Visa Inc, the global payments giant, has announced its agreement to acquire Pismo, a leading Brazilian fintech platform, for $1 billion in cash. This strategic move aims to strengthen Visa’s presence in Latin America and reflects renewed confidence in the region despite a funding slowdown. The deal marks the largest fintech exit in Latin America since Nubank’s IPO in 2021 and is the biggest disclosed startup exit of the year.
This acquisition is significant for Visa, the world’s largest payments processor, as it represents their first major takeover since their 2021 purchase of European open banking platform Tink for $2.2 billion and British cross-border payments provider Currencycloud. Pismo, headquartered in Sao Paulo, operates a cloud-based platform that services financial institutions, facilitating over 70 million accounts and processing more than $200 billion in transactions annually. The platform enables clients to issue Visa and Mastercard cards, making it a crucial technology provider in the financial ecosystem.
Earlier reports indicated that Mastercard had also shown interest in acquiring Pismo, but the company has not yet responded to inquiries for comment. The acquisition comes at a time when Latin America witnessed an 82% year-on-year decline in venture funding in May, driven by high interest rates and concerns about a global market recession that impacted tech valuations. Visa plans to finalize the deal by the end of the year, with Pismo’s current management team expected to remain in place. Founded seven years ago by Ricardo Josua, Daniela Binatti, Juliana Binatti, and Marcelo Parise, Pismo operates in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, India, and Latin America. Notably, the company has secured over $110 million in funding from notable investors such as SoftBank Group Corp, Amazon.com Inc, venture capital firm Accel, and Headline, which holds a 30% stake in the company and initially invested during the seed round.
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