Mastercard is considering a potential sale of a majority stake in its UK-based subsidiary Vocalink, which supports several parts of the country’s retail payments infrastructure.
The discussions include the option of selling control back to British banks, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the matter.
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The report said talks are at an early stage within Mastercard and that no firm offers have been made.
Vocalink designs, builds and operates technology used in bank account-based payment systems. According to its website, the company’s platforms support the UK’s real-time payments, settlement and direct debit systems, as well as ATM networks covering more than 47,000 machines.
Vocalink claims its technology processes over 90% of salaries, more than 70% of household bills and 98% of state benefits.
Mastercard acquired Vocalink from a consortium of 18 UK lenders in 2016. The purchase price included an initial £700m payment and an additional amount of up to £169m linked to performance.
A deal involving a 51% stake could be worth about £400m, one of the people told the FT.
One potential buyer is believed to be DeliveryCo, a bank- and payments industry-backed entity formed to oversee procurement and funding for the UK’s future retail payments system.
However, DeliveryCo is still finalising its funding and governance arrangements. As a result, any transaction involving Mastercard and Vocalink is unlikely to complete before next year, according to the people cited.
Vocalink reported a net loss of £12.4m in 2024, compared with a profit of £1.9m in 2023, according to its latest results.
Last year, the Bank of England fined Vocalink £11.9m for failing to comply with a regulatory direction relating to systems and controls issues.
