MasterCard plans to buy VocaLink

There are 13 banks that serve as shareholders for Vocalink, which have reportedly approved the deal with MasterCard to enter into the negotiation stage, pymnts.com reports. This deal is projected to be worth GBP 1 billion (roughly USD 1.4 billion) and would involve the UK`s largest banks — Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, which collectively own 80% of VocaLink.

VocaLink processed 1 billion transactions in 2015, which amounts to half of all UK payments, according to Sky News, the source cites. VocaLink also processed 90% of salaries and at least 70% of all household`s bills and state benefits. MasterCard is interested in the tech side of VocaLink and its ability to scale its international side, so far MasterCard capturing only 5% of the debit card payments in the UK.