Plaid acquires compliance platform Cognito

US FinTech Plaid has acquired identity verification and compliance platform Cognito.

Plaid said Cognito’s technology allows companies to combine tools and data sources for automated identity verification, Know Your Customer (KYC), and AML screening.

The San Francisco-based firm said Cognito is currently used by hundreds of digital finance companies, including Affirm, Brex, Current, Republic, and Wyre.

The news comes after Plaid was valued at $13.4 billion in an April funding round, almost triple the $4.9 billion valuation it received from Visa in 2020.


Plaid did not disclose the size of the acquisition, but sources reported by TechCrunch said it was worth around $250 million of stock and cash.

“With Cognito, the next major step in our journey is to help developers build the best and most seamless onboarding experiences across all of these areas,” said chief executive at Plaid Zach Perret. “This means simplifying every step of the consumer journey from their first interaction during signup, to the first magical moment delivered by that product - the first time sending money to a friend, or the first time trading a stock or cryptocurrency.”

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