JPMorgan (NASDAQ:JPM) is a big name in investment banking. Its presence in the mobile payments market, however, isn’t nearly so pronounced. At least, it wasn’t until JPMorgan picked up a hefty share in Viva Wallet. This was enough to bump JPMorgan shares slightly up in Monday afternoon trading.
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According to Reuters, JPMorgan paid $800 million to land a 48.5% stake in the Greek fintech firm. Viva Wallet is a cloud-based “neobank” that offers a range of services. Those include point-of-sale tools to allow businesses the ability to accept payment cards. Businesses have long desired such tools, dating back to the Square dongle. A growing number of firms are racing to put their own toolsets in the gap.
JPMorgan’s move to get into the industry, according to word from global liquidity solutions head Josh Comer, stemmed from the pandemic and the need for more broadly varied solutions. Some believed the deal would never ultimately go through due to geopolitical issues, as risk appetite has soured in 2022.
Overall, analyst consensus currently calls JPMorgan a Moderate Buy, with over twice the number of Buy recommendations as Hold. With an average price target of $143.54, the stock has 10.19% upside potential.
