Greek Media Reports: JPMorgan Considers Buying Into Viva Wallet

U.S. bank J.P. Morgan Chase could soon acquire almost half of cloud-based Greek payments company Viva Wallet, according to Greek media reports Monday (Jan. 24) that didn’t identify their sources but were cited by Reuters.

Viva Wallet offers card acceptance services through its point of sale (POS) application, add-on Google Play devices and payment systems through online stores in 23 countries across Europe.

The value of J.P. Morgan’s acquisition, according to the ot.gr news website, is 700 million euros ($792 million) for 47% of Viva Wallet. The sides are expected to sign the deal Monday after several months of talks, according to the reports.

Reuters couldn’t reach either Viva Wallet or J.P. Morgan for comment.

The Greek prime minister’s chief economic adviser, Alexis Patelis, said on Twitter on Sunday (Jan. 23) that two significant acquisitions by U.S. companies would happen in Greece this week, calling the moves “a vote of confidence in Greece and a forerunner of investments.”

Αυτή την εβδομάδα δύο μεγάλες εξαγορές από αμερικάνικες εταιρείες, ψήφος εμπιστοσύνης στην Ελλάδα και προπομπός επενδύσεων

— Alex Patelis (@PatelisAlex) January 23, 2022

Related: JPMorgan CEO: 2022 Economy to See ‘Best Growth’ in Decades

Earlier this month, J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. would have the “best growth” in decades this year, saying it would surpass any time “since maybe sometime after the Great Depression,” adding that 2023 would also be good.

The American consumer is “spending 25% more today than pre-COVID,” Dimon said.

See also: EVO Payments to Provide Merchant Acquiring, Payment Processing for National Bank of Greece

In December, EVO Payments, which works with payment tech integrations and acquiring, debuted a new partnership with the National Bank of Greece to offer merchant acquiring and payment services.

The companies will craft a joint venture as part of the partnership, with the bank spinning off its merchant-acquiring business and EVO buying a 51% interest in the new entity. The transaction is likely to close in 2022.