Dive Brief:
- Visa signed an agreement to acquire data aggregator Plaid for $5.3 billion, it said late Monday.
- Plaid, which connects fintech apps such as Venmo, Chime and TransferWise to customers' bank accounts, was valued at $2.65 billion in a 2018 funding round.
- The deal is expected to close in three to six months, Visa said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Visa, which was revealed as an investor in the Silicon Valley-based startup in September, along with competitor Mastercard, said Plaid's "fintech-centric business opens new market opportunities for Visa both in the U.S. and internationally."
Plaid was founded by Zach Perret and William Hockey in 2013, and claims to connect users to more than 11,000 financial institutions across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
"We are extremely excited about our acquisition of Plaid and how it enhances the growth trajectory of our business," Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa, said in a statement. "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."
In a statement, Visa said the deal will provide the opportunity to deliver enhanced payment capabilities and related value-added services to fintech developers.
"[T]he acquisition will enable Visa to work more closely with fintechs through all stages of their development and drive growth in Visa's core business," the payments giant said.
"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," Perret, Plaid's CEO, said in a statement. "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."
