SoftBank weighs acquisition of SP.Links to scale payments settlement business
Key points
- SoftBank Corp. is evaluating an acquisition of SP.Links, formerly Sony Payment Services, according to Nikkei reporting dated 27 July 2026.
- The rationale centres on bolstering out-of-app payment settlements for games and other applications, extending SoftBank's existing payments subsidiary.
- Combined transaction volumes between SP.Links and SoftBank's current payments unit would likely rival those of the payments industry leader, per Nikkei's assessment.
- The deal is at the consideration stage and has not been announced as agreed or signed.
- The move appears to reflect a broader SoftBank strategy of building scale in domestic financial infrastructure alongside its AI and telecoms investments.
SoftBank Corp., the Japanese telecommunications carrier, is considering a purchase of SP.Links, a major payment services company formerly known as Sony Payment Services, according to reporting by Nikkei. The move would extend SoftBank’s footprint in payments beyond its existing subsidiary into out-of-app settlement flows for games and other applications.
Combined transaction volumes from SP.Links and SoftBank’s current payments unit would, on Nikkei’s read, place the merged entity in competition with the segment’s industry leader. That positioning suggests SoftBank is not merely filling a gap but making a deliberate bid for scale in a payments market where volume thresholds drive interchange economics and merchant negotiating leverage.
The reported deal remains under consideration rather than agreed, so the operative question for counterparties and competitors is timing and structure. SP.Links carries a meaningful heritage in card-scheme-adjacent infrastructure through its Sony Payment Services lineage, which may be as attractive to SoftBank as raw volume.
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