Visa has signed a definitive agreement to acquire fraud intelligence provider BioCatch for $2.4bn in cash.
The seller is a group of shareholders, including funds advised by private equity firm Permira.
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In a statement, Visa said the acquisition “complements” its cyber, fraud, risk and security offering as financial institutions face a growing threat from scams.
Visa value-added services president Andrew Torre said: “Account takeovers and scams cost the global economy over $1trn annually and AI is enabling these attacks at unprecedented scale.
“BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment. This acquisition is part of our strategy to help clients prevent cyber threats upstream, building trust into every transaction.”
BioCatch provides behavioural-first, multi-signal fraud intelligence. The platform uses AI and machine learning to assess signals from application activity, user behaviour, devices and networks.
According to the statement, it analyses inputs such as keystrokes, touch gestures and device handling to distinguish legitimate users from fraudsters in real time. Around 350 financial institutions across 21 countries use BioCatch’s solutions, the statement added.
BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor said: “Real-time insights into customer intent continue to grow increasingly essential for institutions to establish trust within digital banking sessions.
“For more than a decade, we’ve demonstrated behavior’s unique ability to distinguish the criminal from the legitimate. In the last couple of years, we’ve shown how real-time intelligence-sharing networks between our customers can amplify the power of our behavioral intelligence further still.
“Together with Visa, we’re even better positioned to advance our mission of making the world a safer place to transact and protect consumers from financial crime.”
The deal comes as Visa continues to invest in cybersecurity and fraud prevention. The card major has invested more than $13bn in technology and infrastructure over the past five years to protect the payments ecosystem and reduce fraud.
BioCatch acquisition will further build on its existing suite of products by adding AI-powered capabilities to support fraud prevention, it said.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of its fiscal second quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
