Euronet Worldwide, Inc. EEFT inked a deal with Swedbank to take over the bank’s ATM assets and deliver ATM outsourcing services across the three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. The Swedbank ATM network comprises 1,141 machines, of which 373 are in Estonia, 362 in Latvia and 406 in Lithuania, offering both cash withdrawal and cash deposit/recycling services.
As part of the agreement, Euronet will acquire in-branch and off-branch ATM operations of the bank in the three Baltic nations. The transition will involve a smooth migration to Euronet’s advanced Ren payments processing platform, seamlessly integrating with Swedbank’s existing systems. The migration process is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2025.
This partnership will streamline Swedbank’s ATM operations, delivering more sustainable and cost-effective services for the bank’s customers along with a decreased level of operational expenses and capital expenditures for the bank. Customers will benefit from a personalized user experience, familiar interfaces, transaction options and design for uninterrupted business operations.
Along with maintaining the current number of ATMs, the acquired network will be incorporated into Euronet’s independent ATM network across the three Baltic countries. This integration will provide customers with additional service points and features while adhering to evolving regulatory standards.
The latest agreement with Swedbank is part of Euronet’s ongoing global ATM expansion efforts, which include acquisitions of ATM assets and offering ATM network participation services to various banks. In May 2024, EEFT acquired Malaysian Electronic Payment System ATM terminals in a bid to expand its reach in the Malaysian market.
Benefits of the Recent Move to Euronet
The latest initiative reflects Euronet’s efforts to strengthen its presence in Europe and underscores the extensive experience its EFT Processing segment (of which Ren is a part) holds in ATM asset acquisitions and outsourcing services.
The deal is anticipated to broaden the reach of Euronet's Ren platform, owing to a widely spread ATM network and customer base of Swedbank in the Baltic region. The increased adoption of the EEFT platform is likely to boost revenues for the EFT Processing segment, which contributed approximately 30% to Euronet's total revenues in the first nine months of 2024.
Ren was designed to thrive in the dynamic digital payments environment, supporting real-time settlements and innovative payment methods such as QR codes, PINs and biometric authentication. It primarily caters to financial institutions, central banks and fintech companies.
Ren is available either as an on-premises solution, enabling businesses to install the platform within their own data centers, or as a software-as-a-service model, where developers can access it via APIs hosted in Euronet’s global data centers. The platform’s flexibility allows it to function as a payment hub or provide essential banking capabilities such as issuing, merchant acquiring, transaction switching and ATM management services.
EEFT’s Share Price Performance & Zacks Rank
Shares of Euronet have gained 10.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.5% growth. EEFT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the Finance space are CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. CFB, Amalgamated Financial Corp. AMAL and ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. SFBS. CrossFirst Bankshares sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Amalgamated Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The bottom line of CrossFirst Bankshares outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 8.32%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CFB’s 2024 earnings indicates an improvement of 6.8% from the 2023 figure. The consensus mark for revenues implies growth of 4.3% from the 2023 figure. The consensus mark for CFB’s earnings has moved 2.6% north in the past 60 days.
Amalgamated Financial earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 7.79%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL’s 2024 earnings indicates an improvement of 17.7% from the 2023 figure. The consensus mark for revenues implies growth of 5.3% from the 2023 figure. The consensus mark for AMAL’s earnings has moved 3.9% north in the past 60 days.
The bottom line of ServisFirst Bancshares outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 8.25%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SFBS’ 2024 earnings indicates an improvement of 3.8% from the 2023 figure. The estimate for revenues implies growth of 7.8% from the 2023 number. The consensus mark for SFBS’ earnings has moved 5.1% north in the past 60 days.
Shares of CrossFirst Bankshares, Amalgamated Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares have gained 30.7%, 31.4% and 42.6%, respectively, in the past year.
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