Visa to acquire Bazil-based fintech company - Pismo for $1 billion

Visa, a payments giant is in the process of acquiring Pismo, a Brazilian payments infrastructure startup. The acquisition deal of $1 billion in cash is among the largest fintech M&A deals year to date.

Visa’s Pismo acquisition

Late in March 2023, Visa placed its second offer for the acquisition of Pismo after the first one was rejected by the firm’s partners. The firm’s initial offer was for $ 1 billion with the second being of $1.4 billion. Interestingly, the payments giant is set to acquire the Brazil-based company for $1 billion. Other companies that had expressed interest in the startup include Mastercard as well as an unnamed bank and several private equity firms.

About three months later, Visa is the successful bidder. The deal, which is subject to the conventional closing requirements, is set to be complete by the end of 2023. As part of the deal, Pismo will still be based in Sao Paulo under the current management team.

In a written statement, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, Jack Forestell stated, “Through the acquisition of Pismo, Visa can better serve our financial institution and fintech clients with more differentiated issuer solutions they can offer their customers”.

Notably, Pismo has recorded significant growth in recent years. In early 2021, its transaction volume was less than $ 1 billion monthly. It has since expanded beyond Brazil to other markets like the US, Chile, Mexico, and Europe. It also has dealings in Australia, Southeast Asia, and India.

Pismo offers cloud-based banking and payment services. Through its platform, its assists fintechs, banks, and other financial institutions to launch products linked to digital banking, digital wallets, payments, and marketplaces.