Visa announced on August 3, 2026, that it will acquire Israeli behavioral biometrics company BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash to enhance its cybersecurity and fraud detection technology [1, 2]. The acquisition aims to strengthen Visa’s defenses against a surge in AI-powered scams and account takeovers causing over $1 trillion in annual global economic losses [1, 3, 2].
BioCatch detects fraud by using behavioral biometrics and artificial intelligence to analyze factors such as keystroke timing, touchscreen pressure, mouse activity, and device handling. This helps distinguish real users from fraudsters, bots, and coerced individuals [1, 2]. The company currently protects 760 million users across about 350 banks worldwide [1].
Visa’s global network connects nearly 14,500 financial institutions and processes more than 329 billion transactions annually, valued at over $17 trillion [1]. Visa has invested more than $13 billion in technology and infrastructure over the past five years to combat fraud [2]. Andrew Torre, Visa president of value-added services, said BioCatch "will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment" [1, 2].
The acquisition will add BioCatch to Visa’s value-added services division with BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor retaining his leadership role [2]. Visa is buying BioCatch from London-based private equity firm Permira and other investors [1, 2].
The deal highlights how generative AI has made scams cheaper, faster, and more convincing, forcing Visa to deepen its fraud prevention arsenal [1, 3, 2]. BioCatch stated in a blog post, "The reality is, as a society and industry, we are not winning this fight. The value of fraud and scam losses and the number of fraud and scam attempts, mule accounts, and victims of these financial crimes all continue to grow (in some cases, exponentially) every year, all around the world" [1].
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of Visa’s fiscal second quarter in 2027, subject to regulatory approval [1, 2].
