Regional growth is diverging faster than at any point since 2015
Two regions are growing three times faster than the slowest
Output in the two fastest-growing regions expanded three times as quickly as in the slowest last year, the widest gap in a decade, according to the Meridian Institute.
The deal was approved after the parties agreed to divest two overlapping business lines, a condition regulators had signaled early in the review. Supporters called it a pragmatic compromise; critics said it left the hardest questions about market concentration unanswered.
Cobalt Payments will hold a briefing for analysts next month to walk through the numbers in more detail. Management has promised a first progress update alongside its third-quarter results.
Similar programs at rival firms have produced mixed results. In one well-known case, adoption exceeded projections within a year; in another, integration problems pushed the expected benefits back by almost eighteen months.
What explains the gap
A survey of 400 mid-sized companies by the Meridian Institute found that 58 percent plan to increase their technology budgets next year, the highest share since 2021, even as most expect overall spending to stay flat.
Customers have welcomed the change. "Anything that shortens the time between order and delivery is good for us," said Mei-Lin Chao, whose distribution business employs about 120 people and works with Cobalt Payments in three regions.
The project had stalled twice before, most recently last year, when a change in leadership at Cobalt Payments put several initiatives on hold. This time, the company says, the budget is approved and the contracts are signed.
Written by
David Achebe