Summary
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal have agreed to sell their jointly owned payments processor Moneris Solutions Corporation to US technology-focused private equity firm Francisco Partners for approximately C$2 billion in cash (about US$1.44 billion). The transaction, announced August 10, ends a 25-year Canadian merchant acquiring joint venture, with each bank receiving a 50% share of the proceeds.
Key Facts
- RBC and BMO agreed to sell Moneris to Francisco Partners for ~C$2 billion (US$1.44 billion)
- Announced August 10; ends 25-year merchant acquiring joint venture
- Each bank receives 50% of proceeds
- RBC expects after-tax gain of ~C$475 million in Q1 FY2027
- Moneris processes ~5 billion transactions annually across 325,000+ points of commerce; annual revenues ~C$700 million
- Long-term exclusive referral arrangements keep routing bank-originated merchant relationships to Moneris
- Francisco Partners already owns Verifone and holds stake in Paysafe
- Jeff Sloan, former Global Payments CEO, to become Moneris board chairman
- Extends North American pattern: TD Bank, Bank of America, Fifth Third, PNC have reduced direct payments exposure
- Closing expected by end of Q1 RBC FY2027 (late Jan/early Feb 2027), subject to regulatory approvals
Why It Matters
The Moneris sale marks a landmark exit from payments processing by two of Canada's largest banks, reflecting a broader North American reorientation in which banks treat merchant acquiring as a distribution service rather than a manufacturing business. Rather than absorb the capital cost of keeping Moneris competitive against technology-native rivals like Stripe, Adyen and Global Payments, RBC and BMO are converting their subsidiary into a preferred distribution partner through referral arrangements while capturing a one-time gain. For Francisco Partners, the acquisition adds a dominant Canadian merchant franchise to a payments portfolio that already includes Verifone and Paysafe, setting up a period of platform modernization. The deal signals that bank-owned acquiring is becoming a specialist activity best owned by dedicated payments companies with focused investment theses.