Visa to acquire Featurespace in AI-driven push against financial crime

Visa has announced its acquisition of Cambridge-based firm Featurespace, a leading developer of artificial intelligence (AI) technology focused on payments protection and fraud mitigation. This move underscores Visa’s strategy to bolster its financial crime prevention capabilities, as the global payments landscape faces heightened threats from increasingly sophisticated fraud.

Although the terms of the deal remain undisclosed, industry sources had previously valued the acquisition at approximately £700 million. This investment aligns with Visa’s broader efforts to enhance its portfolio of AI-driven fraud detection and risk-scoring solutions, reinforcing its role as a trusted partner in the financial services ecosystem.

Antony Cahill, Global Head of Value-Added Services at Visa, said, “Providing our clients with solutions that can adapt to and anticipate the changing threat landscape is of the utmost importance. Featurespace’s strong foundation in AI will enhance our existing product portfolio and enable us to address our clients’ most complex and pressing challenges. We look forward to welcoming the Featurespace team to Visa.”

The payments industry, particularly the fintech sector, has seen a surge in demand for AI tools capable of mitigating financial crime. As digital transactions proliferate, so too do the threats posed by cybercriminals employing generative AI and other sophisticated technologies. Featurespace’s cutting-edge solutions are designed to detect fraud in real time, offering a crucial layer of protection to financial institutions and their customers.

Founded in 2008 as a spin-off from Cambridge University’s engineering department, Featurespace has grown to serve major financial clients, including HSBC, NatWest, and Worldpay.

Dave Excell, Founder of Featurespace, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition: “Over the past 12 years, we have served the financial services industry, building a company that has gone from strength to strength, and we are thrilled to become a part of Visa. With Visa, we can bring the innovation, integrity, and purpose of our platform to more payment service providers and ultimately, stop more people from becoming victims of financial crime.”

This acquisition comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of Visa’s business practices. With regulatory bodies raising concerns about competition in the payments market, Visa continues to invest heavily in AI and cybersecurity. In 2023 alone, Visa prevented 80 million fraudulent transactions, protecting $40 billion worth of payments worldwide.

The transaction is expected to close in fiscal year 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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