Visa to Acquire Payments Startup Currencycloud

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Visa Inc (NYSE: V) has announced that it has agreed on a deal to purchase Currencycloud, a British payments startup. Reports from Visa revealed that Currencycloud is valued at $962 million, (£700 million) and will become the second major fintech acquisition by the payments giants in 2021.

Visa added that it will reduce the sum to be paid for the British start-up firm as it already owns outstanding equity in the firm, leading an $80 million investment round in Currencycloud in the early stages of 2020.

Colleen Ostrowski, Visa’s global treasurer speaking after the announcement stated that the acquisition of Currencycloud will enable Visa to support their clients and partners to further reduce the stress of cross-border payments as well as develop great user experiences for their customers. “Consumers and businesses increasingly expect transparency, speed, and simplicity when making or receiving international payments,” she stated.

Currencycloud was founded in 2007 and has its headquarters situated in London and is regulated in the UK, Canada, the US, and the EU. The company’s cloud-based platform offers a wide array of APIs which enables banks, financial service providers, and fintech firms to process cross-border payments, offer currency exchange services, including real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, virtual account management, and multi-currency wallets.

The company has offices in Amsterdam, Cardiff, New York, and Singapore, and delivers simple, clear cross-border infrastructure solutions for clients, working with partners including GPS, Visa, Dwolla, and Mambu.

The British firm boats of a long list of clients including popular banking and payment apps, Starling, Monzo, Revolut, Lunar, and Penta. The payments start-up has raised over $160 million in total from investors including Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings, French bank BNP Paribas and Google parent company Alphabet’s venture capital arm GV.

Currencycloud currently has 500 banking and technology clients in over 180 countries across the globe. Visa is a statement stated that the company will continue its operations from its headquarters in London as well as retain its currency management team. The deal is however subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, according to Visa.

The payment start-up has processed over $100bn to over 180 countries since 2012 working with banks, financial institutions, and fintechs around the world, including Starling Bank, Revolut, Penta, and Lunar.

CEO of Currencycloud, Mike Laven stated that the combination of Currencycloud’s fintech expertise coupled with Visa’s network will enable both parties to deliver greater customer value to the businesses moving money across borders. “At Currencycloud, we’ve always strived to deliver a better tomorrow for all, from the smallest start-up to the global multi-nationals. Re-imagining how money flows around the global economy just got more exciting as we join Visa,” he said.

Visa agreed to buy Swedish firm Tink last month in a deal worth $2.1 billion after it attempted to acquire Plaid, a US rival, a move which was foiled by US regulators.

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