Payment giant Visa has announced that it has bought Plaid, a scaleup helping customers securely connect their financial information to apps.
The deal is worth $5.3bn and will enable Visa to tap into new market opportunities in the US and across the world.
A second reason for the purchase was that it will empower Visa to up its game when it comes to providing payment services and related value-added services to FinTech developers.
“We are extremely excited about our acquisition of Plaid and how it enhances the growth trajectory of our business,” said Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa. “Plaid is a leader in the fast growing FinTech world with best-in-class capabilities and talent. The acquisition, combined with our many FinTech efforts already underway, will position Visa to deliver even more value for developers, financial institutions and consumers.”
Zach Perret, CEO and co-founder of Plaid, added, “Plaid’s mission is to make money easier for everyone, and we are excited for this opportunity to continue delivering on that promise at a global scale. Visa is trusted by billions of consumers, businesses and financial institutions as a key part of the financial ecosystem, and together Visa and Plaid can support the rapid growth of digital financial services.”
In the past, Plaid has enabled consumers to easily share their financial information with2,600 apps and FinTech developers such as Acorns, Chime, Transferwise and Venmo. One in four US bank account holders have used Plaid’s services.
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