Global credit card giant Visa Inc has announced the acquisition of Brazilian payments infrastructure startup Pismo for a staggering $1 billion in cash. This deal positions Visa to deepen its connections with financial institutions and enhance its core banking and issuer processing capabilities across debit, prepaid, credit, and commercial cards through cloud-native APIs.
Pismo, founded in 2016 and based in São Paulo, has swiftly gained recognition with renowned clients including Citi, Itaú, Revolut, N26, Nubank, and Cora. The startup’s impressive growth has seen it process nearly 50 billion API calls and $40 billion in transaction volumes annually, supporting over 80 million accounts and over 40 million issued cards. Pismo’s reach extends beyond Brazil, as it now operates in multiple countries across Latin America, the United States, and Europe, and even has a customer base in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
Pismo’s cloud-native issuer processing and core banking platform have been instrumental in providing banks, fintech, and other financial institutions with flexibility, agility, and the ability to launch a wide range of innovative payment and banking products. Its technology enables financial institutions to leverage their core data intelligently and efficiently.
With the acquisition of Pismo, Visa aims to bolster its suite of services for financial institutions and fintech clients by offering differentiated issuer solutions. Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, emphasized the benefits of the acquisition, stating, “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.”
The deal between Visa and Pismo is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Pismo’s current management team will continue leading the company, maintaining its base of operations in São Paulo.
The acquisition of Pismo by Visa marks one of the largest fintech M&A deals in 2023 and further strengthens Visa’s position as a dominant player in the global payments industry. It follows Visa’s previous strategic acquisitions, including Tink, a leading European open banking platform, and Currencycloud, a British cross-border payments provider.
This acquisition is not only a major milestone for Pismo but also for the entire Latin American region. From a company on the verge of running out of cash in 2019 to becoming a sought-after acquisition target, Pismo’s remarkable journey showcases the potential for fintech innovation in Latin America. By becoming part of Visa’s extensive network, Pismo gains unparalleled support to expand its footprint globally and shape the future of banking and payments.
