UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010

Commission file number 1-10254

TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Georgia		58-1493818
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

One TSYS Way
Columbus, Georgia		31901
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) (706) 649-2310

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.10 Par Value		New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE

     Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

     YES þ                      NO o

     Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

     YES o                      NO þ

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months, and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

     YES þ                      NO o

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files)

     YES þ                      NO o

     Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

     YES o                      NO þ

     As of June 30, 2010, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $2,565,112,000 based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

     As of February 23, 2011, there were 193,409,543 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

 

 

Table of Contents

		Page
Part I
Safe Harbor Statement			1
Item 1. Business			1
Item 1A. Risk Factors			5
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments		None
Item 2. Properties			11
Item 3. Legal Proceedings			12
Item 4. Removed and Reserved		None
Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			12
Item 6. Selected Financial Data			12
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			12
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			12
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			14
Item 9. Changes In and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure		None
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures			15
Item 9B. Other Information		None
Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			15
Item 11. Executive Compensation			16
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			16
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			17
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services			17
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			17
EX-10.16
EX-10.37
EX-10.38
EX-13.1
EX-21.1
EX-23.1
EX-31.1
EX-31.2
EX-32
EX-101 INSTANCE DOCUMENT
EX-101 SCHEMA DOCUMENT
EX-101 CALCULATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 LABELS LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 PRESENTATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT
EX-101 DEFINITION LINKBASE DOCUMENT

PART I

Safe Harbor Statement

     We have included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and from time to time our management may make, statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only our belief regarding future events, many of which by their nature are inherently uncertain and outside our control. These statements include statements other than historical information or statements of current condition and may relate to our future plans, objectives and results, among other things, and also include (without limitation) statements made in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of this annual report. It is possible that our actual results may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results indicated in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, those discussed under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this annual report and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of this annual report.

     Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the dates they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable law. You should, however, consult further disclosures we may make in future filings of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments thereto.

Item 1.		Business

      Business . Based in Columbus, Georgia, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TSS,” we are a global payment solutions provider that provides services to financial and nonfinancial institutions. The services we provide are divided into three operating segments, North America Services, which accounted for 54.0% of our revenues in 2010, International Services, which accounted for 19.3% of our revenues in 2010, and Merchant Services, which accounted for 26.7% of our revenues in 2010.

      Seasonality . Due to the somewhat seasonal nature of the credit card industry, our revenues and results of operations have generally increased in the fourth quarter of each year because of increased transaction and authorization volumes during the traditional holiday shopping season.

      Intellectual Property . Our intellectual property portfolio is a component of our ability to be a leading electronic payment services provider. We diligently protect and work to build our intellectual property rights through patent, servicemark and trade secret laws. We also use various licensed intellectual property to conduct our business. In addition to using our intellectual property in our own operations, we grant licenses to certain of our clients to use our intellectual property.

      Major Customer . A significant amount of our revenues is derived from long-term contracts with large clients, including our major customer during 2010, Bank of America Corporation. For the year ended December 31, 2010, Bank of America Corporation accounted for approximately 12.9% of our total revenues. As a result, the loss of Bank of America Corporation, or other large clients, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. See “Major Customer” and “Operating Segments” under the “Financial Review” Section on page 16, and 16 through 19, respectively, and Note 22 on pages 56 through 58 of the Annual Report which are incorporated in this document by reference.

      Competition . We encounter vigorous competition in providing electronic payment services from several different sources. TSYS’ core business is derived from third-party processing for issuers and merchant acquirers. Most of the national market in third party processors is presently being provided by approximately three vendors. We believe that as of December 31, 2010 we are the largest third party card processor in the United States. In addition, we compete with banks and acquirers who choose to process payments in house through proprietary systems and with software vendors which provide their products to institutions which process in house. We are presently encountering, and in the future anticipate continuing to encounter, substantial competition from data processing, bankcard computer service firms and third-party software vendors within the United States and from certain international processors, in-country providers and third-party software vendors with respect to our International Services segment. In addition, payments networks such as Visa, MasterCard and Discover are increasingly offering products and services that compete with our products and services.

