Visa is seeking to jump back into the fintech marketplace following the failed buyout of Plaid late last year. The company is now seeking to finalize a $1.2 billion acquisition of Tink, a Swedish-based financial technology startup in the “open banking” market.
Visa Seeks to Buy Fintech Tink for $2.1 Billion
Visa has agreed to purchase Swedish fintech startup Tink. The purchase, valued at approximately 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion), would see Visa renew interest in the digital banking space – something it has previously sought to enter last year.
The potential purchase of Tink by Visa follows on the heels of a previously failed bid to purchase another fintech, Plaid. That acquisition, valued at $5.3 billion, was abandoned after the U.S. Department of Justice declared an intention to sue Visa over the merger, which the DOJ called a “monopoly in online debit transactions.”
Both Plaid and Tink operate in the same market, known as “open banking,” which facilitates the use of open APIs allowing third-party developers to create and build applications and services around existing banks. While open banking has enjoyed impressive success in the EU, it is still in its early stages in the U.S.
Visa “Fostering Innovation”
Announcing the acquisition, Visa’s CEO, Al Kelly, sees the merger as an excellent opportunity for the company’s fintech future. “Visa is committed to doing all we can to foster innovation and empower consumers in support of Europe’s open banking goals,” he said. “By bringing together Visa’s network of networks and Tink’s open banking capabilities, we will deliver increased value to European consumers and businesses with tools to make their financial lives more simple, reliable, and secure.”
About Tink
Tink is a leading open banking platform in Europe that enables banks, fintechs, and startups to develop data-driven financial services. Tink allows customers to access aggregated financial data through one API, initiate payments, enrich transactions, verify account ownership, and build personal finance management tools. Currently, Tink connects to more than 3,400 banks that reach over 250 million bank customers across Europe.
Featured photo by geralt / PixaBay
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