RBS sells control of WorldPay credit card firm

Royal Bank of Scotland today sold a majority stake in the UK's biggest credit card payment firm, WorldPay.

The deal to sell 80.01% of the business to a team led by private equity giants Advent International and Bain Capital values the division at £2.025 billion and will result in a gain of £850 million to RBS.

WorldPay - also known as RBS Global Merchant Services - is the world's fourth largest provider of card payment services and the biggest in Britain and Europe.

Last year the business handled 6.8 billion transactions worldwide worth £243 billion in total. The sale of the stake - which follows the disposal of 318 branches to Spanish banking giant Santander last week - was ordered by European competition officials last year.

WorldPay was established in 1989 and its clients vary from small family-run companies to multi-nationals. The business operates in more than 30 countries and can process up to 680 transactions a second in 113 currencies.

RBS will hold a 19.99% minority stake in the business and continue to promote it to customers. Advent and Bain Capital are expected to invest heavily in improving the firm's ageing technology.

RBS finance director Bruce Van Saun said the sale was "another significant milestone" for the turnaround of the business, adding that it would "be good for both staff and customers".