     Based upon available market share data that includes cards processed in house, we believe that during 2010 we provided issuer processing services for 21% of the domestic consumer credit card market, 43% of the Canadian credit card market and 16% of the Western European credit card market. We also believe that during 2010 we held an 85% share of the Visa and MasterCard domestic commercial card processing market. With respect to the Merchant Services Segment, we provide third party processing services to merchant acquirers and Independent Sales Organizations (“ISOs”) and we are a direct merchant acquirer through TSYS Merchant Solutions. We believe that we are the second largest processor of merchant accounts and process transactions for approximately 21% of all bankcard accepting merchant locations in the United States. Our direct merchant acquirer business is ranked as the 10 ^th largest merchant acquirer by dollar volume according to The Nilson Report dated March 2010.

     Our major competitor in the card processing industry is First Data Resources, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Data Corporation, which provides card processing services. The principal methods of competition between us and First Data Resources are price, system performance and reliability, breadth of features and functionality, disaster recovery capabilities

and business continuity preparedness, data security, scalability and flexibility of infrastructure and servicing capability. Other affiliates of First Data Corporation also compete with us with respect to the provision of merchant services.

      Backlog of Accounts. As of December 31, 2010, we had a pipeline of approximately 13.7 million accounts, approximately 8.8 million of which are expected to be converted during 2011.

      Regulation and Examination . Government regulation affects key aspects of our business, in the U.S. as well as internationally. We are subject to examination by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, an interagency body comprised of federal banking and thrift regulators and the National Credit Union Administration, and also subject to examination by the various state financial regulatory agencies which supervise and regulate the financial institutions for which we provide electronic payment processing services. Matters reviewed and examined by these federal and state financial institution regulatory agencies have included our internal controls in connection with our present performance of electronic payment processing services, and the agreements pursuant to which we provide such services. In addition, we are registered with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and the Discover Network as a service provider and are subject to their respective rules.

     Aspects of our business are also subject to privacy regulation in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere. For example, in the United States, we and our financial institution clients are respectively subject to the Federal Trade Commission’s and the federal banking agency information safeguarding requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The Federal Trade Commission’s information safeguarding rules require us to develop, implement and maintain a written, comprehensive information security program containing safeguards that are appropriate for our size and complexity, the nature and scope of our activities and the sensitivity of any customer information at issue. Our financial institution clients in the United States are subject to similar requirements under the guidelines issued by the federal banking agencies. As part of their compliance with these requirements, each of our U.S. financial institution clients is expected to have a program in place for responding to unauthorized access to, or use of, customer information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to customers.

     As are all U.S. citizens and U.S. entities, we are subject to regulations imposed by the U.S. Treasury Office Department of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) which prohibit or restrict financial and other transactions with specified countries, and designated individuals and entities such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. We have procedures and controls in place which are designed to protect against having direct business dealings with such prohibited countries, individuals or entities. We also have procedures and controls in place which are designed to allow our processing clients to protect against having direct business dealings with such prohibited countries, individuals or entities. However, due to the complexity of the payments systems to which our clients belong, such as MasterCard and Visa, it is possible our computer systems may be used in the processing of transactions involving countries or parties subject to OFAC administered sanctions.

     We and the rest of the financial services industry continue to experience increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny, including the enactment of additional legislative and regulatory initiatives such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Financial Reform Act”). This legislation, which provides for significant financial regulatory reform, may have a significant and negative impact on our clients, which could impact TSYS’ earnings through fee reductions, higher costs (both regulatory and implementation) and new restrictions on our operations. The Reform Act, among other things, provides for the regulation and oversight by the Federal Reserve Board of debit interchange fees that are typically paid by acquirers and charged or received by a payment card network for the purpose of compensating an issuer for its involvement in an electronic debit transaction. The regulations pertaining to interchange fees that will be adopted by the Federal Reserve Board will be effective in July 2011. Although we cannot predict the impact that the debit interchange regulations will have on us, we do not expect that they will have a significant negative impact on our business as it is predominantly credit card related. The Reform Act also created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which will assume responsibility for most federal consumer protection laws in the area of financial services, including consumer credit. The creation of the bureau and its actions may make payment card transactions less attractive to card issuers, including TSYS’ clients, and thus negatively impact our business. In addition, the Reform Act created a Financial Stability Oversight Council that has the authority to determine whether nonbank financial companies such as TSYS should be supervised by the Federal Reserve Board because they are systemically important to the U.S. financial system. Any such designation would result in increased regulatory burdens on our business.

      Employees . As of December 31, 2010, we had 7,788 full-time equivalent employees.

