The seeds of Visa’s $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid were planted more than a year ago

Visa’s $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid, one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups, came after conversations between the companies’ executives intensified in late 2019. The rationale is clear: In a world where billions of credit and debit cards have already been issued, the Visa and Mastercard duopoly need to prepare for a time when consumers move beyond pieces of plastic (and metal) to pay for things. Last summer, the card giants jockeyed for Nets, a Danish company that handles things like bank-to-bank payments; Mastercard ultimately acquired the company for $3.2 billion.