RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.– CO-OP Financial Services said it has signed an agreement to purchase from a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) its shares in Everlink Payment Services, Inc., which will give CO-OP majority ownership of the Canadian payments solutions and services provider to credit unions, banks and ISOs in Canada. The agreement is subject to contractual closing conditions.
CO-OP does not currently hold shares in Everlink, based in Markham, Ontario, but when the deal closes it will join minority-owner Celero Solutions of Calgary, Alberta, as the two shareholders of Everlink. Celero is a service corporation providing information technology solutions to credit unions and other financial services organizations across Canada.
“Everlink provides a broad range of payments solutions, including card issuance, fraud management, ATM managed services, point-of-sale and debit payment processing primarily for credit unions, which are similar businesses to that of CO-OP,” said Stan Hollen, President/CEO of CO-OP, in a statement. “We have had a limited presence in Canada. The acquisition of an interest in Everlink enables us to expand our network to clients throughout North America. In fact, we see this investment as a foundation step to a comprehensive North America-wide network and processing solution for credit unions, making it even more convenient for members in both Canada and the U.S. to use ATMs and their debit cards.”
Hollen added that CO-OP foresees inviting other Canadian cooperatives into ownership participation of Everlink to further contribute to the growth of the Canadian movement.
“The growing importance of member experience at the self-service channel is one of the leading issues for financial institutions in 2015,” said Mark Ripplinger, President/CEO of Everlink. “The resources that CO-OP brings to bear on this market trend – be it locations-, payments- or mobile-based – will substantially benefit our clients and the entire credit union movement in Canada.”
There are approximately 700 credit unions and caisse poplulaires with more than 10 million members in Canada.