      Available Information . Our website address is www.tsys.com. You may obtain free electronic copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports in the Investor Relations section of our website under the heading “SEC Filings.” These reports are available on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

     We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for our directors, officers and employees and have also adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of our board committees are available in the Corporate Governance section of our website at www.tsys.com under “Investor Relations” then “Corporate Governance”.

     For more information about our business see the “Financial Overview” Section on pages 9 and 10, the “Financial Review” Section on pages 10 through 27 and Note 1, Note 2, Note 8, Note 19, Note 22, Note 24, Note 25 and Note 28 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements on pages 32 through 39, pages 41 and 42, pages 51 through 53, and pages 56 through 61 of the Annual Report which are incorporated in this document by reference.

Item 1A.		Risk Factors

     This section highlights specific risks that could affect our business and us. Although this section attempts to highlight key factors, please be aware that other risks may prove to be important in the future. New risks may emerge at any time and we cannot predict such risks or estimate the extent to which they may affect our financial performance. In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this report, among the other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following:

Consolidation among financial institutions, including the merger of TSYS clients with entities that are not TSYS clients or the sale of portfolios by TSYS clients to entities that are not TSYS clients, or the nationalization or seizure by banking regulators of TSYS clients, could materially impact our financial position and results of operation.

     Consolidation among financial institutions, particularly in the area of credit card operations, continues to be a major risk. Specifically, we face the risk that our clients may merge with entities that are not our clients, our clients may sell portfolios to entities that are not our clients and, based on current economic conditions, our clients may be seized by banking regulators or nationalized, thereby impacting our existing agreements and projected revenues with these clients. In addition, consolidation among financial institutions has led to an increasingly concentrated client base at TSYS which results in a changing client mix toward larger clients. Continued consolidations among financial institutions could increase the bargaining power of our current and future clients. Consolidation among financial institutions, the nationalization of financial institutions or the seizure by banking regulators of financial institutions and the resulting loss of any significant client by us could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

If we do not successfully renew or renegotiate our agreements with our clients, our business will suffer.

     A significant amount of our revenues is derived from long-term contracts with large clients, including a major customer. Consolidation among financial institutions has resulted in an increasingly concentrated client base. The financial position of these clients and their willingness to pay for our products and services are affected by general market positions, competitive pressures and operating margins within their industries. Renewal or renegotiation time presents our clients with the opportunity to consider other providers. The loss or renegotiation of our contracts with existing clients or a significant decline in the number of transactions we process for them could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operation.

Economic conditions could adversely affect our business.

     A significant portion of our revenues is derived from the number of consumer credit transactions that we process which may be affected by, among other things, overall economic conditions. As a result of current economic conditions in the United States, credit card issuers have been reducing credit limits and closing accounts and are more selective with respect to whom they issue credit cards which could negatively impact the number of accounts we have on

file for our clients, for which we receive a fee, and internal growth rates for our clients. Future reductions in consumer spending through credit card usage could have a material adverse affect on our financial position and results of operations.

Security and privacy breaches in our systems and system failures may damage client relations, our reputation and expose us to liability.

     The uninterrupted operation of our processing systems and the confidentiality of the client information that resides on our systems is critical to our business. We have security, backup and recovery systems in place, as well as business continuity plans designed to ensure our systems will not be inoperable. However, there is still a risk that a system outage or data loss may occur which would not only damage our reputation but as a result of contractual commitments could also require the payment of penalties to our clients if our systems do not meet certain operating standards. We also have what we believe to be sufficient security around our systems to prevent unauthorized access. Any failures in our security and privacy measures or any system interruption could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. We electronically store personal information, such as credit card numbers, about consumers who are customers of our clients. If we are unable to protect, or our clients perceive that we are unable to protect, the security and privacy of our electronic transactions, our growth could be materially adversely affected. A security or privacy breach or a system failure may:

	•		cause our clients to lose confidence in our services;
	•		harm our reputation;
	•		expose us to financial liability; and
	•		increase our expenses from potential remediation costs.

     Our ability to attract and retain clients and employees could be adversely affected to the extent our reputation is damaged. While we believe we use proven applications designed for data security and integrity to process electronic transactions, there can be no assurance that our use of these applications will be sufficient to counter all current and emerging technology threats designed to breach our systems in order to gain access to confidential client information or our intellectual property or assurance that our use of these applications will be sufficient to address the security and privacy concerns of existing and potential clients.

