Currencycloud picks Plaid to power its payment platform

In a particularly unusual twist, a fintech that was once almost purchased by Visa has teamed up with one that has been acquired by Visa.

Currencycloud, which was acquired by Visa for £700m earlier this year, has joined forces with Plaid, whose failed $5.3bn takeover by Visa sent shockwaves through the world of fintech in January 2021.

Under the new partnership, Plaid will help power Currencycloud’s payment solutions through using its financial APIs and payments network.

Currencycloud’s customers will now have access to Plaid’s open finance network, making it easier for them to operate in more than one currency.

“The integration of this solution will do just that, removing friction in their experience by keeping them on our platform from the start to finish of each transaction,” Stuart Bailey, chief product officer of Currencycloud, said.

Up until now, Currencycloud’s clients had been using the firm’s own white label solution, Currencycloud Direct, meaning they had to leave the platform to top-up their accounts.

“The internet has made business more borderless than ever before, but it is incredibly difficult to move money across countries. Accepting, settling, and converting payments is complicated, expensive, and can take time,” Farid Sedjelmaci, head of European partnerships at Plaid added. 

“Combining Plaid’s Payment Initiation Services with Currencycloud’s all-inclusive platform for foreign exchange provides a smooth payment experience that obscures all of the complications with online global money movement.” 

The new partnership will see Currencycloud streamline its current payment processes, making every step of the payments process, from start to finish, easier and more secure.

Founded in 2012, Currencycloud has processed more than £100bn in cross-border payments to more than 180 countries, with a whole host of fintech-friendly firms on its books including, Starling Bank,Lunar,Revolut and Penta.

At the end of the summer, it was revealed that Plaid had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from J.P. Morgan Private Capital Growth Equity Partners and AmEx Ventures.