GPS closes $400 million funding round, brings on new chair

Global Processing Services (GPS), the global payment technology platform, announced the closing and upsizing of its latest fundraise at over US$400 million.

Temasek the global investment company headquartered in Singapore, and MissionOG, a US-based growth equity firm, joined the over US$300 million initial round, co-led by growth investors Advent International – through Advent Tech and affiliate Sunley House Capital – and Viking Global Investors.

GPS is an API-first payment technology platform, which enables card programmes for the world's fintechs, digital challenger banks and embedded finance providers.

According to the company, GPS' technology and partnership approach has helped scale successful disruptive fintechs around the world, including Revolut, Curve, Starling Bank, Zilch, WeLab Bank and Paidy, among others.

Through GPS' next generation cloud platform, its customers and partners can design, launch, manage and scale card programmes across 48 countries.

To date, GPS has issued more than 190 million physical and virtual cards, and last year processed more than 1.3 billion transactions, generating record revenues.

The company's issuer processor powers next generation payment segments, including expense management, B2B payments, crypto, lending and credit, digital banking, FX, remittance, open banking and more.

The additional investment and strategic support from the new investors aim to further accelerate GPS' growth trajectory.

Leveraging its brand and technology platform, the company plans to respond to customer demand by expanding internationally across Europe, APAC and MENA, and accelerating new product and technology developments, according to a statement from the company.

The new investors joining Advent and Viking bring deep fintech and payment expertise globally.

Concurrent with the investment closing, Gene Lockhart, chair and general partner of MissionOG, has been named as the new chair of GPS.

An investor, senior executive and payments innovator, Lockhart has significant operational and investment experience across the financial services and payments industries.

Lockhart's prior leadership roles include serving as the President and CEO of MasterCard International, and serving as a board member of companies including NuBank and First Republic Bank, amongst many others.

Lockhart says, "GPS is an innovative technology company, and we believe their unique position at the heart of the global payments ecosystem ideally positions them to power the next generation of financial services.

"With the deep network and experience MissionOG brings to the table, we look forward to being a trusted and valued partner of Joanne and the entire team.

GPS chief executive officer Joanne Dewar says, "The upsizing of this latest round of investment is an important step forward for the company and a strong endorsement of our strategy.

"We are a company that has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by our commitment to innovation and the delivery of a single scalable technology platform.

"The expertise that our new partners bring to GPS will be invaluable as we enter our next phase of geographic expansion and technology innovation.