Competition watchdog mulls probe into Visa’s £247m takeover of Earthport

The competition watchdog is mulling an investigation into Visa’s proposed £247m takeover of UK payments firm Earthport.

Visa outbid Mastercard earlier this year in an intense battle for the global payment network.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today it was considering whether the deal would “substantially lessen” competition in the UK market.

The watchdog invited comments from interested parties by 18 April to help with its assessment.

Visa’s initial bid valuing the cross border payments company at £198m was trumped by Mastercard’s £233m in January.

The following month Visa came back with an improved offer, which Earthport recommended shareholders should accept.

Rivals Mastercard encouraged Earthport shareholders to take “no action” to the Visa bid, while it considered its options.

Earthport allows for banks and money transfer firms to have a single relationship rather than multiple ties with various payment companies around the world.

It is cheaper than traditional payment systems and is an area that is becoming increasingly popular for deal making down in large to the technological changes in the way consumers pay.