New Detail
Visa To Acquire European Open Banking Platform Tink
24/06/2021
London, U.K./San Francisco, CA June 24, 2021 – Visa (NYSE: V) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tink, a European open banking platform that enables financial institutions, fintechs and merchants to build tailored financial management tools, products and services for European consumers and businesses based on their financial data. Visa will pay total financial consideration of 1.8 billion Euros, inclusive of cash and retention incentives, to acquire Tink.
Through a single API, Tink allows its customers to access aggregated financial data, use smart financial services such as risk insights and account verification and build personal finance management tools. Tink is integrated with more than 3,400 banks and financial institutions, reaching millions of bank customers across Europe. Tink will retain its brand and current management team, and its headquarters will remain in Stockholm, Sweden.
The combination of Visa’s proven 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 by ensuring a secure, reliable platform for innovation. As a result, consumers can better control their financial experiences, including managing their money, financial data and financial goals. At the same time, businesses large and small will have a greater and more customized range of tools to operate digitally and securely, whether reconciling bank statements and accounts or enabling alternative financing.
“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, CEO 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.” “For the past ten 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. 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,” said Daniel Kjellén, CEO and Co-founder of Tink.
Charlotte Hogg, CEO of Visa Europe, added, “This acquisition is a sign of our commitment to 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 U.K. and the E.U., while investing in high-skill tech jobs on the continent.”
European Union law – the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) – mandates that banks enable access to registered third-party providers on behalf of, and with the consent of, their customers. As a result, innovators of all kinds, ranging from financial institutions, fintechs, developers, platform players and merchants, are increasingly leveraging open banking solutions to empower consumers with more choice in how and where they share their financial data. Tink is one of the over 440 third party providers across Europe that provides open banking services.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Visa will fund the transaction from cash on hand and this transaction will have no impact on Visa’s previously announced stock buyback program or dividend policy.
Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as “will,” “is expected,” and other similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding the timing and likelihood of closing, Tink’s future success, the impact of the acquisition on Visa’s growth, and the other benefits to Visa, developers, financial institutions and consumers. By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as of the date they are made; (ii) are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance; and (iii) are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results could differ materially and adversely from Visa’s forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the timing and outcome of the regulatory approval process, shifts in the regulatory and competitive landscape, cybersecurity incidents, the pace and success of integration, and various other factors, including those contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal yearended September 30, 2020, and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on such statements. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.