News

UK watchdog OK's Cardtronics acquisition of DC Payments

September 26, 2017

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority has approved the acquisition by Cardtronics of DirectCash Payments Inc., an ATM services provider with primary operations in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

According to a Cardtronics press release, the acquisition of DCPayments, which was finalized in early January, has not been subject to review in any other country.

Days after the acquisition, the CMA issued an initial enforcement order preventing integration of the companies' operations within the U.K. pending an investigation of the potential anticompetitive impact on the country's ATM market.

Following this investigation, the CMA concluded that, in areas where there is insufficient competition from rival ATMs, the merger could lead to increased surcharge fees for customers withdrawing cash. The authority required Cardtronics to provide an action plan to address the lessening of competition. The contents of that plan were not included in the press release. 

With the CMA merger inquiry concluded and approval granted, Cardtronics can now begin the process of combining the existing U.K. operations of Cardtronics and DCPayments, the release said.