Top Payments M&A Advisory Firms 2026

The ranking

1. FT Partners

FT Partners was founded in 2002 by Steve McLaughlin, previously the global head of financial technology investment banking at Goldman Sachs, and is based in San Francisco. The firm covers fintech broadly, but payments is one of its most active areas, and it works both buy-side and sell-side plus capital raises. Its clearest 2025 credential is AvidXchange: FT Partners advised the accounts-payable and payments company on its $2.2 billion all-cash sale to TPG and Corpay, announced May 6, 2025, continuing an advisory relationship with AvidXchange dating back to 2009. For a company at the large-cap end of payments, FT Partners has the deal history and the buyer relationships that a smaller boutique will not. It is a poor fit for a sub-$50M mandate, where its typical deal team and fee structure are built for much larger transactions.

2. Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. Within its FinTech group, the firm runs a dedicated payments practice covering ten sub-sectors, from merchant processing and card networks to cross-border payments and BNPL, and the firm was ranked the busiest global FinTech M&A advisor in 2025 with 22 deals. A recent example is its role advising Hitachi Payment Services on the buy-side of its acquisition of Writer Corporation’s cash management business, which completed in January 2024. Houlihan Lokey’s scale and global reach suit complex or cross-border payments carve-outs and large processor sales. Founder-led companies well under $100M in enterprise value are unlikely to get the firm’s most senior attention.

3. William Blair

William Blair was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Chicago. The firm runs ongoing research and deal coverage of digital payments and maintains an active fintech banking group. Its most recent notable payments transaction is the 365 Retail Markets acquisition of Cantaloupe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTLP), an $848 million deal that closed in May 2026, where William Blair advised 365 Retail Markets, a Providence Equity portfolio company, on the buy side. William Blair fits upper middle market payments and commerce technology sales well, and its willingness to work both buy- and sell-side means a seller should confirm the deal team has no prior relationship with likely acquirers before engaging.

4. Capstone Partners

Capstone Partners was founded in 2001, is based in Boston, and has operated as a subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares since June 2022. Its fintech and financial services group covers B2B payments and embedded finance alongside broader middle-market sector coverage. In May 2025, Capstone advised Allied Payment Network, a bill-pay platform serving more than 500 financial institutions, on its sale to Autobooks. Capstone is a reasonable choice for a middle-market payments or B2B fintech seller who wants a generalist bank with real deal volume, though payments is one of several verticals its bankers cover rather than a sole focus.

5. 733Park

733Park was founded in 2006 by Lane Gordon and is based in Boston, working exclusively across artificial intelligence, fintech, payments, and vertical SaaS, with a stated deal range of $5 million to $350 million in enterprise value. The firm is active specifically in ISO and merchant-portfolio transactions: in October 2025 it advised Forefront Processing, a Florida-based payment processor, on the sale of its merchant portfolio to Unity FI Solutions. 733Park is a genuine specialist for ISOs and merchant-portfolio sellers at the smaller end of the market. It is not a sell-side-only firm; it advises on both sides of transactions across its four verticals, which is worth weighing against a firm that represents sellers exclusively.

6. Corum Group

Corum Group was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington. It is a technology-only M&A advisory firm that works with both buyers and sellers of privately held software and tech companies. Payments is not its primary focus, but it does close deals in the space: in April 2026 Corum advised Twikey, a Belgian recurring-payments and direct-debit platform, on its majority acquisition by Smile Sail. Corum suits a smaller payments software company where the buyer is likely to be another software company or a financial acquirer rather than a payments-industry strategic, and where deal size sits below what the large-cap banks will prioritize.

7. Windsor Drake

Windsor Drake is an independent, sell-side-only M&A advisory firm for founder-led fintech, payments and software companies between $5 million and $300 million in enterprise value, with sector advisors covering industrials, medical technology and specialty finance. The firm is based in Toronto, and Canada–US transactions are a core part of its practice. Every mandate is led by a senior advisor from first conversation to closing, and the firm maintains a research program, including the Windsor Drake Proprietary Discount Index and quarterly sector reports, that informs positioning and buyer selection. Windsor Drake is not a registered broker-dealer and is not a member of FINRA, SIPC or CIRO. Founders evaluating any advisor on this list should ask for the specific buyer list and process plan for their company rather than a general pitch.

