AIB’s card processing joint venture has warned of “material uncertainty” about its future because of a €4bn exposure to airlines, tour operators and other businesses at risk of collapse as a result of the coronavirus crisis. First Merchant Processing (Ireland) (FMPI), which trades locally as AIB Merchant Services, also faces the threat of enforcement action by the Central Bank of Ireland arising from anti-money laundering compliance failures. AIB established the joint venture in 2007 with US payments giant First Data Corporation. The company is a merchant acquirer, generating fees and commissions of €480m last year by processing card payments for hundreds of businesses in Ireland, the UK and Europe. Its exposure to Covid-19 stems from a requirement of Visa and Mastercard that makes merchant acquirers

Source: The Times August 23, 2020 02:03 UTC