Visa to acquire Currencycloud
In a bid to assert their dominance, the established card network giants are flexing their muscles in order to command the market. Mastercard recently made headlines when it made a number of initiatives to position itself in the Middle East market.
Now, Card giant Visa has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire UK-based cross-border commercial payments firm Currencycloud. The deal comes 18 months after Visa participated in Currencycloud’s $80 million Series E funding round.
Visa in its press note stated that the ‘acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies and values Currencycloud at £700 million, inclusive of cash and retention incentives’ and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Founded in 2012, Currencycloud offers a set of APIs via its cloud-based platform enabling banks and financial services providers to offer currency exchange services, including multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management. It supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients with reach in over 180 countries.
“Consumers and businesses increasingly 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”, said Colleen Ostrowski, Visa’s Global Treasurer.
In a statement, it was noted that ‘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’ and will accelerate the time-to-market and improve payment transparency for clients looking to offer flexible, digital-first, international payment services.