Visa buys Currencycloud in £700m deal

Visa has acquired London-based Currencycloud in a deal valuing it at £700 million, with the aim to “further reduce the pain points of cross-border payments” for clients and partners.

The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies, with Visa stating that the financial consideration will be reduced by the outstanding equity of Currencycloud that it already owns.

Following the acquisition, Currencycloud will continue operating from its headquarters in London and will retain its current management team.

Currencycloud’s cloud-based platform supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients, enabling them to offer currency exchange services.

The deal is expected to 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.

“The acquisition of Currencycloud is another example of Visa executing on our network of networks strategy to facilitate global money movement,” said Colleen Ostrowski, Visa’s global treasurer.

“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.”

Visa said recent research had found that cross-border payments have seen significant growth as businesses of all sizes increasingly engage in international trade.

Mike Laven, CEO of Currencycloud, added: “The combination of Currencycloud’s fintech expertise and Visa’s network will enable us to deliver greater customer value to the businesses moving money across borders.”