[6] First Data's SpendTrend Report is frequently used by national news networks such as WSJ, USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Vox Media,[7][8][9][10] and Bloomberg.

First Data Resources (FDR) was founded in Omaha, Nebraska in June 1971 by Perry "Bill" Esping, along with Mike Liddy and Jack Weekly.

In 1995, the company merged with First Financial Management Corp. (FFMC) and was then organized into three major business units serving card issuers, merchants, and consumers.

[citation needed] From 2001 through 2005, a period of expansion occurred as First Data acquired companies around the globe and in the US, including, in 2001, the acquisition of PaySys International and their VisionPLUS Payment Software System.

VisionPLUS was followed by a $6.6 billion merger with Concord EFS, Inc. in 2004, which added the STAR Network and PIN-based debit acceptance at more than 1.9 million ATM and retail locations.

[23][24] The company continues to maintain investor relations pages on its web site and to publish quarterly financial results.

[25] First Data provided Go-Tag (contactless and mobile payment technology) stickers to delegates and media representatives at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, who used them to buy food and beverages.

These stickers possessed NFC chips which were read by First Data scanners, which through its back-end system deducted the purchase sum from the Go-Tag ID's balance.

[28][29] First Data entered the Ireland market in a joint venture with Allied Irish Banks PLC named AIB Merchant Services on January 18, 2008.

[36] In September that same year, Jonathan Judge assumed those roles until his early retirement in January 2013,[37] after which Edward Labry covered the interim post.

[38] In April 2013, First Data's Board of Directors announced that former JPMorgan Chase Co-COO Frank Bisignano had been named Chief Executive Officer of the company.

[40] In 2014, Bisignano promoted notable additions to the company's staff, such as Sanjiv Das, Himanshu Patel, Guy Chiarello, Cindy Armine-Klein, Andrew Gelb, Adam Rosman, Carmen Menendez-Puerto, Joseph Plumeri, Christopher Augustin and Michael Manos.

[41][42][43][44][45] In early 2014, First Data's STAR ATM Network adopted the Visa and MasterCard common application IDs for EMV-compliant debit transactions.

[22] In August 2014, First Data expanded its presence in Brazil with Bin, the company's acquiring solution developed specifically for the local market.

With its integration into First Data's STAR Network, the company became a token service provider, supporting safe POS transactions in Apple Pay.

According to Bloomberg: "lowering First Data's debt level will be an important step for the company because it will free up money to invest in the business".

[71] On October 20, 2017, First Data announced plans to acquire BluePay, a technology-enabled payment processor with about $19 billion in annual volume, for $760 Million.

First Data Salutes is the company-wide military engagement strategy aimed at helping the veteran-owned business community and service members and their families transitioning to civilian careers.