Global payment processor Worldpay has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AI fraud prevention platform Ravelin.
The acquisition will see the London-headquartered company embed its portfolio of online payment fraud prevention services to Worldpay’s merchant base.
The deal is expected to finalise at the close of Q1’ 2025, with KeyBank Capital Markets serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Ravelin, and Wells Fargo and Citi helping to advise Worldpay on the agreement.
Both entities look to serve merchants of all various sizes to enable them with advanced payment and fraud protection services to help them secure long-term growth. Ravelin’s role will help equip Worldpay with next-generation AI tools to help tackle the rising surge in AI-related fraud, a tactic that is gaining traction amongst fraudsters.
Commenting on the acquisition, Worldpay CEO Charles Drucker, said: “Our acquisition of Ravelin aligns with our strategy to invest in innovation and AI technology, enhancing the value we provide customers and accelerating our e-commerce growth.
“In today’s online world, equipping merchants with next-generation AI-powered fraud prevention products is vital, and we believe Ravelin’s technology and expertise will significantly enhance Worldpay’s overall value proposition to the marketplace.
“We look forward to partnering with Ravelin’s leadership and their talented team to help our customers address their most complex challenges.”
Founded in 2015, Ravelin has been building its fraud capabilities to meet the scaling demands of the digital economy, whether that be through identifying payment fraud, account takeovers, or return and refund abuse.
The fraud prevention firm has integrated its solutions to some of the largest companies in the world, such as Spotify, JustEat and Trainline, as well as payment firms like Fiserv and Scalapay.
“Ravelin is thrilled to be joining Worldpay, a true global leader in the payments industry,” said Martin Sweeney, Co-Founder and CEO of Ravelin.
“Worldpay’s scale and reach, including processing approximately $2.5trn in payments volume and more than 50 billion transactions in 2024, will be an immense asset as we accelerate Ravelin’s momentum and advance our mission to eradicate fraud from the internet.
“Together, we will be able to deliver innovation at scale, driving the adoption of our industry-leading fraud solutions to customers as they respond to increasingly sophisticated threats and rising fraud-related costs.”
Due to Worldpay’s seismic transaction volume processing, Ravelin’s AI-powered fraud prevention solutions come in timely for the payments company during a time where AI-related fraud, such as deepfakes, are on a concerning rise.
Not only are Big Tech companies ramping up their investment in AI models as a primary revenue driver, they are also viewing the emerging technology as a solution to combat its growth amongst fraudsters. This applies to payment companies too, as a Basware report last December revealed that 90% of organisations are underprepared for the upcoming surge in AI-related fraud cases.
As AI is on an almost unstoppable rise to become embedded in every consumers life, this is why we may see more payment processors like Worldpay investing more heavily into AI-based companies such as Ravelin to prepare for the oncoming surge