just now
July 22, 2021 - Visa (NYSE: V) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Currencycloud, a global platform that enables banks and fintechs to provide innovative foreign exchange solutions for cross-border payments. The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies and values Currencycloud at £700 million (GBP), inclusive of cash and retention incentives. The financial consideration will be reduced by the outstanding equity of Currencycloud that Visa already owns.
Visa and Currencycloud have had a partnership since June 2019, when Visa's clients had the option to use Currencycloud's cloud-based payments platform to offer customers in-demand services like multi-currency wallets and real time notifications on foreign exchange transactions. In January 2020, Visa was a new investor as part of an $80 million Series E funding round of Currencycloud, with other new participants including the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, French bank BNP Paribas, the SBI Group and Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank. Existing investors in the Series E round were Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, GV (formerly known as Google Ventures, which led its Series D), Accomplice and Anthemis.
Currencycloud’s cloud-based platform offers a broad set of APIs enabling banks and financial services providers to offer currency exchange services, including real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management. The Currencycloud platform supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients with reach in over 180 countries.
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. Currencycloud will accelerate the time-to-market and improve payment transparency for clients looking to offer flexible, digital-first, international payment services that provide better visibility and control to consumers and businesses around the world.
Cross-border payments have seen significant growth due to rising demand from businesses of all sizes to engage in international trade. A recent study revealed that 43% of all small businesses conducted international trade in 2020.1 The addition of Currencycloud’s capabilities to Visa’s network will widen access to innovative international payment products that help businesses meet their cross-border needs.
“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.”
“At Currencycloud, we’ve always strived to deliver a better tomorrow for all, from the smallest start-up to the global multi-nationals. Re-imagining how money flows around the global economy just got more exciting as we join Visa,” said Mike Laven, Chief Executive Officer, Currencycloud. “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.”
Currencycloud will continue their operations from their headquarters in London and will retain their current management team. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
