WORLDPAY FROM FIS OFFERS COMMERCE 360

The fully integrated Commerce 360 omnichannel payment and commerce platform provided by Worldpay from FIS was launched with pilot tests in the fourth quarter of 2022. Participants included a handful of small and midsized financial institutions looking to support their small business customers.

Commerce 360 incorporates technology from GoDaddy, which is best known as a web domain registrar. GoDaddy also operates a payment gateway (GoDaddy Payments) in the US for small businesses, helping them sell in-store and online (via websites, social networks and marketplaces).

GoDaddy Payments’ capabilities include technology gained in the 2020 acquisition of POS terminal manufacturer Poynt. That company’s smart terminal and card reader expertise was integrated with its new parent company’s website design services and mobile app and marketed to small businesses.

Worldpay from FIS adds merchant acquiring as well as value-added services such as fraud protection and loyalty to what it obtains from GoDaddy Payments. Embedded finance will be added next year. Over the next three to six months, Worldpay from FIS plans to roll out Commerce 360 to the small and midsized financial institutions that are part of its US distribution network.

The primary customers for Commerce 360 range from micromerchants to retailers with fewer than 20 locations that accept up to $15 million in card sales annually. The platform’s fully integrated suite of payment processing and commerce applications will allow them to fully compete with Square.

Square, which has steadily gained market share against US financial institution merchant acquirers since 2009, is an even greater threat these days because it offers merchants settlement services (via Square Financial Services in Utah) as well as deposit accounts (through Sutton Bank).

FIS plans to pursue a tax-free spin-off of its Merchant Solutions unit within the next 12 months. If completed, the spin-off will be an independent, publicly traded company called Worldpay. It will have revenue in the $4.80-billion range, derived from enterprises (43%), ecommerce (30%) and small and midsized (27%) merchants.

Current FIS shareholders will receive a pro rata distribution of shares of Worldpay stock. It is expected that once separated, FIS and Worldpay will maintain a commercial relationship.

INTERVIEWED FOR THIS ARTICLE

Christina Wagner Heads Strategy and Transformation for Small Businesses at Worldpay from FIS in Columbus, Georgia, christina.wagner@fisglobal.com, www.fisglobal.com.