Visa to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm BioCatch for $2.4 Billion Amid AI Scam Surge

Visa announced it will acquire BioCatch, a cybersecurity firm specializing in behavioral biometrics, in a deal valued at $2.4 billion. The acquisition comes as financial institutions grapple with a sharp rise in fraud attempts powered by generative AI, including voice-cloning and deepfake-driven social engineering scams.

BioCatch's technology analyzes patterns like typing rhythm, mouse movement, and touchscreen behavior to flag when an account is being accessed by someone other than its legitimate owner, even if the fraudster has correct login credentials. That approach has become more valuable as traditional fraud signals, like unfamiliar devices or locations, grow less reliable against increasingly sophisticated AI-assisted attacks.

For Visa, the deal extends a broader push into risk and security services that sit alongside its core payments-processing business, an area the company has increasingly emphasized as a growth driver as transaction fee growth moderates in mature markets.

The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approval, and reflects an escalating arms race between fraud-prevention technology and the AI tools now being used to defeat it.