We may incur expenses associated with the signing of a significant client to our processing system and in connection with our efforts to grow internationally or incur other costs that may hurt our financial results .

     We incur significant up-front expenses prior to converting a significant client to our processing systems. In the event we enter into a processing contract with a significant client, these expenses will directly affect our earnings results. In addition, we provide services to our clients worldwide. We are likely to incur costs in growing our business internationally, and there is no guarantee that such international expansion will be successful. We may also incur other expenses and costs, such as operating and marketing expenses. If we are unable to successfully manage these expenses as our business develops, changes and expands, our financial position and results of operations could be negatively impacted. In addition, changes in accounting policies can significantly affect how we calculate expenses and earnings.

There may be a decline in the use of credit cards as a payment mechanism for consumers or adverse developments with respect to the credit card industry in general.

     If consumers do not continue to use credit cards as a payment mechanism for their transactions or if there is a change in the mix of payments between cash, credit cards and debit cards, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. We believe future growth in the use of credit cards will be driven by the cost, ease-of-use, and quality of products and services offered to consumers and businesses. In order to consistently increase and maintain our profitability, consumers and businesses must continue to use credit cards. Moreover, if there is an adverse development in the credit card industry in general, such as new legislation or regulation that makes it more difficult for our clients to do business, our financial position and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We may not convert and deconvert client’s portfolios as scheduled.

     The timing of the conversion of card portfolios of new clients to our processing systems and the deconversion of existing clients to other systems impacts our revenues and expenses. There is no guarantee that conversions and deconversions will occur as scheduled and this may have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

Acquisitions and integrating such acquisitions create certain risks and may affect our financial results.

     We have acquired businesses both in the United States and internationally and will continue to explore opportunities for strategic acquisitions in the future. The acquisition and integration of businesses involves a number of risks. The core risks are in the areas of valuation (negotiating a fair price for the business based on inherently limited diligence) and integration (managing the complex process of integrating the acquired company’s people, products, technology and other assets so as to realize the projected value of the acquired company and the synergies projected to be realized in connection with the acquisition). In addition, international acquisitions often involve additional or increased risks including for example:

	•		managing geographically separated organizations, systems and facilities;
	•		integrating personnel with diverse business backgrounds and organizational cultures;
	•		complying with foreign regulatory requirements;
	•		fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
	•		difficulty entering new foreign markets due to, among other things, customer acceptance and business knowledge of these new markets; and
	•		general economic and political conditions.

     The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of one or more of our combined businesses and the possible loss of key personnel. The diversion of management’s attention and any delays or difficulties encountered in connection with acquisitions and the integration of the two companies’ operations could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

Our business may be adversely affected by risks associated with foreign operations.

     We provide services to our clients worldwide. As a result, our revenues derived from international operations are subject to risk of loss from foreign currency exchange rates. Revenue and profit generated by international operations will increase or decrease compared to prior periods as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We have not entered into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the risks associated with our foreign operations. In addition, we may become subject to exchange control regulations that might restrict or prohibit the conversion of our foreign currency into U.S. dollars. The occurrence of any of these factors could decrease the value of revenues we receive from international operations and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. In addition, our revenues derived from international operations are subject to risk of loss as a result of social instability and unfavorable political or diplomatic developments which could negatively impact our financial results.

The costs and effects of litigation, investigations or similar matters, or adverse facts and developments related thereto, could materially affect our financial position and results of operations .

     We are involved in various litigation matters and from time to time may be involved in governmental or regulatory investigations or similar matters arising out of our business. Our insurance may not cover all claims that may be asserted against it, and any claims asserted against us, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, may harm our reputation. Should the ultimate judgments or settlements in any pending litigation or future litigation or investigation significantly exceed our insurance coverage, they could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. In addition, we may not be able to obtain appropriate types or levels of insurance in the future, nor may we be able to obtain adequate replacement policies with acceptable terms, if at all. For more information about our legal proceedings, see Item 3 of this annual report.

The ability to adapt technology to changing industry and customer needs or trends may affect our competitiveness or demand for our products, which may adversely affect our financial results.

     Changes in technology may limit the competitiveness of and demand for our services and may result in our disintermediation from the payments value chain. The electronic payments market in which we compete is subject to rapid and significant technological changes, developing industry standards and changing customer needs and preferences. Also, our customers continue to adopt new technology for business and personal uses. We must anticipate and respond to these industry and customer changes in order to remain competitive. Our inability to respond to new competitors and technological advancements could have a material adverse affect on our financial position and results of operations.

