Visa completes the acquisition of Tink in Europe
Attempting to diversify away from dependence on card interchange fees, Visa has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Tink, which is an open banking platform enabling financial institutions, fintech and merchants to build financial products and services.
The press release noted that with the acquisition completed, the combined Visa and Tink will enable clients to have delivery of better ‘control their financial experiences, including managing their money, financial data and financial goals’. In terms of small and large businesses, they will have an access to ‘customized range of tools to operate digitally and securely, whether initiating payments, reconciling bank statements and accounts or enabling alternative financing’.
Last year, after the debacle of the acquisition of Plaid, which was quashed by the US Department of Justice, Visa signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tink for €1.8 billion which was inclusive of cash and retention incentives.
“Digital tools are driving the new economy, and the combination of Visa and Tink will support greater choice and quality of digital money services as the lines between commerce, financial services and payments continue to converge,” said Charlotte Hogg, CEO of Visa Europe.
“Visa will help Tink increase its connectivity to more than 15,000 financial institutions”, said Daniel Kjellén, CEO and co-founder of Tink. in near term, Tink will operate as standalone company.
Tink is an open banking platform operating from Stockholm. It connects more than 3,400 banks that reach over 250 million bank customers across Europe, with its own API allowing clients to have access to financial data and payments systems.