ING further invests in payments business with acquisition of majority stake in Payvision


 

ING has reached an agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Payvision, a fast-growing, leading international omnichannel payments service provider. Payvision has a total value of EUR 360 million. The transaction will enable ING to strengthen its footprint in omnichannel payments services and expand its merchant services for its business customers, in particular in the fast-growing e-commerce segment.

The transaction with Payvision is the latest investment in innovative financial services to support ING's Think Forward strategy. Customers will strongly benefit from Payvision's omnichannel payments platform complemented by ING's lending and working capital solutions and its worldwide distribution network.

By offering Payvision's solution, our business customers will be able to accept payments through any channel, including in store terminals and web shops and through any device. Payvision's platform facilitates more than 80 payment methods, including Maestro, Visa,  iDEAL, Alipay, JCB and Union Pay across more than 150 currencies. Consumers can benefit from increased choice in payment solutions and a convenient, seamless and uniform shopping experience.

Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING said: "The payments sector is one of the most dynamic areas of the financial services industry. In order to stay a step ahead, ING has to constantly innovate. We do that by starting up our own ventures and by strategically taking minority or majority stakes. Payvision's founding team has developed a great business with a proven technology in an area where ING wants to grow. We are confident our customers will strongly benefit from this investment."

Payvision is a fast-growing, independent international card acquirer and payments platform, connecting payment service providers and their global merchants.  Founded in 2002 in the Netherlands, it serves its clients from offices in 10 cities in the US, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. In 2015 Payvision launched next-generation Payment Service Provider, Acapture, to address the omnichannel and cross-border payments needs of merchants.

Rudolf Booker, founder and CEO of Payvision, said: "It's with great excitement that we're announcing the partnership with ING today. Within 15 years of the company's inception, we feel it's the right time to make such a strategic step to strengthen the company's foothold in the payments industry. This investment in the payments market, made by one of the world's most innovative financial and banking services brands, acknowledges our vision to deliver leading payments capabilities to support customers maximize their revenues."

After completion of the transaction, Payvision's founding management team will hold a 25% minority stake and will continue to lead the company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018 and is not expected to have a material impact on ING's CET 1 ratio.

Media call

ING and Payvision will host a media call on 29 January 2018 at 11:00 a.m. CET. Journalists are welcome to join the conference call via +31 20 531 5871 (NL) or +44 203 365 3210 (UK).                                                         

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Carolien van der Giessen   ING Group Investor Relations
+31 20 576 6386   +31 20 576 6396
carolien.van.der.giessen@ing.com   Investor.Relations@ing.com
     
ING PROFILE

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank's more than 51,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries.

ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA AS, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

Sustainability forms an integral part of ING's strategy, which is evidenced by ING's ranking as 'leader' in the Banks industry group by Sustainalytics. ING Group shares are being included in the FTSE4Good index and in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Europe and World) where ING is among the leaders in the Banks industry group.  

 

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