Changes in the laws, regulations, credit card association rules or other industry standards affecting our business may impose costly compliance burdens and negatively impact our business.

     There may be changes in the laws, regulations, credit card association rules or other industry standards that affect our operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways in the U.S. as well as internationally.

Changes to statutes, regulations or industry standards, including interpretation and implementation of statutes, regulations or standards, could increase the cost of doing business or affect the competitive balance. Regulation of the payments industry has increased significantly in recent years. Failure to comply with laws, rules and regulations or standards to which we are subject in the U.S. as well as internationally, including the card network rules and rules with respect to privacy and information security, may result in the suspension or revocation of a license or registration, the limitation, suspension or termination of service, and the imposition of fines, sanctions or other penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations, as well as damage our reputation.

     We and the rest of the financial services industry continue to experience increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny, including the enactment of additional legislative and regulatory initiatives such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This legislation provides for significant financial regulatory reform. The Reform Act, among other things, provides for the regulation and oversight by the Federal Reserve Board of debit interchange fees that are typically paid by acquirers and charged or received by a payment card network for the purpose of compensating an issuer for its involvement in an electronic debit transaction. The Reform Act also created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which will assume responsibility for most federal consumer protection laws in the area of financial services, including consumer credit. In addition, the Reform Act created a Financial Stability Oversight Council that has the authority to determine whether nonbank financial companies such as TSYS should be supervised by the Federal Reserve Board because they are systemically important to the U.S. financial system. Any such designation would result in increased regulatory burdens on our business. The overall impact of the Reform Act on TSYS is difficult to estimate, in part because regulations need to be adopted by the Federal Reserve Board with respect to interchange fees, and by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with respect to consumer financial products and services. These regulations may adversely affect our business or operations, directly or indirectly (if, for example, our clients’ businesses and operations are adversely affected). In addition, we are subject to tax laws in each jurisdiction where we do business. Changes in tax laws or their interpretations could decrease the value of revenues we receive, the value of tax losses and tax credits carry forwards recorded on our balance sheet and the amount of our cash flow and have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

We are subject to the business cycles and credit risk of our merchant customers and our independent sales organizations.

     The current recessionary economic environment could affect our merchants through a higher rate of bankruptcy filings, resulting in lower revenues and earnings for us. Our merchants are liable for any charges properly reversed by the card issuer on behalf of the cardholder. Our merchants and ISOs are also liable for any fines, or penalties, that may be assessed by any card networks. In the event, however, that we are not able to collect such amounts from the merchants or ISOs, due to merchant fraud, breach of contract, insolvency, bankruptcy or any other reason, we may be liable for any such charges which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

We incur chargeback liability when our merchants refuse or cannot reimburse chargebacks resolved in favor of their customers. We cannot accurately anticipate these liabilities, which may adversely affect our financial results.

     In the event a billing dispute between a cardholder and a merchant is not resolved in favor of the merchant, the transaction is normally “charged back” to the merchant and the purchase price is credited or otherwise refunded to the cardholder. If we are unable to collect such amounts from the merchant’s account or reserve account (if applicable), or if the merchant refuses or is unable, due to closure, bankruptcy or other reasons, to reimburse us for a chargeback, we bear the loss for the amount of the refund paid to the cardholder. We may experience significant losses from chargebacks in the future. Any increase in chargebacks not paid by our merchants could have a material adverse affect on our financial position and results of operation.

Fraud by merchants or others may adversely affect our financial results.

     We have potential liability for fraudulent bankcard transactions or credits initiated by merchants or others. Examples of merchant fraud include when a merchant knowingly uses a stolen or counterfeit bankcard or card number to record a false sales transaction, processes an invalid bankcard, or intentionally fails to deliver the merchandise or services sold in an otherwise valid transaction. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities such as counterfeit and fraud. While we have systems and procedures designed to detect and reduce the impact of fraud, we cannot assure the effectiveness of these measures. It is possible that incidents of fraud could increase in the future. Failure to effectively manage risk and prevent fraud would increase our chargeback liability or other liability. Increases in chargebacks or other liability could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

We may not be able to successfully manage our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.

