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Visa to Buy Prisma and Newpay, Gaining Banelco and PagoMisCuentas in Argentina

Regulatory approval will determine whether Visa can fold Argentina’s core payment rails into its global platform.

Overview

  • Visa signed a definitive agreement to acquire Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay from Advent International.
  • The purchase would give Visa control of Argentina’s major card-processing operations along with the Banelco ATM network and the PagoMisCuentas bill-pay platform.
  • Closing is targeted for Visa’s fiscal Q2 2026, subject to regulatory approvals; no price was disclosed, with market estimates near US$1.5 billion.
  • Payway is excluded from the deal and will remain under Advent’s ownership, continuing to operate independently as a merchant acquirer.
  • Visa says it plans to integrate the platforms to roll out tokenization, biometric authentication, intelligent risk tools and AI-driven commerce capabilities.