financemagnates.com
Global payments giant, Visa (NYSE: V) announced on Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Currencycloud, a UK-based startup that provides foreign exchange (forex) solutions for cross-border payments.
The closure came almost five months after Visa and Currencycloud entered into an agreement for the acquisition.
“The acquisition will empower Visa and Currencycloud clients and partners to provide greater transparency, flexibility and control for consumers and businesses when making international payments or doing business in multiple currencies,” the official press release stated.
“The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between Currencycloud and Visa.”
Bolding a Massive Payment Network
Indeed, Currencycloud’s services complement Visa’s existing payments network. The startup primarily offers Cloud-based APIs to banks and financial services providers, enabling them to offer currency exchange services. It also provides real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management.
The announcement has further detailed that the UK company has already supported over 500 banking and technology clients with a reach across more than 180 countries.
Even before the acquisition, Visa had already started to take interest in the UK startup and pumped $80 million into the company as investments in 2020, Finance Magnates then reported.
Currencycloud was valued at £700 million that includes cash and retention incentives. However, the net financial consideration of the acquisition deal was reduced as Visa already held outstanding equity in Currencycloud.
“The acquisition of Currencycloud is another example of Visa executing on our network of networks strategy to facilitate global money movement,” Visa’s Global Treasurer, Colleen Ostrowski said earlier.
“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.”