Global Payments, Inc. GPN

Global Payments Inc., incorporated in September, 2000, is a provider of payment technology services. The Company provides payment and digital commerce solutions. The Company operates through three segments: North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The Company's segments primarily provide payment solutions for credit cards, debit cards, electronic payments and check-related services. It target customers in various industries, including financial services, gaming, government, healthcare, professional services, restaurants, retail, universities, not-for-profit organizations and utilities. It provides services across a range of channels to merchants and partners in over 30 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil.

The Company's primary business model provides payment services directly to merchants as its customers. The Company performs a series of services, including authorization, electronic draft capture, file transfers to facilitate funds settlement and certain exception-based, back office support services, such as chargeback and retrieval resolution. The Company process funds settlement under two models: a sponsorship model and a direct membership model. Under the sponsorship model, the Company is designated as a merchant service provider by MasterCard and as an independent sales organizations (ISO) by Visa. Under the direct membership model, the Company is a direct member in various payment networks, allowing it to process and fund transactions without third-party sponsorship.

North America

The Company's North America merchant services segment has operations in the United States and Canada. In the United States, the Company sells its services through a direct sales force utilizing referrals from partners of agent banks and trade associations, integrated payment solutions, enterprise software providers and value added reseller (VAR) referral arrangements, ISOs, agents and telesales groups. The Company's direct sales channel receives qualified leads from agent banks and trade association referral partners for a range of mid-sized to large merchants. The Company's integrated payment solutions channel, OpenEdge, sells payment solutions to over 60 vertical markets, gaining market share by signing new enterprise solution providers and new merchants within existing enterprise solution providers that it already supports. ISOs contract with the Company to provide processing and other services depends on the ISOs' requirements. These contracts are multi-year and priced by service on a per transaction basis. As part of its direct merchant service offering, the Company offers a suite of cash access solutions to the gaming vertical market. These solutions include credit and debit card cash advance, both traditional and electronic check cashing and other services. The Company also offers its merchant customers check verification and guarantee services. The majority of check services involve providing check guarantee services for checks received by merchants. In the indirect merchant services channel, the Company provides merchant services to financial institutions and a limited number of ISOs.

Europe

The Company's business in Europe is primarily located in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, the Republic of Malta, the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. The Company has a direct sales force in the United Kingdom, Spain, the Republic of Malta and the Russian Federation through which it primarily sells its direct merchant acquiring services while leveraging its bank referral relationships. In the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation, the Company also provides indirect merchant acquiring services.

Asia-Pacific

The Company's Asia-Pacific region includes countries and territories, such as Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. The Company has a direct sales force in the Asia-Pacific region through which it primarily sells its direct merchant acquiring services while leveraging its bank referral relationships.

The Company competes with Bank of America Merchant Services, LLC, Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC, U.S. Bancorp, First Data Corporation, Heartland Payment Systems Inc., Vantiv Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Moneris Solutions Corporation, TD Bank N.A., WorldPay (UK) Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., Banco de Sabadell S.A. and Banco Santander S.A.