Visa Acquires Fintech Startup, Plaid in $5.3 Billion Deal

American multinational financial services corporation Visa is acquiring fintech company Plaid in a $5.3 billion deal. The deal is expected to strengthen Visa’s penetration into the fintech space.



The deal also highlights how conventional financial companies are opened to pay huge amounts of dollars to buy out firms that have established strong positions servicing the digital and cashless economy.

Plaid’s technology connects digital consumers with thousands of apps and services ranging from Transferwise and Betterment to Chime, Acorns, and popular payment app, Venmo. The company estimates that one in four individuals with a U.S. bank account have used Plaid to connect with thousands of developers across over 11,000 financial institutions.

“Today marks an important milestone for our company and for fintech,” company co-founder and CEO Zach Perret wrote on the Plaid blog earlier today. “What started with two founders building in a cramped conference room has become an incredible network that enables millions of consumers to interact with over 2,500 digital finance products.”

Visa said the acquisition will bolster the company’s capacity to serve and reputation with fintech developers – especially when it comes to providing them with enhanced payment functionality and related value-added services. Visa also believes the acquisition will help open new business opportunities both in the U.S. and around the world.