Toronto, May 4, 2026, 18:01 EDT
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal are negotiating the sale of Moneris to Francisco Partners, which owns Verifone, in a transaction that could put the Canadian payments company’s value north of $2 billion, according to the Financial Times, which cited people with knowledge of the talks. The deal discussions, ongoing for months, appear to be reaching a critical phase for Moneris, one of the country’s largest merchant payment processors.
Timing is key here: Moneris operates near the front lines of Canada’s cash flow. The firm claims to handle a third of all transactions nationally, providing businesses with everything from point-of-sale tech to e-commerce solutions and mobile payment tools.
If the sale happens, two of Canada’s biggest banks would pull back even more from merchant acquiring—the business of bringing merchants on board and running their card payments. Banks have faced mounting pressure to keep up their investment in payment tech. Meanwhile, specialist processors and private equity firms have gone after size and steady fee income.
Talks have dragged on, but a deal might land by summer, according to Finextra, which referenced the FT. Francisco Partners, per the same story, owns Verifone and has a piece of Paysafe—two payments firms that would tie in neatly with Moneris if the transaction happens.
Moneris, launched back in 2000 as a collaboration between RBC and BMO, counted roughly 325,000 merchant locations and brought in close to $700 million a year, Reuters said last August. Those numbers put the company’s valuation around $2 billion.
Francisco Partners put $235 million into Verifone in a capital investment revealed back in April 2025. “We are proud to continue supporting Verifone as it advances its market-leading payment solutions and maintains strong financial foundations,” partner Peter Christodoulo said when the deal was announced. Verifone
Another angle for the buyer is payments exposure. According to Francisco Partners, Paysafe offers a wide slate of global payments acceptance tools—think payment processing, digital wallets, online cash products.
Canada’s market is already feeling the squeeze. Back in July 2025, Fiserv announced a multi-year deal with TD Bank Group: TD Merchant Solutions will tap Fiserv’s technology, such as Clover, while Fiserv picks up a chunk of TD’s Canadian merchant processing business. That part of the portfolio covers roughly 3,400 merchant relationships and 30,000 merchant sites.
The deal isn’t done yet. According to the FT, Moneris, RBC and BMO all declined to comment, while Francisco Partners didn’t reply to inquiries. The report also notes the door remains open for fresh bidders.
If the deal goes through, Moneris shifts out of the bank-owned joint venture model and into the hands of a tech-centric private equity shop. For RBC and BMO, that means stepping away from a business that handles millions of daily card swipes but requires them to keep pouring money into software, terminals, anti-fraud systems, and customer service.
