Visa has announced an agreement to acquire CardinalCommerce, a company that specializes in e-commerce payment authentication, according to a press release.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction, which is subject to the customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Visa’s second fiscal quarter 2017.

Visa said in the announcement that the acquisition will result in easier, more secure payments, whether through a browser, mobile app or connected device, and will help the company's clients and merchant partners accelerate digital commerce.

"This strategic acquisition combines Visa's industry expertise and Cardinal's critical role in payment authentication to bring added security to online transactions, reduce fraud, and support digital commerce, which is the fastest growing commerce segment today," said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk and authentication products at Visa. "By helping merchants, acquirers and issuers better distinguish between good and bad transactions, Visa is in an even better position to strengthen consumer trust in digital payments, help merchants grow their businesses and accelerate innovation in commerce."

Visa already provides Cardinal services to merchants and acquirers through its CyberSource merchant and acquirer enablement platform, according to the announcement.

Cardinal will continue to operate and serve clients as a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa, and its authentication platform will continue to support a broad range of payment brands and partners across the industry. Co-founders Tim Sherwin and Chandra Balasubramanian will remain as leaders of the Cardinal team, which is based in Mentor, Ohio.

"We are excited to embark on this next chapter of Cardinal's growth with Visa," said Mike Keresman, founder and CEO of Cardinal. "By combining our authentication expertise and role in supporting both merchants and issuers, and Visa's payments expertise and global reach, our two companies will be able to fast-track the next-generation of digital authentication."