ICICI Bank, First Data forge partnership

The two firms synergize resources to form ICICI Merchant Services, a merchant acquiring alliance.

ICICI Merchant Services unites one of India's largest merchant portfolios, representing approximately 30 percent of the current Indian acquiring market, and a leading acquirer and payment services provider with global expertise.

ICICI Merchant Services, which is owned 81 percent by First Data and 19 percent by ICICI Bank, will build on the bank's existing acquiring portfolio of approximately 150,000 merchants, according to a report in SYS-CON.

Over time, ICICI Merchant Services expects to deliver an enhanced suite of card acquiring services to these and to new merchants. ICICI Bank will continue to act as a settlement banker for the merchants.

ICICI Bank is India's second largest bank with more than 1,500 branches across the country. First Data, a KKR-portfolio company, provides payment processing services for 5.3 million merchant locations globally and serves customers in 36 countries around the world. First Data's services include offering merchants the ability to view their payment transactions securely via the Internet while benefiting from loyalty, prepaid and market-leading, e-commerce solutions based on advanced processing technologies.