Visa announced on Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BioCatch, an Israeli cybersecurity company specializing in behavioral biometrics, for $2.4 billion in cash. The deal marks one of the largest acquisitions in the fraud detection space this year and signals the payments giant’s aggressive push against AI-powered scams.
BioCatch’s platform analyzes behavioral signals such as keystroke timing, touch screen pressure, mouse movements, and device orientation to distinguish legitimate users from fraudsters. The technology helps banks detect account takeovers and digital fraud in real time, before stolen funds leave the account.
The acquisition comes as AI-driven fraud has surged across the financial sector. Scammers are increasingly using generative AI to create convincing phishing attacks, deepfake voice calls, and automated social engineering campaigns that outpace traditional rule-based detection systems.
Visa said BioCatch’s behavioral intelligence will be integrated into its existing Visa Protect suite, which already serves over 15,000 financial institutions worldwide. The combined capabilities aim to catch fraud at earlier stages of the attack chain, when behavioral anomalies are still detectable.
Under the terms of the deal, BioCatch will be acquired from private equity firm Permira and other investors. BioCatch, founded in 2011, currently processes over 100 billion transactions and works with more than 250 banks globally, including major institutions in Europe and North America.
The acquisition reflects a broader trend of legacy payment processors investing heavily in AI-native security tools. Mastercard made a similar move last year with its acquisition of cybersecurity startup CipherTrace, while PayPal has expanded its in-house fraud detection capabilities through machine learning.
Sources: CNBC, Visa Investor Relations, Tech Startups
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