JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) shares rallied, on word the company has agreed to buy payments start-up WePay, in its first major acquisition of a financial technology (fintech) firm.
The investment bank said Tuesday it would provide its four million small businesses clients with WePay's payments technology.
Chase Merchant Services CEO Matt Kane said, “With WePay, Chase is taking the work out of payments for both our business clients and the software providers who serve them.
"We are powering payments for growth, so businesses can accept payments instantly, get paid faster, and never lose a sale. And we’ll give ISVs a payment facilitator-like experience without the overhead or increased fraud risk.”
WePay is a Silicon Valley company that offers payment capabilities to business platforms. The firm's technology uses application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate payments functionality with software. APIs are codes that allow different software components to communicate with each other.
JPMorgan did not disclose the value of the acquisition, but the Wall Street Journal said the price being above the $220-million valuation WePay reached in a 2015 funding round.
WePay's software is currently used by crowdfunding website GoFundMe, cloud-based accounting firm FreshBooks and online marketer Constant Contact.
Financial institutions have expressed growing interest in fintech acquisitions.
This acquisition, pending approvals and customary closing conditions, is another example of investing in payments fintech for small business.. Earlier this year, Chase also announced an extension of its digital lending collaboration with OnDeck to simplify access to capital for small businesses.
Shares of Morgan advanced 42 cents to $98.04
