Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
RBC And BMO Sell Moneris To Francisco Partners For C$2B
August 10, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Competition And Market Structure, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
RBC And BMO Sell Moneris But Keep Merchant Distribution
On August 10, 2026, RBC and BMO agreed to sell Moneris to U.S. technology investor Francisco Partners for approximately C$2 billion in cash. The banks own Moneris equally and are expected to receive half of the proceeds each.
The ownership change does not end their commercial relationship with the payments company. RBC and BMO will retain long term referral agreements with Moneris, preserving a route for business banking customers into its merchant services after the sale. RBC expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year. Until closing, Moneris remains owned by the two banks.
The Banks Are Selling Ownership, Not Merchant Access
RBC and BMO can monetize an asset they created in 2000 without giving up the distribution value tied to their business banking franchises. Moneris continues to receive merchant referrals, while the banks no longer have to own the processor that supports those customers.
The relationship already has commercial depth. BMO clients using Moneris can receive next day deposits into eligible BMO business accounts and access offers tied to the bank relationship. Moneris says the BMO partnership has operated for more than 25 years.
The sale therefore separates two economics that have traditionally aligned together. That's owning the payments platform and controlling access to merchant customers.
RBC and BMO first explored a Moneris sale in 2025. The signed transaction now shows what the banks chose to keep.
TD took a different route last year when it transferred part of its merchant business to Fiserv. That agreement covered roughly 3,400 merchant relationships across 30,000 Canadian locations while TD continued offering merchant services through its banking relationship.
Both structures reduce direct bank ownership or operation of merchant processing while preserving access to business customers. They also show why counterparties are important. Fiserv is now under pressure after cutting its 2026 outlook again, extending the difficulties NCFA tracked after Fiserv's sharp market value decline. Selling infrastructure to a specialist does not remove execution risk. It changes who carries it.
Francisco Partners Is Buying A Large Canadian Payments Platform
Moneris gives Francisco Partners immediate scale in Canadian payments. The company says it supports more than 325,000 points of commerce across Canada and processes roughly one in three Canadian transactions. Its products span in store payments, ecommerce, point of sale software, integrated commerce tools, data and merchant services.
The ownership change impacts Canadian control. One of the country's largest merchant payments platforms is passing from two Canadian banks to a U.S. technology investor. Francisco Partners will control decisions around capital, product investment and growth, even as Moneris remains headquartered and operated in Canada.
After closing, Moneris will be foreign owned but remain Canadian operated. Francisco Partners will control the company, while Moneris is expected to retain its Canadian headquarters and technology infrastructure. That separates ownership of a major Canadian payments platform from where the business and infrastructure are based.
Moneris has also been adding newer payment capabilities. In June, it expanded Konek pay by bank access across Moneris Checkout and its API, allowing merchants to accept eligible bank payments alongside cards.
Francisco Partners already knows payments. Its portfolio includes Verifone, Paysafe and payments enablement provider NMI. The firm also closed $21 billion in new funds in July.
None of that guarantees more investment at Moneris or faster product development. Francisco Partners and Moneris will still have to decide where capital goes, which products deserve priority and how aggressively the company competes with global platforms.
Merchant Acquiring Is Becoming A Specialist Technology Business
Moneris will still face a crowded market after the ownership change. Stripe and Adyen compete heavily around online payments and developer tools. Fiserv uses Clover to combine acquiring with point of sale software and merchant services. Global Payments, Square and other platforms compete across different merchant segments, while Canadian firms such as Nuvei and Paystone add domestic pressure.
Moneris enters that contest with assets competitors cannot quickly reproduce, such as national merchant scale, deep Canadian distribution and long established bank relationships. Its BMO relationship alone includes integrated payment and banking services such as next day settlement.
The challenge is keeping those advantages relevant as payment acceptance becomes more closely tied to software, data and new payment methods. Moneris already partners with outside technology providers across ecommerce, point of sale and integrated payments, while products such as Konek add direct bank payment options alongside card acceptance.
See: TD Partners With Fiserv and Sells Merchant Portfolio
Private ownership could give Moneris more room to invest across those areas. It could also increase pressure to produce stronger returns from a mature payments platform. Neither outcome should be assumed before Francisco Partners takes control and sets its priorities.
The referral agreements reduce one important risk. Moneris is entering private ownership while retaining the bank channels that helped build its merchant base. For RBC and BMO, that may be the strongest part of the transaction. They receive cash for the asset while retaining a commercial connection to the merchants that use it.
Talking Point
RBC and BMO are selling the processor while keeping merchant distribution. Francisco Partners gets the payments platform and the investment risk. The banks get C$2 billion and keep a route to business customers. Which side of that relationship will create more value in the future?
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