Mastercard reportedly explores sale of Vocalink

Mastercard acquired Vocalink from a consortium of 18 UK lenders in 2016 for an initial £700 million ($950 million)

Mastercard is exploring the ​sale of a majority stake in its ‌UK payments subsidiary Vocalink back to British ​banks as it responds to ⁠concerns about a critical asset being under US ownership, the Financial Times reported on Monday citing ‌people briefed on the talks.

The report said discussions are at an early stage and no firm offers have been made.

Mastercard acquired Vocalink from a consortium of 18 UK lenders in 2016 for an initial £700 million ($950 million), with additional payments tied to performance.

Vocalink is responsible for running much ‌of the UK retail payments system. It ‌designs, ⁠builds and operates bank account-based payment ⁠systems in Britain, processing over 90 per cent of salaries, more than 70 per cent of household bills and 98 per cent ​of state benefits, according ‌to its website.

Mastercard bought Vocalink in 2016 for £701 million ($937.38 million) from a consortium of British banks.

According to the FT ‌report, a deal for a ​51 percent stake could be worth about £400 million ($534.88 million).

DeliveryCo, an entity ⁠backed by many of the UK’s leading banks and payment companies is believed to ‌be a potential buyer, the report said.

The FT said the potential sale comes as the UK government and the Bank of England seek greater competition in retail payments. Mastercard and Visa ⁠handle a majority of British retail ⁠payments.

The Bank of England fined Vocalink £11.9 million ($15.92 million) last year for falling ‌short of its obligation to have adequate risk management and governance arrangements.