Mastercard to acquire Toronto-based fintech company Ethoca

TORONTO – Mastercard says it will acquire Toronto-based fintech Ethoca, which helps merchants and card issuers collaborate to identify and resolve fraud in digital commerce.

The global payment processing company did not disclose the terms of the deal, which it expects to close during the second quarter of this year.

Through Ethoca’s technology, when a fraudulent transaction is identified, information is sent to merchants to enable them to confirm the transaction, stop delivery or reverse it to avoid a chargeback, which is the return of funds to the customer.

Ethoca says its network connects roughly 5,000 merchants with 4,000 financial institutions.

Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard’s president of cyber and intelligence solutions, says Ethoca is a “strong addition” to its cyber strategy and the payments company plans to further scale the fintech’s capabilities.

Mastercard has made several security-focused acquisitions in recent years, including a deal to acquire Vancouver-based fintech NuData Security announced in March 2017.