Visa acquires European open banking platform Tink
Visa has signed an agreement to acquire European open banking platform Tink for €1.8bn (£1.5bn).
Visa will pay the sum, inclusive of cash and retention incentives, to acquire Tink, a platform which allows its customers to access aggregated financial data, uses smart financial services such as risk insights and account verification and build personal finance management tools.
Tink, which has integrated with more than 3,400 banks and financial institutions, reaching millions of bank customers across Europe, will retain its brand and current management team, and its headquarters will remain in Stockholm, Sweden.
Visa said that the combination of its infrastructure and sustained investment in resilience, cybersecurity and fraud prevention with Tink’s APIs, technology and customer relationships is expected to help accelerate the adoption of open banking in Europe.
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“Visa is committed to doing all we can to foster innovation and empower consumers in support of Europe’s open banking goals,” said Al Kelly, chief executive and chairman of Visa.
“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.”
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“For the past 10 years we have worked relentlessly to build Tink into a leading open banking platform in Europe, and we are incredibly proud of what the whole team at Tink has created together,” said Daniel Kjellén, co-founder and chief executive of Tink.
“We have built something incredible and at the same time we have only scratched the surface. Joining Visa, we will be able to move faster and reach further than ever before.
“Visa is the perfect partner for the next stage of Tink’s journey, and we are incredibly excited about what this will bring to our employees, customers and for the future of financial services.”
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“This acquisition is a sign of our commitment to Europe,” said Charlotte Hogg, chief executive of Visa Europe.
“In Tink, we have found a strong partner with whom we can accelerate innovation in open banking for the benefit of our collective clients and the citizens of the UK and the EU, while investing in high-skill tech jobs on the continent.”
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