Episode summary
Visa to Buy Fraud-Prevention Firm BioCatch for $2.4 Billion | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Diksha Gera, Brian Egger, Sam Fazeli, Jonathan Kay
Summary
Visa’s $2.4 billion cash deal for BioCatch was framed as a bet on fraud prevention becoming a bigger revenue line, not just a defensive upgrade. The analyst said BioCatch’s software looks at user risk before a payment happens, during registration, login and profile changes, and that Visa is trying to improve authorization rates while blocking scams that traditional gateway tools miss. She argued the timing is favorable because regulators are pushing banks to bear more liability for social-engineering losses, which makes a monetizable security product more valuable to Visa’s clients.
Marriott’s second-quarter results were described as solid, with revenue per available room above expectations and full-year metrics raised, but the market was looking for even more. The analyst pointed to strength in the U.S. and a World Cup boost ahead, while noting that the Middle East remained a major drag because of geopolitical disruption and construction delays. He said Marriott’s room growth is still mid-single-digit overall, helped by conversions as well as new builds.
The pharma segment pushed back on talk of AstraZeneca buying Bristol Myers Squibb, with the analyst calling a full merger hard to justify given AstraZeneca’s growth profile and Bristol Myers’ patent expiries. The final segment said prediction-market apps like Kalshi are now taking share from DraftKings and FanDuel on daily active users, with especially strong growth among female users and in states where sports betting feels less accessible.
Key takeaways
- The analyst said Visa’s BioCatch deal adds to a risk-and-security business already generating about $2 billion of annual revenue.
- She expects Visa’s services business could reach more than $15 billion by 2027, up from $10 billion in 2025.
- Marriott’s RevPAR beat estimates, but Middle East RevPAR was down 43% in the second quarter because of disruption.
- The analyst said a full AstraZeneca-Bristol Myers merger does not make strategic sense and would likely face antitrust questions.
- Prediction-market apps are now competing directly with DraftKings and FanDuel on daily active users, with Kalshi showing a sharp gain in female participation.
Notable quotes
“Visa making a purchase buying biocatch for $2.4 billion in cash. Uh this is a fraud prevention firm”
“what biocatch actually does it is it evaluates user risk before the payment actually happens”
“So this is preventative um thread intelligence as opposed to when you are acting or in the moment of the payment”
“Rev Par in the Middle East is down 43%. Not you know, not surprising given the level of disruption”
“I just doesn't make sense. You know, AAM's razor simple answer is it doesn't make sense”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast. Catch us live weekdays at 10 a.m. Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business App. — Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. We talked about how it's M&A Monday. There is some deal making fintech.
Sure, why not? Visa making a purchase buying biocatch for $2.4 billion in cash. Uh this is a fraud prevention firm. Let's bring in Dick Shaga. She is our global fintech and payments analyst joining us from San Francisco. So is this a part of the business that Visa really needed to um bolster that it didn't have already. Bioatch uh using artificial intelligence to detect fraud.
Yes. Hi Scarlet. Always a pleasure to be here.
So that's a good question, right? Visa actually did a cyber source acquisition in the past. So it's important to understand why are they dropping this kind of money for bioache.
But what biocatch actually does it is it evaluates user risk before the payment actually happens. It's during the account registration, during the login, during the profile updates and navigation. That's what um is new.
So the business itself is not new. Visa has a risk and security solutions business which actually generates a $2 billion revenue. That's what our estimate is uh already and this basically adds to it.
Dix talk to us about AI in the fintex and payment space as it relates to fraud. I mean you know that that's always one of the big risks uh in you know the payment space here. I would think AI would be would enhance if I'm a criminal would really enhance my ability for fraud. How how do the companies think about that?
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- visa acquisition
- fraud prevention ai
- marriott earnings
- pharma megadeals
- sports betting prediction markets
Companies and tickers mentioned
- V
- MAR
- AZN
- BMY
- Visa
- BioCatch
- Permira
- Marriott International
- AstraZeneca
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Apptopia
- Kalshi
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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