April has been a wild month in the payments space. Between major merger announcements, product updates, global expansions, and $100M+ bids, there’s been a lot to keep track of.
Fortunately for you, I’ve rounded up the biggest stories this month so you can stay informed.
Global Payments is Acquiring Worldpay
Global Payments announcing its plans to acquire Worldpay from FIS and GTCR is arguably the biggest story of the year. It’s a $22.7 billion transaction that also involves Global (simultaneously) selling its issuer solutions to FIS for $13.5 billion.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026 and will likely make Global Payments the largest merchant processor in the world.
You can read more about the details of the acquisition here.
Other Helpful Resources:
- Global Payments Review
- Global Payments Outrageous Fees Exposed
- Global Payments Rate Increases and Updates
- Worldpay Review
- Worldpay Rate Increases and Updates
Automatic Interchange Optimization is Ending
Visa finally rolled out its long-anticipated new CEDP (Commercial Enhanced Data Program) on April 12, 2025.
They immediately began notifying processors that certain merchants currently submitting Level 2 and Level 3 transaction data will fail future validation. This is Visa’s way of cracking down on processors who are automatically submitting enhanced data so their clients qualify for lower rates.
Merchants have until October 17, 2025, to correct data errors and qualify for the reduced CEDP rates.
Visa Rolls Out Suite of New Payment Tools
Earlier this month at ETA TRANSACT, Visa announced three new payment tools with the goal of streamlining payment acceptance while keeping transactions secure.
The three new tools include:
- An overhaul of Auth.net using AI-driven capabilities.
- Unified Checkout for online payments.
- ARIC (adaptive real-time, individual, change identification) Risk HUB
Read more about these tools here.
Fiserv Launches Clover in Australia
Fiserv has officially brought its Clover POS system to SMBs in Australia.
Clover initially launched back in 2012, and it was acquired by Fiserv in 2019 (as part of the First Data acquisition).
With Australia as the newest country where Clover is available, the POS system is now supported in 11 countries worldwide.
Stripe Applies for Banking License in the US
Stripe has applied for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank charter, which has been accepted by Georgia’s Dept of Banking and Finance.
This move brings Stripe closer to accessing payment card networks directly.
As a limited charter for merchant acquiring, it doesn’t include a license for taking deposits and other common banking activities.
Visa Bids $100M to Replace Mastercard as Apple’s New Partner
Visa has reportedly offered a $100 million bid for a credit card partnership with Apple.
Mastercard handled this arrangement as the payment processor since the Apple card first launched in 2019, but this partnership has since ended.
American Express is also in the mix, as they want to become the card issuer and the network.
We’ll see if Visa’s bid ends up swaying Apple in their direction. There still hasn’t been any official announcement of an accepted deal by either party just yet.
Square Announces New POS App
On April 24, Square announced its next-gen POS app—a single, unified commerce system for all sellers.
Rather than having separate apps for different industries and use cases, Square’s new POS app has different modes and modules to support unique capabilities.
Examples include:
- Quick Service Mode
- Full Service Mode
- Bar Mode
- Retail Mode
- Bookings Mode
- Services Mode
- Standard Mode
This new POS app adds personalized options for sellers who have complex needs while continuing to support future growth.
Federal Reserve Board Approves Application of Capital One and Discover Merger
The merger between Capital One and Discover passed a major regulatory hurdle this month when the Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application.
This announcement came directly from the Fed on April 18, 2025.
They also assessed a $100 million fine to Discover for overcharging interchange fees from 2007 to 2023.
One of the conditions of the Board’s approval is that Capital One complies with these actions against Discover, including the remediation efforts for affected customers.
Other Noteworthy Partnerships and Acquisitions
While the Global and Worldpay announcement is obviously dominating the headlines this month (and for good reason), there are several other new partnerships and acquisitions worth highlighting:
- Adyen is partnering with LegalZoom. Read more.
- PayPal is partnering with Knot to streamline card-on-file payments. Read more.
- Fiserv acquires Pinch Payments. Read more.
- Checkout.com and eBay announce global acquiring partnership. Read more.
- Fiserv signs a definitive agreement to acquire Money Money (a Brazilian fintech company). Read more.
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