     In the rapidly developing legal framework, we rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our proprietary technology. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property or may develop software or technology competitive to us. Our competitors may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or services or design around our intellectual property rights. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which is expensive and could cause a diversion of resources and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce intellectual property protection could harm our business and ability to compete.

     We may also be subject to costly litigation in the event our products and technology infringe upon another party’s proprietary rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that would be infringed by our products or technology. Any of these third parties could make a claim of infringement against us with respect to our products or technology. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark or license usage

rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could subject us to significant liability for damages. An adverse determination in any litigation of this type could require us to design around a third party’s patent or to license alternative technology from another party. In addition, litigation is time consuming and expensive to defend and could result in the diversion of the time and attention of our management and employees. Any claim from third parties may result in limitation on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims.

If we lose key personnel or are unable to attract additional qualified personnel, our business could be adversely affected.

     We are dependent upon the ability and experience of a number of highly skilled technical, management and sales and marketing personnel who have substantial experience with our operations, the rapidly changing transaction processing industry and markets in which we offer our services. It is possible that the loss of the services of one or a combination of our key personnel would have an adverse effect on our operations. Our success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, manage and retain additional qualified management and technical personnel. Competition for the best people, particularly those individuals with technology experience, is intense. We cannot guarantee that we will continue to attract or retain such personnel.

Item 1B.		Unresolved Staff Comments

     None.

     Currently, we do not use financial instruments to hedge our exposure to exchange rate changes.

     The following table presents the carrying value of the net assets of our foreign operations in U.S. dollars at December 31, 2010:

     We record foreign currency translation adjustments associated with other balance sheet accounts. See “Nonoperating Income (Expense)” under the “Financial Review” Section on page 19 of the Annual Report which is incorporated in this document by reference. We maintain several cash accounts denominated in foreign currencies, primarily in Euros and British Pounds Sterling. As we translate the foreign-denominated cash balances into U.S. dollars, the translated cash balance is adjusted upward or downward depending upon the foreign currency exchange movements. The upward or downward adjustment is recorded as a gain or loss on foreign currency translation in our statements of income. As those cash accounts have increased, the upward or downward adjustments have increased. We recorded a net translation loss of approximately $162,000 for the year ended December 31, 2010 relating to the translation of foreign denominated balance sheet accounts, most of which were cash. The balance of the foreign-denominated cash accounts subject to risk of translation gains or losses at December 31, 2010 was approximately $1.7 million, the majority of which is denominated in Euros.

     We provide financing to our international operation in Europe through an intercompany loan that requires the operation to repay the financing in U.S. dollars. The functional currency of each operation is the respective local currency. As we translate the foreign currency denominated financial statements into U.S. dollars, the translated balance of the financing (liability) is adjusted upward or downward to match the U.S. dollar obligation (receivable) on our financial statements. The upward or downward adjustment is recorded as a gain or loss on foreign currency translation in other comprehensive income.

     The net asset account balance subject to foreign currency exchange rates between the local currencies and the U.S. dollar at December 31, 2010 was $1.7 million.

     The following table presents the potential effect on income before income taxes of hypothetical shifts in the foreign currency exchange rate between the local currencies and the U.S. dollar of plus or minus 100 basis points, 500 basis points and 1,000 basis points based on the net asset account balance of $1.7 million at December 31, 2010.

     The foreign currency risks associated with other currencies is not significant.

      Interest Rate Risk. We are also exposed to interest rate risk associated with the investing of available cash. We invest available cash in conservative short-term instruments and are primarily subject to changes in the short-term interest rates.

     The following table provides information about our debt obligations that are sensitive to changes in interest rates. The table presents principal cash flows and related weighted average interest rates by expected maturity dates. The information is presented in U.S. dollar equivalents, which is our reporting currency. The debt obligation’s actual cash flows are denominated in U.S. dollars (US), British Pounds Sterling (GBP) and Japanese YEN (YEN), as indicated in parentheses.

	•		“SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE,” and
	•		“CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS” — “Committees of the Board.”

     We have a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, our principal financial officer and our chief accounting officer. You can find our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics in the Corporate Governance section of our website at www.tsys.com under “Investor Relations” then “Corporate Governance”. We will post any amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and any waivers that are required to be disclosed by the rules of either the SEC or the NYSE in the Corporate Governance section of our website.

