Visa acquisition of Plaid : Digital payments giant Visa has signed a $5.3 billion deal to acquire California-based fintech company Plaid as per the latest fintech industry news.

Plaid is a network that enables people to link their financial accounts securely to the apps they use for managing their financial lives.

The products of the US fintech company let users to share their financial information with Acorns, Betterment, Chime, Venmo, Transferwise, and thousands of other apps and services. Consumers use these apps and services to help in planning their spending, boost their savings and keep a tab on their investments.

When a user sets up a Venmo account or with any other app, Plaid plays a role in enabling the users to connect their bank accounts to the digital wallet offered by the former.

Visa said that connectivity between financial institutions and developers has increasingly become important to enable the ability of consumers to use fintech applications.  The digital payments giant claimed that currently, one in four people having a US bank account have used Plaid to link to 2,600 plus fintech developers across 11,000 plus financial institutions.

Commenting on Visa acquisition of Plaid, Al Kelly – CEO and chairman of Visa, said: “We are extremely excited about our acquisition of Plaid and how it enhances the growth trajectory of our business.

“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.”

Visa acquisition of Plaid marks an entry into new businesses and also complementary improvements to the former’s existing business. Plaid’s fintech-centric business gives new market opportunities for Visa in the US and globally.

The acquisition of the US fintech startup also gives the digital payments giant the scope to provide improved payment capabilities and related value-added services to fintech developers. Apart from that, the acquisition will help Visa to work more closely with fintech companies through all stages of their development while driving growth in its core business.

Zach Perret – CEO and co-founder of Plaid, commenting on Visa acquisition of Plaid, said: “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.

“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 acquisition of Plaid, which will need regulatory approvals and the meeting of other customary closing conditions, and is likely to be wrapped up within three to six months.

  Al Kelly, California, Fintech industry news, Plaid, USA, Visa, Zach Perret