Canadian Payments Processor Moneris, Valued at $2 Billion, May Be up for Sale

The Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal are reportedly considering the sale of Moneris, one of the largest payment processors in Canada.

According to a Thursday (Aug. 14) Reuters report, Moneris processes one out of every three business transactions that take place in Canada. The business may be valued as high as $2 billion, Reuters said, citing four people familiar with the matter, who asked to remain unnamed since talks are private.

The owners, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, are in the early stages of exploring a possible sale of Moneris, according to the people.

A sale is not guaranteed, and the owners could ultimately retain some or all of the business, the people added.

Moneris was founded in 2000 by the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal. It offers digital, mobile, and in-store payment systems for about 325,000 merchant locations and produces nearly $700 million in annual revenue, per the report.

Other companies are also making moves to expand their services.

Earlier this month, payments and data company Deluxe purchased CheckMatch, a service that digitizes the delivery of paper checks, from Kinexys by JPMorgan,

Deluxe plans to incorporate the platform into its Deluxe Payment Network (DPN), PYMNTS reported on Aug 5.

The acquisition gives Deluxe direct digital connections to more than half of the nation’s top 10 lockbox operators and several large disbursement partners, according to the report. Lockboxes are bank‑managed P.O. boxes that receive and process checks.

“People need to make one‑off payments or payments that require significant information in order to be settled, and often the most streamlined way is still a paper check with a reconciliation statement,” Deluxe CEO Barry McCarthy said. The new network enables payers to send that same package digitally, “taking out the cost and making it less friction‑filled, faster and lower cost.”

“By bringing together the strengths of CheckMatch and DPN, we are building the largest purpose‑built digital lockbox network in the market,” he added. “And we’re delivering value through scale, security and simplicity.”