Last week it described the business as “challenging”, saying it had dragged down overall growth and that profit margins had been squeezed. However, the company said it was hopeful of a revival, saying it would look to bundle its payment services with others such as accounting and payroll software, updating its technology, and creating a separate marketing team for the division. On Wednesday, it said it was “evaluating potential strategic options” for the business including a sale, cautioning that there was no guarantee of one. The announcement marks the latest step in an attempted turnaround of the business under chief executive Stephen Kelly, who was appointed two years ago. He has focused the company on subscription-based cloud software, rather than selling one-off licences, and revamped the sales operation.
Software giant Sage has put its North American payments business up for sale, with the unit worth an estimated $500m (£397m). The company said it was looking to sell off a number of businesses including its payment processing and digital asset management businesses. Company shares rose 1% following the announcement.