How to choose a payments M&A advisor

Merchant acquiring and ISOs. A residual-income ISO or a merchant portfolio is valued on the durability of its residual streams and attrition rate more than on revenue growth, and the buyer list is short: it’s mostly other processors, acquiring banks, and PE-backed platforms consolidating portfolios. An advisor who has actually run an ISO portfolio process, and who knows which acquirers are currently buying versus digesting a prior acquisition, matters more here than general banking pedigree.

Payment facilitators (payfacs). A payfac sits closer to software, since it typically has recurring software or platform revenue layered on top of processing margin, so buyers often value it more like a vertical SaaS business than a pure processor. That usually means a wider buyer universe (software strategics and growth-equity buyers alongside payments acquirers) and a higher multiple than a comparable ISO, but it also means the advisor needs to be able to speak credibly to both audiences in the same process.

B2B payments and AP automation. Companies automating accounts payable, invoicing, or supplier payments for other businesses are usually judged on net revenue retention, take rate, and how embedded the product is in a customer’s workflow. Strategic acquirers here include larger AP and spend-management platforms, banks building out commercial payments, and card networks, which means the advisor’s buyer list needs to extend well beyond traditional payments companies.

Cross-border and FX. Cross-border payments and FX businesses carry regulatory and licensing complexity (money transmitter licenses, correspondent banking relationships, sanctions exposure) that has to be underwritten alongside the financials, and that diligence burden shapes both the buyer pool and the timeline. An advisor without direct cross-border deal experience will often underestimate how long this diligence takes and how much it affects achievable valuation.

Payment infrastructure. Rails, orchestration layers, tokenization, and other infrastructure providers tend to be valued on technical differentiation and the switching cost they create for the platforms and processors built on top of them, rather than on transaction volume alone. Buyers are frequently the processors and platforms that depend on the infrastructure, which raises real conflict-of-interest questions if the advisor running the sale also has an existing relationship with the most obvious buyer.

FAQ

What do payments companies sell for in 2026?

It depends heavily on sub-sector and disclosed financials are limited, but public reference points show mature processors trading at roughly 12x-20x EV/EBITDA and payments businesses more broadly at roughly 4x-8x EV/Revenue as of early 2026, with the largest disclosed deal being Global Payments’ $24.25 billion acquisition of Worldpay at 8.5x adjusted EBITDA. Smaller, founder-led sellers typically land below the multiples large-cap public deals command.

How long does a payments company sale take?

A well-prepared process usually runs four to eight months from engagement to close, longer if the buyer needs a money transmitter license transfer, card network approval, or other regulatory sign-off. Cross-border and infrastructure deals tend to run longer because of the added diligence on licensing and data flows described above.

Do strategic buyers or private equity pay more for payment processors?

It varies by deal. Strategics often pay a premium when they can eliminate a competitor or add a capability they would otherwise build, as in Global Payments’ acquisition of Worldpay. Private equity buyers, including sponsors like GTCR and Thoma Bravo that are active in payments, tend to compete hardest on platforms with a clear buy-and-build thesis. The right advisor runs a process that tests both buyer types rather than assuming one will win.

What is a payfac worth compared to an ISO?

A payfac with embedded software revenue generally commands a higher multiple than a residual-income ISO of similar size, because its revenue is viewed as stickier and its buyer pool includes software and growth-equity acquirers in addition to payments strategics. An ISO’s value is driven mostly by portfolio quality and attrition, which caps how much a buyer will pay regardless of growth rate.

Do I need a payments specialist, or will any M&A advisor do?

A generalist advisor can run a competent process, but payments has enough sub-sector nuance (residual economics, card network rules, licensing, sponsor bank relationships) that a specialist usually identifies more of the real buyer universe and avoids diligence surprises that a generalist would miss until late in the process. For a smaller, founder-led company, that gap tends to matter more, not less, since there is less margin for a mispriced process.

How does Windsor Drake approach payments M&A?

Windsor Drake represents founders only, on the sell side only, for fintech, payments and software companies between $5 million and $300 million in enterprise value, from its Toronto office. Positioning and buyer selection are built on the firm’s own research, including the Proprietary Discount Index and quarterly sector reports, and every mandate is run by a senior advisor from first conversation to closing. The firm is not a registered broker-dealer. The right first step is a confidential conversation about fit, buyer universe and timing.

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