Fiserv (FISV) is reportedly discussing the sale of its debit payment network to several U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC).
Fiserv is a financial technology company that processes debit and credit card transactions, loyalty programs, loans, electronic bill payments, and wire transfers on behalf of banks.
Now, Fiserv is reportedly planning to sell its debit payments network business to several of its largest banking customers.
Banks Wells Fargo (WFC) and PNC Financial Services (PNC) are also reported to be participating in the discussions.
A potential sale comes as Fiserv looks to improve its finances and share price after a sharp decline in recent years and several leadership changes at the company.
The discussions focus on Fiserv's STAR Network, which provides the infrastructure used to process debit card, ATM, and e-commerce transactions between banks, merchants and consumers.
The STAR network currently supports more than 115 million debit cardholders who use cards issued by more than 2,800 financial institutions.
For banks, owning the STAR network would help them pay less money in debit-card interchange fees.
The negotiations are said to be preliminary and no decisions have been reached. Still, news of the discussions has Fiserv’s stock up 5% on July 7.
FISV stock has declined 70% in the last 12 months to trade at $54.33 U.S. per share.
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