(10 February 2011 – Global) Visa Incorporated today announced an agreement to acquire PlaySpan, a privately held company whose payments platform handles transactions for digital goods in online games, digital media and social networks around the world.The acquisition of PlaySpan complements Visa’s 2010 CyberSource acquisition and extends the company’s capabilities into one of the fastest-growing segments of eCommerce – digital and mobile commerce.
PlaySpan provides a Monetisation-as-a-Service(TM) platform that allows merchants to monetise their content using a broad suite of payment and commerce-related solutions in fraud and risk management, analytics, merchandizing and global payment connectivity.
Merchants use PlaySpan’s technology to enable their consumers to make safe and convenient purchases online for items such as game credits, premium memberships and digital goods.
Last year, global eCommerce sales reached an estimated US$948 billion (A$) and remains a significant growth opportunity for Visa.
Approximately 45 percent of online spending in the United States takes place on Visa’s network. The card giant reported a 25 percent year-over-year growth in eCommerce payment volumes globally in its first fiscal quarter for 2011.
Within the eCommerce category, the relatively new segment of digital goods generated an estimated US$25 billion in consumer spending globally in 2010, a figure expected to reach US$280 billion by 2014.
Visa will pay approximately US$190 million in cash, plus additional consideration for performance milestones., with the acquisition expected to be completed in Visa’s fiscal second quarter 2011, pending satisfaction of customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.