In its second major fintech acquisition, Visa has moved to buy the UK’s Currencycloud at a valuation of approximately 962 million US dollars.
The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies and the financial consideration is subject to the outstanding equity of Currencycloud that Visa already owns.
Currencycloud’s cloud-based platform offers a broad set of APIs enabling banks and financial services providers to offer currency exchange services, including real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management. The Currencycloud platform supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients with reach in over 180 countries.
Currencycloud will strengthen Visa’s existing foreign exchange capabilities by extending them to better serve financial institutions, fintechs, and partners while enabling new use cases and payment flows.
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It will also accelerate the time-to-market and improve payment transparency for clients looking to offer flexible, digital-first, international payment services that provide better visibility and control to consumers and businesses around the world.
Cross-border payments have seen significant growth due to rising demand from businesses of all sizes to engage in international trade. A recent study revealed that 43 percent of all small businesses conducted international trade in 2020.
The addition of Currencycloud’s capabilities to Visa’s network will widen access to innovative international payment products that help businesses meet their cross-border needs.
Commenting on how Visa is executing its network strategy to facilitating global money movement, Colleen Ostrowski, Visa’s Global Treasurer noted that the acquisition is timely, especially now that consumers and businesses have increasingly grown to expect transparency, speed, and simplicity when making or receiving international payments.
“With our acquisition of Currencycloud, we can support our clients and partners to further reduce the pain points of cross-border payments and develop great user experiences for their customers,” he added.
“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,” said Mike Laven, Chief Executive Officer, Currencycloud.
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Mr. Laven added that the combination of Currencycloud’s fintech expertise and Visa’s network will enable them to deliver greater customer value to the businesses moving money across borders.
Currencycloud will continue its operations from its headquarters in London and will retain its current management team. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.