The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) of Brazil has given the green light to acquire fintech Pismo by Visa in a deal valued at USD $1 billion. This decision, announced at the end of June this year, has been established as a strategic move in the growing Latin American fintech market.
The general superintendent of Cade, Alexandre Barreto, endorsed the purchase by accepting the arguments presented by Visa. The company assured the transaction would not compromise market competition, as the acquired assets complement its current operations. The approval process began at the end of August and has successfully concluded with this resolution.
Pismo, known for its integration and connectivity services, enables financial and payment institutions to operate efficiently in the transaction ecosystem. “Pismo’s solutions facilitate the processing of payment modalities such as those of Visa and Mastercard”, stated Visa in a communication to Cade, highlighting the synergy between the operations of both companies.
During the transaction evaluation process, the Brazilian antitrust body gathered opinions from other vital players in the financial market, including BTG Pactual, Banco do Brasil, Elo, CSU Digital, Bradesco, Santander, and Mastercard. This collaborative approach ensured a complete and fair assessment of the acquisition.
This strategic move strengthens Visa’s presence in Latin America and expands Pismo’s reach and capabilities. Based in São Paulo, it has developed innovative technology that allows its clients to issue Visa and Mastercard cards, establishing itself as a critical player in the fintech market.
Pismo’s cloud-based platform manages over 70 million accounts and handles transactions worth over USD $200 billion annually. This acquisition uniquely positions Visa to offer fundamental banking capabilities and processing services for debit, prepaid, credit, and commercial card issuers through native cloud APIs. Additionally, it will enable Visa to provide its financial institution clients with support and connectivity for new payment methods, such as Pix in Brazil.
The purchase of Pismo by Visa is a clear indication of the dynamism and potential of the fintech sector in the region, highlighting the growing interest of large international corporations in investing in innovative financial technologies. In this regard, Brazil remains the leader in the sector with 31% of fintechs in Latin America, followed by Mexico with 20.6%.
