The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal are selling payment processor Moneris Solutions Corp. to San Francisco-based investment firm Francisco Partners for $2-billion. The Post's Naimul Karim writes that once the sale of the company that helps businesses accept card and digital payments is completed, RBC expects to earn about $475-million after tax, while BMO will gain about $600-million. Neither bank expects the sale to have a significant effect on future earnings. Moneris was created as a joint venture between RBC and BMO in 2000 and now helps 325,000 businesses accept payments, representing one in three transactions in Canada. The deal will allow Moneris to further expand, Moneris chief executive officer James Hick said, because Francisco Partners has a strong record with technology-based businesses, as evidenced by its investments in companies such as Hypercom Corp., Paymetric Inc., Paylease LLC and Verifone Inc. Francisco Partners sees a significant opportunity for long-term growth with Moneris "while preserving the deeply Canadian identity," said Peter Christodoulo, who is a partner at the company, in a statement.