Fiserv, the largest publicly traded processor in card payments at year-end 2023 with a market capitalization of $81.15 billion, applied to the state of Georgia for a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank (MALPB) charter on January 12, 2024. If the charter is granted, and Visa and Mastercard allow Fiserv direct access to their networks, the company will be able to handle financial settlement with merchants for card payments they receive without using a bank partner. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has made MALPB charters available to nonbanks since 2012. However, no MALPB has ...