Item 11.		Executive Compensation

     Information included under the following captions in our Proxy Statement is incorporated in this document by reference:

	•		“DIRECTOR COMPENSATION”;
	•		“EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION” — “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report”, “Risk Assessment of Compensation Programs” and “Compensation Tables and Narratives”; and
	•		“CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS” — “Committees of the Board” — “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation”.

     The information included under the heading “Compensation Committee Report” in our Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference; however, this information shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Commission or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Item 12.		Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

     Information pertaining to equity compensation plans is contained in Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements on page 46 of the Annual Report and is incorporated in this document by reference.

     Information included under the following captions in our Proxy Statement is incorporated in this document by reference:

	•		“STOCK OWNERSHIP OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS,” and
	•		“PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS.”

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

Schedule II — Valuation and Qualifying Accounts — Years Ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

          All other schedules are omitted because they are inapplicable or the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto.

      3.  Exhibits

          The following exhibits are filed herewith or are incorporated to other documents previously filed with the SEC. Exhibits 10.6 through 10.39 pertain to executive compensation plans and arrangements. With the exception of those portions of the Annual Report and Proxy Statement that are expressly incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, such documents are not to be deemed filed as part of this Form 10-K.

     We agree to furnish the SEC, upon request, a copy of each instrument with respect to issues of long-term debt. The principal amount of any individual instrument, which has not been previously filed, does not exceed ten percent of the total assets of TSYS and our subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors
Total System Services, Inc.:

Under date of February 25, 2011, we reported on the consolidated balance sheets of Total System Services, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows, and equity and comprehensive income for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2010, as contained in the 2010 annual report to shareholders. These consolidated financial statements and our report thereon are incorporated by reference in the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. In connection with our audits of the aforementioned consolidated financial statements, we also audited the related consolidated financial statement schedule as listed in the accompanying index. This financial statement schedule is the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on this financial statement schedule based on our audits.

In our opinion, such financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein. Our report refers to changes in the manner in which the Company accounts for noncontrolling interests as of January 1, 2009 (note 1) and earnings per share as of January 1, 2009 (notes 1 and 27).

/s/ KPMG LLP

Atlanta, Georgia
February 25, 2011

SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Total System Services, Inc. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

     KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Philip W. Tomlinson and M. Troy Woods and each of them, his true and lawful attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s), with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments to this report and to file the same, with all exhibits and schedules thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s) full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s), or their substitute(s), may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

     Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

/s/ Philip W. Tomlinson		Date: February 25, 2011
Philip W. Tomlinson,
Principal Executive Officer
and Chairman of the Board
/s/ M. Troy Woods		Date: February 25, 2011
M. Troy Woods,
President and Director

/s/ James B. Lipham		Date: February 25, 2011
James B. Lipham,
Senior Executive Vice President
and Principal Financial Officer
/s/ Dorenda K. Weaver		Date: February 25, 2011
Dorenda K. Weaver,
Chief Accounting Officer
/s/ Richard E. Anthony		Date: February 25, 2011
Richard E. Anthony,
Director
/s/ James H. Blanchard		Date: February 25, 2011
James H. Blanchard,
Director and Chairman of the
Executive Committee
/s/ Richard Y. Bradley		Date: February 25, 2011
Richard Y. Bradley,
Director
/s/ Kriss Cloninger III		Date: February 25, 2011
Kriss Cloninger III,
Director
/s/ Walter W. Driver, Jr.		Date: February 25, 2011
Walter W. Driver, Jr.,
Director
/s/ Gardiner W. Garrard, Jr.		Date: February 25, 2011
Gardiner W. Garrard, Jr.,
Director
/s/ Sidney E. Harris		Date: February 25, 2011
Sidney E. Harris,
Director

/s/ Mason H. Lampton		Date: February 25, 2011
Mason H. Lampton,
Director
/s/ H. Lynn Page		Date: February 25, 2011
H. Lynn Page,
Director
/s/ W. Walter Miller, Jr.		Date: February 25, 2011
W. Walter Miller, Jr.,
Director
/s/ John T. Turner		Date: February 25, 2011
John T. Turner,
Director
/s/ Richard W. Ussery		Date: February 25, 2011
Richard W. Ussery,
Director
/s/ James D. Yancey		Date: February 25, 2011
James D. Yancey,
Director
/s/ Rebecca K. Yarbrough		Date: February 25, 2011
Rebecca K. Yarbrough,
Director