Chase Officially Closes WePay Acquisition in $400M Deal

JPMorgan Chase has officially closed its acquisition of payments startup WePay, a company that provides payments for crowdfunding platforms.

The deal is valued at about $400 million, as reported by TechCrunch today. The bank first announced its plans to acquire WePay in October of this year — without disclosing the amount it would pay for the startup — after approaching the startup with the plan in 2016.

Subsequent speculation put the amount paid at about $220 million, the last funding valuation for WePay. With retention bonuses and over caveats, the $400 million deal is nearly double this presumed amount.

Chase will make use of WePay’s payment technology in three ways, first by allowing WePay to continue its own operations, led by the startup’s co-founder Bill Clerico.

Additionally, the bank will use WePay’s technology to power payment services for its four million small business clients. Lastly, the bank will use WePay’s tech to bridge the gap between newer fintech innovations and its own legacy banking systems, TechCrunch reported.

Read more at TechCrunch, JPMorgan Chase, and the Motley Fool.