Image source: Tink

Visa Inc (NYSE: V) announced Thursday it agreed to pay 1.8 billion euros ($2.2 billion) for Tink, a Swedish open banking platform whose digital services connect more than 3,400 banks and financial firms across Europe.

Under the agreement Tink will retain its brand and current management team and its headquarters will remain in Stockholm.

Visa noted that the acquisition will be financed solely with cash and will not impact the company’s previously announced stock buyback program or dividend policy.

In a statement, Al Kelly, Visa’s chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Visa is committed to doing all we can to foster innovation and empower consumers in support of Europe’s open banking goals.” 

“By bringing together Visa’s network of networks and Tink’s open banking capabilities we will deliver increased value to European consumers and businesses with tools to make their financial lives more simple, reliable and secure,” Kelly stated.

Founded in 2012 by Daniel Kjellén and Fredrik Hedberg as a financial management app, Tink later pivoted to focus on providing its technology to other businesses.

Tink’s technology helps banks and fintech firms connect to each other, enabling them to build open banking tools like personal finance management apps and account verification. It is used by over 250 million customers in 18 European markets.

Since its launch, the company has raised over $300 million from investors including Dawn Capital, Eurazeo, HMI Capital, Insight Partners, PayPal Ventures, Creades and Heartcore Capital, according to Crunchbase data.

Tink was last privately valued at 680 million euros ($830 million), CNBC reported.  

In a blog post Thursday, Tink’s founders wrote, “As we got to know Visa, it became clear that we share a common mission – to connect the financial world and accelerate the growth and adoption of digital financial services.” 

“Teaming up with Visa means we’ll now be able to move faster and reach further than ever before, and we know that Visa is the perfect partner for the next stage of our journey,” they said.

The deal marks the second major acquisition of a Swedish fintech by a US giant following PayPal Holdings’ $2.2 billion buyout of iZettle in 2018. 

Thursday’s announcement comes a few months after Visa ditched a planned $3.5 billion acquisition of Tink’s rival, US-based startup Plaid, Reuters noted. 

Visa terminated that deal in January after the US Department of Justice sued to block it on antitrust grounds. Plaid has since opted to continue as an independent company and was last valued by investors at $13.4 billion.  

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Source: Equities News