MasterCard to acquire Opus Software's electronic payment services arm ElectraCard

Global financial services company MasterCard Inc has entered into an agreement with Pune-headquartered IT services firm Opus Software Solutions Pvt Ltd to acquire its subsidiary ElectraCard Services Pvt Ltd (ECS) for an undisclosed amount, the company said on Monday.

ECS is a global provider of software solutions and processing services for electronic payment and card systems. It enables customers to issue and manage all types of payment cards and electronically process card transactions across multiple channels such as ATM, POS, internet and mobile.

The firm's customer portfolio includes financial institutions, retailers and telcos in over 25 countries.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014, which will help MasterCard extend its product offering and adds to the company's turnkey issuing processing, acquiring processing and switching solutions.

Earlier in 2010, MasterCard invested an undisclosed amount to acquire 12.5 per cent stake in ECS.

"The acquisition of ECS strengthens our capabilities and enables us to offer a true end-to-end solution for our customers. ECS's expertise complements MasterCard's products and services, making us an even stronger player in the field of processing and switching," said Vicky Bindra, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard.

"We have had a strong relationship with MasterCard for many years now and are excited that the ECS team will be part of MasterCard enabling it to deliver turnkey processing solutions to its customers. Opus will continue its focus on growing its IT services business for the credit and payments market in the North America region," Ramesh Mengawade, chairman of Opus, said.

MasterCard recently acquired C-SAM Inc, a mobile wallet and on-device solutions firm founded by Sam Pitroda, previous advisor to the Indian prime minister and head of the National Innovation Council.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)