Mastercard Inc (MA) announced on Tuesday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Finicity for $825 million.

What To Know: Finicity is a North American provider of real-time access to financial data and insight. The deal is expected to strengthen existing open banking capabilities with Finicity’s technology and shape the next generation of open banking services.

Finicity is an alumni of the Benzinga Global Fintech Awards.

Why It's Important: Mastercard says if performance targets are met, the existing shareholders of Finicity have the potential for an earn-out of up to an additional $160 million.

"Open banking is a growing global trend and a strategically important space for us. With the addition of Finicity, we expect to not only advance our open banking strategy, but enhance how we support and accelerate today's digital economy across several markets," said Michael Miebach, president of Mastercard.

What's Next: Mastercard shares were trading at $304.44 in Tuesday’s pre-market session. The stock has a 52-week high of $347.25 and a 52-week low of $199.99.

"Enabling people to access and control their data, while ensuring best practices to protect that data, will continue to drive tremendous innovation that increases financial literacy, inclusion, and health," said Steve Smith, CEO of Finicity. "This partnership with Mastercard helps us accelerate this mission globally."