Visa reached a multiyear agreement with fintech WEX to “enable their travel, health and corporate clients to make payments using Visa virtual card capabilities,” Visa Chief Executive Al Kelly said during Tuesday’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call.

In addition, Visa also partnered with credit fintech Fundbox at the end of May to enable new payment capabilities for small businesses, according to a release.

Visa’s interest in fintechs follows its acquisition of European open banking platform Tink in March, U.K.-based Currencycloud in December 2021 and a tokenization capabilities company now called Token ID.

The credit card giant recognizes that fintechs are key “to our consumer payments growth,” Kelly said on the call.

Equifax to acquire fraud solution Midigator 

Equifax announced Tuesday its plans to acquire fraud solution Midigator as e-commerce transactions continue to rise. The value of the acquisition was not disclosed.

“The acquisition of Midigator will bolster the expansion of our digital identity network for current and prospective customers while further enabling new forms of engagement in online commerce,” Sid Singh, president of U.S. information solutions at Equifax, said in a statement.

Midigator’s automated, data-driven solution will work in tandem with Equifax Kount Identity Trust Global Network to monitor and flag fraudulent activity across Equifax data sets, according to Equifax.

The acquisition is expected to close in Q3, according to Equifax.

Sionic and MX team up to tackle secure POS payments

Financial services consultancy Sionic and data aggregation fintech MX announced a multiyear partnership Wednesday to link consumer bank accounts for direct-to-merchant payments at the point of sale (POS).

“The overall feature set, ease of implementation, and its ability to support our pace of development really set MX apart. Additionally, the MX Connect widget verifies consumer bank account information, reducing fraud without causing friction for our users,” Justin Turner, director of product at Sionic, said in a release.

Using MX’s Instant Account Verification and Account Aggregation services, the two companies will bring real-time direct deposits to the POS through secure digital tokens that represent consumers’ bank account numbers.

Pyramid FCU selects Asa to connect to new fintechs

Pyramid Federal Credit Union announced Tuesday that is has selected financial services marketplace Asa Technologies to connect to a community of fintechs via digital rails.

“Asa and the collaborative banking model help solve for [rapid changes and member expectation change], providing members with fast and easy access to the apps and tools they want to try, all without having to share any sensitive information,” Ryan Lancaster, chief executive at Tucson, Ariz.-based Pyramid FCU, said in a statement. “This allows us to nimbly innovate without being bogged down with cumbersome one-to-one vendor due diligence, carving out a strong competitive advantage.”

The partnership will deliver new innovations and capabilities through the creation of an ecosystem in which financial institutions and fintechs work alongside one another, according to a release.

American Express partners with Cardless

American Express announced Monday that it is partnering with credit card fintech Cardless to launch digital-first card capabilities through the Cardless platform.

“Leading brands want to give their customers a more personalized experience and engage with them more deeply, and our relationship with Cardless makes that possible by offering their customers access to benefits and protections from American Express,” William Stredwick, senior vice president and general manager of global network services North America at American Express, said in a statement.

San Franscisco, Calif.-based Cardless has raised $50 million in and recently received an investment from Amex Ventures which allows the fintech to expand its product offerings, according to a release.

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