Services Inc.'s network, but it almost certainly won't be the last as the card company uses its newly won freedom to win over issuers of the bank card brands, according to the top executive …

First Data Corp., which spent much of last year integrating its massive acquisition of Concord EFS Inc., has picked up another potentially huge source of transaction volume by winning the processing business for the new Wal-Mart/Discover card announced last week. As a result of the agreement, the Denver-based transaction-processing giant …