Digital payments firm Visa has agreed to acquire real-time artificial intelligence (AI) payments protection technology developer Featurespace.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed. A report from Sky News in August based on information from undisclosed sources suggested that the transaction could be valued at around £700m.
Established in 2008, Featurespace delivers enterprise technology that helps in preventing and mitigating payments fraud and financial crime risks. The British fraud detection company empowers banks and financial institutions to safeguard customers.
It also helps in lowering risk and business operating costs by offering machine learning, fraud, and financial crime prevention solutions through its ARIC Risk Hub.
Featurespace has also developed Adaptive Behavioral Analytics and Automated Deep Behavioral Networks to combat fraud and financial crime. The latter provides an improved layer of protection from scams, account takeover, and card and payments fraud.
Featurespace founder Dave Excell said: “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 and our team to more payment service providers and ultimately, stop more people from becoming victims of financial crime.”
Through the acquisition of Featurespace, Visa aims to bolster and complement its portfolio of fraud detection and risk-scoring solutions. The acquisition aligns with the digital payments firm’s ongoing focus on ecosystem security and fraud prevention.
In addition, the deal will bring together both parties’ expertise, allowing clients to handle fraud in real-time and further safeguard the payments ecosystem by leveraging AI-driven solutions.
Furthermore, Visa’s acquisition of Featurespace is expected to offer provide significant benefits to consumers, financial institutions, and the wider payments sector.
Visa value-added services global head Antony Cahill 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.”
Subject to customary conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to be completed in in fiscal year 2025.
