Visa said Monday that it would buy BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash. BioCatch's software reads how a person types, moves a mouse and handles a device to tell a legitimate customer from a fraudster. The $2.4 billion price is nearly double the $1.3 billion valuation attached to Permira's acquisition of a majority stake in the Tel Aviv company in 2024.

What Changed

AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.

Permira's Stake

Visa is acquiring BioCatch from funds advised by Permira and other shareholders. Permira first invested in BioCatch in 2023 and acquired a majority stake the following year. Under Permira's ownership, BioCatch's revenue and gross profit both grew roughly threefold, Reuters reported.

Mastercard completed its $2.65 billion acquisition of Recorded Future in 2024, SecurityWeek reported. Visa bought Featurespace that year for about $1 billion, Payments Dive reported.

Evercore analyst Adam Frisch said investors would welcome the BioCatch deal, pointing to increasing discussion about the need for enhanced fraud solutions to protect payments in the AI age. He cited Mastercard's Recorded Future as the product many investors regard as the best in its class.

Behavioral Checks

BioCatch reports that its technology serves more than 350 banking clients in 21 countries. That group includes more than 100 of the world's largest banks.

According to BioCatch, its software protects 760 million users across 1.8 billion devices. The system analyzes about 19 billion digital banking sessions each month and continuously collects more than 3,000 anonymized data points as people interact with their digital banking platforms. Those inputs include keystrokes, mouse activity, touch gestures and device handling. The system can also look for jailbroken devices or signs that a customer is acting under coercion.

Gadi Mazor, BioCatch's chief executive, said the company has spent more than a decade showing how behavior can distinguish a criminal from a legitimate user. BioCatch was founded in 2011 by Avi Turgeman and Uri Rivner.

Visa's $1 Trillion Estimate

Visa estimates that account takeovers and scams cost the global economy more than $1 trillion each year. "BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment," Andrew Torre, Visa's president of value-added services, said in the company's announcement.

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Mazor said in a BioCatch blog post accompanying the deal, "The reality is, as a society and industry, we are not winning this fight." He said fraud losses, scam attempts and the number of victims continue to grow.

According to Visa, its network connects about 14,500 financial institutions. The network processes more than 329 billion transactions annually, worth over $17 trillion. Over the past five years, the company has invested more than $13 billion in technology and infrastructure.

Closing Timetable

The transaction needs regulatory approval before it can close. BioCatch is expected to retain its leadership team and operate within Visa's Value-Added Services group, Disruption Banking reported.

Visa expects the purchase to close by the end of its fiscal second quarter of 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Visa paying for BioCatch?

$2.4 billion in cash. Visa is buying the company from funds advised by Permira and other shareholders. The price is nearly double the $1.3 billion valuation attached to Permira's acquisition of a majority stake in 2024.

What does BioCatch's technology actually do?

It reads behavior rather than credentials. The software tracks how a person types, moves a mouse, uses touch gestures and handles a device, then uses that pattern to tell a legitimate customer from a fraudster. It can also look for jailbroken devices or signs that a customer is acting under coercion.

How big is BioCatch?

The company reports serving more than 350 banking clients in 21 countries, including more than 100 of the world's largest banks. It says its software protects 760 million users across 1.8 billion devices and analyzes about 19 billion digital banking sessions each month.

Why is Visa buying a fraud-detection company?

Visa estimates that account takeovers and scams cost the global economy more than $1 trillion each year. Andrew Torre, Visa's president of value-added services, said BioCatch will help clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment. Visa says it has invested more than $13 billion in technology and infrastructure over the past five years.

When does the deal close?

Visa expects the purchase to close by the end of its fiscal second quarter of 2027. The transaction needs regulatory approval first. BioCatch is expected to retain its leadership team and operate within Visa's Value-Added Services group.

AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.

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