Credit card behemoth Visa Inc. is acquiring privately-held financial services API company Plaid for $5 billion. The purchase price is almost double Plaid’s latest private valuation.
Visa said it will finance the acquisition from cash on hand and debt issuance “at the appropriate time.” The transaction is expected to close in the next three to six months.
Plaid’s technology helps developers share banking and other financial information more easily - something that could potentially bolster Visa's operations after the acquisition. The data network is used by many financial apps and services including Acorns, Betterment, Expensify, and Venmo. The company was founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey.