Revenues Derived from Affiliated Companies (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 198	$ 181	$ 126
CUP Data
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Revenue	136	130	75
TSYS de Mexico
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 62	$ 51	$ 51

Revenues, net of returns and allowances, realized from sales and other transactions (excluding transactions that are eliminated in consolidated or combined financial statements) with related party during the period.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 57

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph c

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 850

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6457730&loc=d3e39549-107864

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionRevenuesFromTransactionsWithRelatedParty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration