- Financial technology company Plaid recently announced that it has received an investment from Visa and Mastercard
Plaid — a financial technology company that has built a platform connecting apps to user bank accounts — is receiving an investment from both Visa and Mastercard as part of a new round of Series C financing worth a total of $250 million, according to a recent Reuters report. However, Plaid did not disclose the size of the investment from Visa and Mastercard.
“We have long been inspired by the work these networks did to digitize commerce, and hold this as an example for what we hope to accomplish in financial services. We look forward to collaborating on products that lie at the intersection of commerce and financial services,” said Plaid’s chief executive officer Zach Perret in a statement.
Plaid did not specifically indicate how the investments from these credit card companies would be strategic for the company. However, Plaid believes this deal will accelerate the company’s efforts to expand its data network.
Plaid originally launched in 2013 and it has raised about $310 million in funding since then. Some of the company’s other investors include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and American Express. In December, renowned venture capitalist Mary Meeker led the Series C round in Plaid at a valuation of $2.65 billion.
Sherri Haymond, the executive vice president of digital partnerships at Mastercard, pointed out that this investment validates Plaid’s ability in making digital payments easier while also ensuring data privacy.
And Visa executive vice president William Sheedy said that this investment would enable the financial giant to brings its “global scale, brand, security, and reliability” to the financial technology community.
Currently, Plaid has 400 employees based out of four cities.
