Visa to acquire cross-border payments expert Currencycloud

Visa has announced plans to acquire cross-border payments expert Currencycloud for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition builds on the companies’ existing partnership.

Currencycloud's cloud-based platform provides banks and financial services providers an all-inclusive set of APIs for managing foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual accounts. Additionally, customers are notified of transactions in real time.

Upon acquiring Currencycloud, Visa will enhance its existing foreign exchange capabilities and enable new use cases and payment flows for banks, financial institutions, and partners.

Currencycloud will also improve payment transparency and expedite time to market for clients seeking to offer digitally first and convenient international payment services.

“The acquisition of Currencycloud is another example of Visa executing on our network of networks strategy to facilitate global money movement,” said Colleen Ostrowski, global treasurer at Visa.

Ostrowski continued, “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.”

The Visa-Currencycloud deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Currencycloud will retain its current management team and continue to operate from its London office.

“At Currencycloud, we’ve always strived to deliver a better tomorrow for all, from the smallest start-up to the global multi-nationals,” said Mike Laven, Currencycloud CEO.

“Re-imagining how money flows around the global economy just got more exciting as we join Visa, “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.”