Visa will acquire cybersecurity firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash, buying the Tel Aviv startup’s behavioral-biometrics fraud-detection platform to strengthen fraud and account-takeover defenses.
Under the agreement Visa will purchase the company from private-equity firm Permira and other investors, and BioCatch says it currently protects 760 million users across roughly 350 banks; Permira took majority control in 2024 at about a $1.3 billion valuation and the private-equity owner says the business nearly tripled revenue under its stewardship, assets Visa intends to fold into its growing value‑added services business.
"BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment," Andrew Torre, Visa’s president of value‑added services, said.
Visa framed the deal as a response to a surge in AI-enabled scams and account takeovers it estimates cost the global economy more than $1 trillion annually, and said the transaction is expected to close by the end of Visa's fiscal second quarter in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
