Total System (TSS) To Implement Payment Solution At Walmart

Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS) has recently announced that its new patent pending payment solution, Advanced AuthControl,will be implemented at Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Sam’s Clubs locations across the nation. This Advanced AuthControlsolution recognizes qualified purchases determined by a consumer’s healthcare plan and will also be combined with Walmart’s proprietary, point-of-sale decision-making capabilities known as “Directed Spend”. The agreement requires Total System to promote Walmart and Sam’s Clubs locations to its existing customer base.

Advanced AuthControl helps customization of programs and linking customizable rewards to healthy behaviors. The new payment solution will enable Total System to offer a vast range of options for the situations wherein rewards card can be accepted, depending on merchant category and product level. Through the implementation of this new payment solution, Total System’s healthcare clients will be able to provide incentive dollars to members through their healthcare plan wellness incentive program.

In the United States, total healthcare spending jumped to $3.4 trillion in 2016 and the same is expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2020. With medical expenses on the rise, wellness programs have become fundamental features in the benefits plans of many major organizations. Per a new report by the Society for Human Resource Management, more than two-thirds of U.S. employers offer wellness incentive programs as part of their benefits packages.

Management at Total System believes that the pact with Walmart and Sam’s Club will further enhance the capabilities and benefits of Advanced AuthControl. The geographic coverage and breadth of merchandise of Walmart and Sam’s Club combined with Total System’s innovative payment solution are expected to open up a huge scope of opportunities to keep customers healthy at lower expenses.

Management at Walmart expects this strategic relationship to boost the company’s extensive network of stores as well as the Directed Spend platform to serve the improved wellness incentive programs with more ease.

Total System has always been engaged in building tactical alliances to bolster its growth potential. Previous to this pact with Walmart, the company had extended its agreement with Permanent TSB and Capital One (Europe) PLC.

In a year’s time, shares of Total System have soared 65%, outperforming the industry’s surge of 35.7%.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Total System carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. A few other top-ranked stocks in the same space with a Zacks Rank of 2 are Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) , Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) and Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) .

Visa’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 8.1%.

Mastercard’s earnings exceeded estimates in each of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 6%.

Global Payments delivered positive surprises in each of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 4%.

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