Plaid (company)

Plaid is a financial services company based in San Francisco, California. The company builds a data transfer network that powers fintech and digital finance products. The company uses the controversial practice of "phishing" users' bank login details by creating lookalike bank account login pages.[2][3][4][5]

Plaid Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial technology, Financial Services
FoundedMay 2013 (2013-05)
FoundersZach Perret
William Hockey
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Number of locations
7 countries (US, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands)
Key people
ProductsTransactions, Auth, Balance, Identity, Assets, Investments, Liabilities, Payment Initiation
Revenue $200 Million(2019)[1]
Number of employees
500
Websiteplaid.com

Plaid's product, a technology platform, enables applications to connect with users’ bank accounts.[6] It allows consumers and businesses to interact with their bank accounts, check balances, and make payments through different financial technology applications.[7] The company operates in the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands.[8]

On January 13, 2020, Visa announced it was intending to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion.[9] Visa later abandoned the deal after opposition by the United States Department of Justice due to data privacy and antitrust risks.[10][11]

History

Plaid was founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey.[12] The pair originally attempted to build consumer financial management products, including budgeting and bookkeeping software.[13] When confronted with difficulties in connecting bank accounts required for these tools, they decided to pivot their core business focus to a unified banking API.[14]

Services

Plaid builds a data transfer network that powers Fintech and digital finance products. From the consumer side, this means they allow common apps such as Venmo and Chime to offer banking services without having to develop all the infrastructure themselves.[15]

In October 2020, Plaid announced the "all-new Plaid Link" to reduce the steps necessary to connect financial products.[16]

Funding

In late 2013, Plaid raised a $2.8M seed round from Spark Capital, Google Ventures, and New Enterprise Associates. In 2014, they raised $12.5M from New Enterprise Associates.

On December 11, 2018, the company announced a $250 million Series C round with a valuation of $2.65 billion. The funding round was led by Mary Meeker, with Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures joining as new investors. Former backers Goldman Sachs, NEA and Spark Capital also participated.[17] It was later revealed by Plaid that both Visa and Mastercard had invested in the round.[18]

Round Date Lead Investor Amount Raised Valuation
Seed Sept 19, 2013 Spark Capital $2.8M --
Series A Nov 15, 2014 New Enterprise Associates $12.5M --
Series B Jun 19, 2016 Goldman Sachs Investment Partners $44M --
Series C Dec 11, 2018 Mary Meeker, Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz $250M $2.65B

Acquisition

In January 2019, Plaid acquired competitor Quovo for $200 million.[19]

On January 13, 2020, Plaid announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion.[20][21] The deal was double the company's most recent Series C round valuation of $2.65 billion,[22] and was expected to close in the next 3–6 months, subject to regulatory review and closing conditions. According to the deal, Visa would pay $4.9 billion in cash and approximately $400 million of retention equity and deferred equity,[23][24] according to a presentation deck prepared by Visa.[25]

Visa CEO Al Kelly described the acquisition as an "insurance policy" to neutralize a "threat to our important US debit business."[26]

On November 5, 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition, arguing that Visa is a monopolist trying to eliminate a competitive threat by purchasing Plaid. Visa said it disagrees with the lawsuit and "intends to defend the transaction vigorously."[27][28]

On January 12, 2021, Plaid announced the proposed merger agreement had been officially terminated almost exactly a year after its initial public announcement of the deal.[29]

Controversy

The company has faced controversy for scraping user data, impersonating bank login screens, and not properly disclosing the privacy risks associated with the service.[30] TD Bank filed a lawsuit against Plaid in 2020 accusing the company of trying to "dupe" its users.[31]

References
  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2020/01/13/why-visa-is-buying-fintech-startup-plaid-for-53-billion/
  2. "Plaid is Still a Phishing Site". thekeesh.com. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  3. "TD Bank accuses Plaid of duping customers by ripping off its trademarks". Finextra Research. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. "Plaid faces 2nd lawsuit over alleged data privacy violations". Banking Dive. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  5. Deschamps, Tara (2020-10-14). "TD Bank files lawsuit against Plaid, accusing it of trying to 'dupe' consumers". CTVNews. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  6. "Plaid – Press". plaid.com. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  7. "6 Fintechs Disrupting The Industry". Inc.com. 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  8. "Every company is a fintech company". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  9. Andriotis, Cara Lombardo and AnnaMaria (2020-01-14). "Visa to Pay $5.3 Billion for Fintech Startup". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  10. "Opinion | Visa Is Doing What Big American Companies Do to 'Protect This Business'". The New York Times. The New York Times. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020. |first= missing |last= (help)
  11. "Visa and Plaid Abandon Merger After Antitrust Division's Suit to Block". www.justice.gov. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  12. "Fresh off a $2.65B valuation, Plaid co-founder William Hockey is leaving". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  13. Velazco, Chris. "Rambler Takes Home The Disrupt NY 2013 Hackathon Grand Prize, Learn To Drive And Radical Are Runners Up | TechCrunch". Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  14. Ha, Anthony. "Plaid Raises $2.8M To Make Banking Data More Developer Friendly | TechCrunch". Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  15. "What is Plaid? | Plaid". plaid.com. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  16. PYMNTS (2020-10-02). "Plaid Unveils New Link To Enhance Onboarding". PYMNTS.com. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  17. Rooney, Kate (2018-12-11). "Plaid's $250 million funding round propels it to $2.7 billion valuation". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  18. "Plaid announces strategic investment from Mastercard and Visa". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  19. Tesfaye, Mekebeb. "Plaid snags API competitor Quovo for $200 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  20. "Visa is acquiring Plaid for $5.3 billion, 2x its final private valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  21. "With Plaid Acquisition, Visa Makes A Big Play for the 'Plumbing' That Connects the Fintech World". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  22. "What Plaid's $5.3 Billion Acquisition Means For The Future Of Fintech And Open Banking". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  23. Demos, Telis (2020-01-14). "Visa's Bet on Plaid Is Costly but Necessary". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  24. "Payments giant Visa acquiring crypto-serving fintech firm, Plaid". Invezz. 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  25. "Visa to acquire crypto-serving fintech unicorn Plaid for $5.3B". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  26. Bursztynsky, Jessica (2021-01-12). "Visa abandons takeover of Plaid after DOJ raises antitrust concerns". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  27. Noonan, Laura (2020-11-05). "US justice department sues to block Visa's $5.3bn Plaid takeover". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  28. Reuters Staff (2020-11-05). "U.S. sues Visa to block its acquisition of Plaid". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  29. "Visa and Plaid Announce Mutual Termination of Merger Agreement". www.businesswire.com. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  30. B, Seanie (Aug 27, 2020). "About every 9 months I forget why I don't use".
  31. Deschamps, Tara (2020-10-14). "TD Bank files lawsuit against Plaid, accusing it of trying to "dupe" consumers". CTVNews. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
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