Featurespace’s deep tech origins, combined with Visa’s digital payments leadership, poised to strengthen global fraud protections
Visa announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Featurespace, a developer of real-time artificial intelligence (AI) payments protection technology that prevents and mitigates payments fraud and financial crime risks. The acquisition of Featurespace will complement and strengthen Visa’s portfolio of fraud detection and risk-scoring solutions used by clients around the world to grow and protect their businesses.
Since its inception out of Cambridge University’s engineering department, Featurespace has developed innovative algorithmic-based solutions to analyze transaction data and detect even the most elusive fraud cases.
Antony Cahill, Global Head of Value-added Services at Visa, said: “Providing our clients with solutions that can adapt to and anticipate the changing threat landscape is of the utmost importance. Featurespace’s strong foundation in AI will enhance our existing product portfolio and enable us to address our clients’ most complex and pressing challenges. We look forward to welcoming the Featurespace team to Visa.”
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The combined expertise of Visa and Featurespace will enable clients to manage fraud in real-time and further protect the payments ecosystem using AI-fueled solutions. This investment builds on Visa’s commitment to ecosystem security. In the last five years alone, Visa has invested billions of dollars in technology, including to reduce fraud and enhance network security.
Dave Excell, Founder of Featurespace, added: “Over the past 12 years we have served the financial services industry, building a company that has gone from strength to strength, and we are thrilled to become a part of Visa. With Visa, we can bring the innovation, integrity and purpose of our platform and our team to more payment service providers and ultimately, stop more people from becoming victims of financial crime.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in fiscal year 2025 and will provide significant benefits to financial institutions, consumers, and the wider payments industry.
Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement.
Featurespace is a leader in enterprise technology that prevents fraud and financial crime. With a mission to make the world a safer place to transact, Featurespace helps banks and financial institutions protect customers, reducing risk and business operating costs by providing industry-leading machine learning, fraud & financial crime prevention solutions via its award-winning platform.
Over 80 direct customers and 100,000 businesses have put their trust in Featurespace’s technology including HSBC, NatWest, TSYS, Worldpay, Danske Bank, Akbank, Edenred and Permanent TSB. Founded in 2008, and headquartered in Cambridge, UK, Featurespace has over 400 team members, operating globally from six locations. Featurespace, backed by global investors including Chrysalis Investments, Highland Europe, IP Group plc, Insight Partners, MissionOG, and TTV Capital, has been at the forefront of developing technology to combat fraud and financial crime worldwide.
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