The acquisition builds on an existing strategic partnership between the two companies that was struck in 2019 and values Currencycloud at £700 million.

Visa participated in an $80 million Series E funding round in Currencycloud in January alongside blue-chip investors such as BNP Paribas and Siam Commercial Bank. The financial consideration will be reduced by the outstanding equity of Currencycloud that Visa already owns

Currencycloud’s cloud-based platform offers a broad set of APIs enabling banks and financial services providers to offer currency exchange services, including real-time notifications on foreign exchange transactions, multi-currency wallets, and virtual account management. The Currencycloud platform supports nearly 500 banking and technology clients with reach in over 180 countries.

Over the past year, the business attracted over 100 new clients and employees, as well as expanded into Apac with its first office in the region in Singapore.

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

Under the deal, Currencycloud will continue its operations from its headquarters in London and will retain its current management team.