Fidelity International cleared to acquire Total System Services

KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has granted approval for Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS) to acquire Total System Services LLC (TSYS) from Global Payments Inc, ruling that the transaction will not impair competition in the local market.

The CCP’s decision, announced on Tuesday, determined that the proposed acquisition does not pose a risk of creating or strengthening a dominant market position, nor is it likely to substantially lessen competition in the relevant financial technology sectors within Pakistan.

The commission’s clearance was predicated on the finding that the two international entities operate in non-competing segments of the country’s fintech landscape.

FIS currently provides core banking software solutions, which are essential for supporting the digital infrastructure of financial institutions across Pakistan. TSYS, by contrast, is active in the card-processing systems sector, but its presence in the local market is minimal, servicing only two banks.

As the entities are positioned in separate financial technology segments and do not have direct competitive overlaps, the CCP concluded that the merger did not raise any competition concerns.

The approval was issued under Section 31(1)(d)(i) of the Competition Act, 2010, which permits clearance for mergers where no anti-competitive issues are identified.