Mastercard Looks to Sell a Major Piece of Vocalink, Its U.K. Payments Business

Mastercard Inc. is looking to sell a majority interest in its United Kingdom-based Vocalink payments-processing business, according to press reports that emerged early Monday. DeliveryCo, a technology company backed by U.K. banks and payments platforms, is reportedly a potential buyer.

A 51% stake in 19-year-old Vocalink could fetch nearly $535 million, according to estimates reported by the Financial Times, a U.K-based newspaper. A Mastercard spokesperson refused to comment on the matter when queried by Digital Transactions News. 

Vocalink, which Mastercard acquired in 2017 for $920 million, has over the years provided or tested software for faster payments on such systems as The Clearing House Payments Co., a processor owned by major U.S. banks. The network also runs an automated clearing house switch as well as a major check-cashing operation.

Observers express doubts that a potential sale could signal a move by Mastercard away from serving as a vendor of faster-payments services and technology. “It doesn’t … appear to be retreating from providing real-time payments infrastructure in (many) emerging markets,” notes Eric Grover, proprietor of the payments consultancy Intrepid Ventures, in an email message.

Instead, Mastercard may be responding to a changing political climate in the U.K. and in Europe generally, particularly with respect to U.S.-based companies, observers note. “British and [European Union] politicians and regulators are increasingly worried about relying on U.S.-domiciled payments companies for critical payments infrastructure,” Grover says. “That’s unfortunate. While Mastercard didn’t create the increasingly difficult political climate, it has to operate within it.”

Vocalink was formed in 2007 out of a merger of two digital-payments companies, Voca and the LINK interchange network.

DeliveryCo was founded by U.K. banks last year, reportedly to reduce their reliance on payments systems originating in the U.S.