Visa signs $2.4 billion deal to acquire Israeli anti-fraud firm BioCatch

Visa is bolstering its defenses against the escalating global threat of digital fraud by acquiring Israeli anti-fraud firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion. The deal, announced Monday, will integrate BioCatch's artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities into Visa's existing cybersecurity and risk-management solutions.

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Account takeovers and scams cost the global economy over $1 trillion annually, and AI is enabling these attacks at unprecedented scale.

BioCatch, based in Tel Aviv, serves over 350 financial institutions across 21 countries, safeguarding 760 million users and 1.8 billion devices. Its systems scrutinize more than 3,000 anonymized data points in real-time to flag suspicious activities, a crucial capability as account takeovers and scams cost the global economy over $1 trillion annually. "AI is enabling these attacks at unprecedented scale," said Andrew Torre, president of value-added services at Visa.

"BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment," Torre added. "This acquisition is part of our strategy to help clients prevent cyber threats upstream while continuing to protect transactions as they occur, building trust into every transaction." Visa has significantly invested in technology over the past five years, spending more than $13 billion to secure its payments ecosystem.

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BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment.

The acquisition follows a strong year for Israeli cybersecurity companies, with Google's acquisition of Wiz also noted. BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor emphasized the growing need for real-time insights into customer intent to build trust in digital banking. "For more than a decade, we’ve demonstrated behavior’s unique ability to distinguish the criminal from the legitimate," Mazor stated. "Together with Visa, we’re even better positioned to advance our mission of making the world a safer place to transact and protect consumers from financial crime."

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This acquisition is part of our strategy to help clients prevent cyber threats upstream while continuing to protect transactions as they occur, building trust into every transaction.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is anticipated to conclude by the end of Visa's fiscal second quarter of 2027. This move underscores Visa's commitment to combating sophisticated fraud and maintaining trust in digital transactions.

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Real-time insights into customer intent continue to grow increasingly essential for institutions to establish trust within digital banking sessions.