Dive Brief:

• In a Wednesday press release, Broookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv, an international payments and financial services firm, annouced plans to create a new corporate campus in Berkeley Heights, N.J., and add about 2,000 jobs.
• The 428,000 square-foot campus will house the company's innovation lab, where it will collaborate with fintech, merchant and financial institution partners on projects related to the future of banking, money management and commerce, the company said.
• After receiving $109.2 million in tax credits from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority Board under the Emerge Program job program, Fiserv said it will invest $105 million to move into a largely empty office building in Union county, moving 1,063 existing jobs to the new campus and adding 1,927 more jobs, according to a statement from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Dive Insight:

In addition to creating what Fiserv called "one of the largest fintech hubs on the East Coast," the new campus is part of its effort to recruit talent, better serve its clients and work with partners. Fiserv said it plans to partner with nearby universities, such as Rutgers, to attract students and graduates.

The company currently employs 1,063 in New Jersey, a Fiserv spokesperson said by email, noting the campus will include worker roles in advanced security and fraud technology, AI-enabled payments, fintech solutions and next-generation open banking platforms. In its separate release, the state said those existing jobs were at risk of moving outside the state without the new development.

The spokesperson declined to say which merchants, fintech companies or other partners would be participating in the company's innovation lab.

“Our new location in Berkeley Heights will be a dynamic hub of collaboration and innovation, bringing our people together in an inspiring workplace environment to create opportunity for unmatched energy and career growth experiences as we move payments and financial services forward on behalf of our clients,” Frank Bisignano, president and CEO of Fiserv, said in a statement. 

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority Board approved the seven-year tax credit award Wednesday, according to the state's release. The company will also sign a community benefit agreement.

“The Fiserv project is a game-changing investment that will create thousands of good job opportunities and reactivate a vacant industrial property," the New Jersey agency's CEO, Tim Sullivan, said in the Democratic governor's release. "This is the kind of project we should be incentivizing in New Jersey, and a major step forward that will drive equitable growth for years to come.”

Fiserv isn't the only payments company recently announcing expansion in a U.S. community where it expects to source new talent, and particularly employees that will contribute to a more diverse workforce.

Yesterday, card behemoth Visa announced a significant expansion in Atlanta, where it will open a new office next year that will ultimately have 1,000 employees, including top executives.

Fiserv's New Jersey expansion and subsequent hire of nearly 2,000 employees comes amid a collaboration and acquisition spree at Fiserv. Earlier this year, the company acquired Pineapple Payments and Ondot Systems.

The company also partnered with the New York Digital Investment Group to help its bank clients offer Bitcoin services. Last month alone, the company announced partnerships with MovoCash, Selecta Group, PayPal and Venmo. 

But it's not just emerging and established fintech firms the company has its eye on; it also has teamed up with banks and credit card issuers recently.

In early March, Fiserv joined Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Financial and other industry players to form the Payments Leadership Council to strengthen their voice in Washington as some companies planned to increase card swipe fees.

In addition, Fiserv and Deutsche Bank embarked on a joint venture in June to provide card and digital payment services to sellers in Germany. The company went on to work with Goldman Sachs in July to streamline suppliers' cross-border payments.