MILAN (Reuters) - Banco Bpm plans to select a bidder by early August to discuss the terms of a partnership for its payments business.

Banco Bpm is currently reviewing preliminary bids received for the e-money business, which it said could be worth more than 2 billion euros if future fees and "growth options" are taken into account in addition to the 'upfront' payment from a new partner.

Speaking on the sidelines of a banking conference organized by Bain & Company, Castagna said the bank has already done a lot of work to prepare for the transaction.

"We think we can decide by the presentation of the first-half results [with whom to discuss the terms of the transaction]," the CEO said. Banco Bpm will report earnings for the six months to the end of June on Aug. 2.

The bank currently partners with Nexi for payments but has full ownership of the business, which includes 4.4 million payment cards and 140,000 merchants.

According to some sources, in addition to Nexi, rival Worldline and Bcc Pay, a payments subsidiary of Fondo Strategico Italiano (Fsi) and Iccrea Banca, are in the running.

By outsourcing all or part of payment operations, banks can book large capital gains on the value of assets as the buyer pays future revenue streams in advance.

Banco Bpm plans to enter into a long-term exclusive distribution agreement with the new partner for both the card payments and reseller business.

(Translated by Chiara Bontacchio, editing editorial staff Milan)