Global financial services provider Fiserv has acquired bank payments provider Dovetail Group Limited in order to bring payments further into the modern world — that is, realtime.
Dovetail’s realtime payment platform will be used to integrate other products and services into Fiserv’s existing payments business, the companies announced today.
The products that will be powered by this platform include Fiserv’s TurnKey Service for Zelle and The Clearing House Real-Time Payments scheme in the U.S., while within markets such as the U.K., it will be used to help Fiserv clients leverage services like U.K. Faster Payments.
The move to acquire Dovetail was made after Fiserv had previously considered acquiring other payments companies (such as the U.K.-based Monetise in June 2017). Terms of the Dovetail acquisition were not disclosed.
Dovetail, which was founded in 2000, created one of the world’s first “payment hubs” just three years later. The company is based in London, but like Fiserv, has global reach, with offices in the United States, Italy, and Singapore.
Fiserv’s revenue growth has been driven by payments for the last few quarters, though the rate of growth is slowing down somewhat. Sales for the second quarter of 2017, which totaled $67 million, were “driven primarily by payments and digital solutions,” said Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki on the company’s earnings call earlier this month.
Sales were down 3% from the previous quarter, according to the company’s earnings results, though up 10% for the first half of 2017.
Merging its own leading payment services with a platform like Dovetail’s, which was built from the beginning with realtime capabilities in mind, will help to “modernize” the world of payments, according to company statements—beginning with Fiserv and its thousands of bank clients.
As yet, it is not clear if Dovetail will continue to operate as an independent brand. Fiserv is the technology partner of INV Fintech, this company’s sister accelerator.