Exactly one year ago today, Visa (V) made a daring bet on fintech by stating an agreement to obtain financial data network company Plaid for $5.3 billion. Investors were enthusiastic regarding the deal, evidenced by the stock running more by 7% during the six days immediately following the announcement. Considering that Plaid’s API software authorizes high-growth financial apps, such as the popular Venmo, to connect to bank accounts and engage in digital money transfers, it’s easy to comprehend the anticipation.Visa forecasted that the deal would end within three to six months. When June came and went without a formal closing of the acquisition, a dilemma appeared, showing that a likely roadblock had come into play. During Visa’s third quarter earnings conference on July 28, CEO Alfred Kelly set out to ease worries, commenting that the acquisition was still pending regulatory approval and that he estimated the deal to close by the end of 2020.On the other hand, by the time Visa reported fourth quarter earnings on October 28, it became clear that the Department of Justice had concerns regarding the transaction. In fact a day earlier, reports spiraled that the DoJ’s antitrust division had filed a lawsuit, planning to stop the proposed acquisition. On November 5, this action would be confirmed by the DoJ, which was certain that Visa was getting rid of a competitive threat by obtaining Plaid.