Visa has agreed to acquire fraud prevention company BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash as the payments giant looks to expand its cybersecurity and financial crime detection capabilities.

Founded in 2011, BioCatch provides behavioral biometrics technology that analyzes application, device, network and user activity to distinguish legitimate customers from fraudsters in real time.

Its artificial intelligence and machine learning models examine thousands of signals, including keystrokes, mouse activity, touchscreen gestures, device handling and signs that a user may be acting under coercion. The technology is designed to identify account takeovers, scams, money mule activity, application fraud and other financial crimes before a transaction is completed.

BioCatch says its technology analyzes 19 billion online banking sessions each month and protects 760 million users across 1.8 billion devices. The company serves more than 350 financial institutions in 21 countries, including over 100 of the world’s largest banks.

“BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment,” said Andrew Torre, president of value-added services at Visa. “This acquisition is part of our strategy to help clients prevent cyber threats upstream, building trust into every transaction.”

The acquisition will add BioCatch’s behavioral and device intelligence to Visa’s existing portfolio of cyber, fraud, risk and security products. Visa said it has invested more than $13 billion in technology and infrastructure over the past five years to protect the payments ecosystem.

Permira initially invested in BioCatch in 2023 and acquired a majority stake the following year in a transaction that valued the company at $1.3 billion.

The deal is part of a broader push by major payment companies to expand beyond transaction processing into cybersecurity and fraud intelligence. Mastercard completed its $2.65 billion acquisition of threat intelligence firm Recorded Future in 2024, while Visa acquired fraud prevention company Featurespace that same year.

BioCatch is being acquired from funds advised by private equity firm Permira and other shareholders. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of Visa’s fiscal second quarter of 2027.

Related: Permira to Acquire Majority Stake in BioCatch at $1.3 Billion Valuation

Related: Bank of America to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm MDSec