Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced it has signed a definitive
agreement to acquire Plaid, a network that makes it easy for people
to securely connect their financial accounts to the apps they use
to manage their financial lives. Visa will pay total purchase
consideration of $5.3 billion to acquire Plaid.
Plaid’s products enable consumers to conveniently share their
financial information with thousands of apps and services such as
Acorns, Betterment, Chime, Transferwise and Venmo. Consumers rely
on these apps and services to help plan their spending, increase
their savings and monitor their investments. For example, when a
user sets up a Venmo account, it is Plaid that enables the user to
link their bank account to their Venmo account.
Connectivity between financial institutions and developers has
become increasingly important to facilitate consumers’ ability to
use fintech applications. 75 percent of the world's
internet-enabled consumers used a fintech application to initiate
money movement in 2019 versus 18 percent in 20151. Plaid has been a
leader in enabling this connectivity at scale. Today, one in four
people with a U.S. bank account have used Plaid to connect to more
than 2,600 fintech developers across more than 11,000 financial
institutions.
“We are extremely excited about our acquisition of Plaid and how
it enhances the growth trajectory of our business,” said Al Kelly,
CEO and chairman of Visa. “Plaid is a leader in the fast growing
fintech world with best-in-class capabilities and talent. The
acquisition, combined with our many fintech efforts already
underway, will position Visa to deliver even more value for
developers, financial institutions and consumers.”
“Plaid’s mission is to make money easier for everyone, and we
are excited for this opportunity to continue delivering on that
promise at a global scale,” said Zach Perret, CEO and co-founder of
Plaid. “Visa is trusted by billions of consumers, businesses and
financial institutions as a key part of the financial ecosystem,
and together Visa and Plaid can support the rapid growth of digital
financial services.”
Visa’s acquisition of Plaid represents both an entry into new
businesses and complementary enhancements to Visa’s existing
business. First, Plaid’s fintech-centric business opens new market
opportunities for Visa both in the U.S. and internationally.
Second, the combination of Visa and Plaid provides the opportunity
to deliver enhanced payment capabilities and related value-added
services to fintech developers. Finally, the acquisition will
enable Visa to work more closely with fintechs through all stages
of their development and drive growth in Visa’s core business.
“This acquisition is the natural evolution of Visa's 60-year
journey from safely and securely connecting buyers and sellers to
connecting consumers with digital financial services,” said Kelly.
“The combination of Visa and Plaid will put us at the epicenter of
the fintech world, expanding our total addressable market and
accelerating our long-term revenue growth trajectory.”
Once closed, the combination of Visa and Plaid is expected to
provide significant benefits to developers, financial institutions
and consumers.
“We have strong relationships with both Visa and Plaid. The
combination of Plaid’s capabilities with the security and scale of
Visa’s global network will provide us with exciting opportunities
to enhance our products,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO,
PayPal.
“We believe Visa’s acquisition of Plaid is an important
development in giving consumers more security and control over how
their financial data is used. Protecting customer data and helping
them share that information safely has long been a top priority for
Chase. We look forward to partnering with Visa to continue building
a great experience for our shared customers,” said Gordon Smith,
co-president, JPMorgan Chase and CEO of Consumer and Community
Banking.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions. Visa will fund the transaction from
cash on hand and debt issuance at the appropriate time. This
transaction will have no impact on Visa’s previously announced
stock buyback program or dividend policy. The transaction is
expected to close in the next three to six months.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
Visa’s executive management team will host a live audio webcast
beginning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time (2:30 p.m. Pacific Time) today
to discuss the announcement. All interested parties are invited to
listen to the live webcast at http://investor.visa.com. A replay of
the webcast will be available for 30 days. Investor information,
including supplemental financial information, is also available at
http://investor.visa.com.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device,
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
About Plaid
Plaid is a data network that powers the fintech tools millions
of consumers rely on to live healthier financial lives. Plaid is
used by thousands of digital financial apps and services like
Acorns, Betterment, Expensify, and Venmo, and by many of the
largest banks to make it easy for consumers to connect their
financial accounts with the apps and services they want to use.
Plaid connects with over 11,000 financial institutions across the
U.S, Canada and Europe. The company was founded in 2013 by Zach
Perret and William Hockey and is headquartered in San Francisco,
CA.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by words
such as “will,” “is expected,” and other similar expressions.
Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements we make regarding the timing and likelihood of
closing, Plaid’s future success, the impact of the acquisition on
Visa’s growth, and the other benefits to Visa, developers,
financial institutions and consumers.
By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as
of the date they are made; (ii) are not statements of historical
fact or guarantees of future performance; and (iii) are subject to
risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that
are difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results
could differ materially and adversely from Visa’s forward-looking
statements due to a variety of factors, including the timing and
outcome of the regulatory approval process, shifts in the
regulatory and competitive landscape, Plaid's maintenance of
relationships with sources of data, cyber incidents, the pace and
success of integration, Plaid’s success in international expansion,
and various other factors, including those contained in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019,
and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
You should not place undue reliance on such statements. Except
as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise.
1 Source:
https://www.ey.com/en_us/ey-global-fintech-adoption-index
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200113005921/en/
Media Contacts Visa Will Stickney 415-805-4892
Press@visa.com
Plaid
Heather Staples 510-610-9000 Press@plaid.com
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