Summary
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal agreed to sell their jointly owned payments processor Moneris to private equity group Francisco Partners in a C$2 billion cash transaction. The deal ends more than 25 years of joint ownership of one of Canada's most important merchant payments businesses. Established by the two banks in 2000, Moneris now processes around one-third of Canadian business transactions and supports more than 325,000 points of commerce. The banks retain a distribution relationship via long-term referral agreements.
Key Facts
- C$2 billion cash transaction to Francisco Partners
- RBC and BMO each receive 50% of proceeds
- Moneris processes ~one-third of Canadian business transactions; 325,000+ points of commerce
- Ends more than 25 years of joint bank ownership (established 2000)
- Banks sign long-term agreements to exclusively refer customers needing payment services to Moneris
- RBC expects after-tax gain of ~C$475 million
- Francisco Partners has invested in Hypercom, Paymetric, PayLease, NMI, Verifone
- Jeff Sloan (former Global Payments CEO) to become chairman
- Moneris employs ~2,000 in Canada; in-store terminals, mobile POS, self-service kiosks, online checkout, e-commerce
- Expected to close by end of Q1 of BMO/RBC's 2027 fiscal year (regulatory approvals pending)
- Reflects banks reconsidering ownership of merchant acquiring amid competition from Stripe and Adyen
Why It Matters
The Moneris sale is a notable example of banks divesting merchant-acquiring and processing operations as technology-led payments specialists (Stripe, Adyen) intensify competition. It shows banks retaining distribution relationships (via exclusive referral deals) while shifting capital-intensive processing to private equity. For Francisco Partners and Jeff Sloan, it's a chance to accelerate Moneris' strategy and expand payments solutions for Canadian businesses — signaling that merchant acquiring consolidation continues under PE ownership with experienced operators.