Visa acquires a Software-as-a-Service technology company to expand in B2B payments space

Visa announced an agreement to acquire Fraedom, a Software-as-a-Service technology company providing payments and transaction management solutions for financial institutions and their corporate customers. Since its launch in 1999, Fraedom has managed over one billion transactions through its web-based platform, which translates to just under $270 billion (USD) in transactions to date. Fraedom’s technology has been used by over 173,000 organizations.

„Fraedom has been a Visa partner for nearly ten years, and its technology underlies Visa IntelliLink Spend Management, a core platform for Visa’s commercial and small-business clients. The acquisition will strengthen and expand Visa’s business suite of solutions to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the B2B payments industry.”, according to the press release.

Fraedom offers transaction management products and services, including expense management and accounts payable solutions. For over 17 years, the company has been offering its products to financial institutions, payment networks, processors, governments and technology companies worldwide. Fraedom brings to customers mobile-first experiences that make it simple for corporate users to complete critical tasks quickly and intuitively.

“Increasingly, businesses are replacing inefficient paper-based payment systems with digital tools,” said Vicky Bindra, global head of products and solutions, Visa. “This strategic acquisition allows Visa to offer a more comprehensive business solution to our corporate clients that is innovative, global, highly configurable and intuitive for their employees.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to join the Visa family,” said Kyle Ferguson, CEO, Fraedom. “The combination of Visa’s leadership, reach and deep knowledge of digital payments, coupled with our expertise in the B2B market for our growing customer base, will allow us to better service businesses around the world with fast, secure and robust commercial payments solutions.”
The transaction, which is subject to the customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Q1, 2018.

About Fraedom
Fraedom works with banks globally to enhance their commercial card programs and give their customers a better way to manage business spend through its easy-to-use spend management system. The platform helps banks to differentiate their service, drive card uptake, increase card spend and improve customer retention.
Fraedom’s solutions also facilitate card management and increased payment efficiency through an advanced invoice payment feature. Its future-proofed technology gives customers complete visibility of their card purchases through card statementing, while providing detailed transaction data reports.
The company boasts offices in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong and manages transactions for a total of 5.7 million employees worldwide.