Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Aug. 05, 2011
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	TSS
Entity Registrant Name	TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000721683
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		192,662,668