Visa announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Featurespace, a developer of real-time artificial intelligence (AI) payments protection technology that prevents and mitigates payments fraud and financial crime risks.

The acquisition of London based Featurespace will complement and strengthen Visa’s portfolio of fraud detection and risk-scoring solutions used by clients around the world to grow and protect their businesses.

Although Visa did not disclose the acquisition’s value, a recent report from SkyNews, citing sources, estimated it to be around $935 million.

Since its inception out of Cambridge University’s engineering department, Featurespace has developed innovative algorithmic-based solutions to analyze transaction data and detect even the most elusive fraud cases.

Antony Cahill, Global Head of Value-added Services at Visa, said:

“Providing our clients with solutions that can adapt to and anticipate the changing threat landscape is of the utmost importance. Featurespace’s strong foundation in AI will enhance our existing product portfolio and enable us to address our clients’ most complex and pressing challenges. We look forward to welcoming the Featurespace team to Visa.”

The combined expertise of Visa and Featurespace will enable clients to manage fraud in real-time and further protect the payments ecosystem using AI-fueled solutions. This investment builds on Visa’s commitment to ecosystem security. In the last five years alone, Visa has invested billions of dollars in technology, including to reduce fraud and enhance network security.

Dave Excell, Founder of Featurespace, added:

“Over the past 12 years we have served the financial services industry, building a company that has gone from strength to strength, and we are thrilled to become a part of Visa. With Visa, we can bring the innovation, integrity and purpose of our platform and our team to more payment service providers and ultimately, stop more people from becoming victims of financial crime.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in fiscal year 2025 and will provide significant benefits to financial institutions, consumers, and the wider payments industry.

Featured image credit: Antony Cahill, Global Head of Value-added Services at Visa and Dave Excell, Founder of Featurespace