By Adria Calatayud 



  The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, the country's antitrust regulator, said Monday that it has given the go-ahead to Visa Inc.'s anticipated acquisition of fintech startup Plaid. 


  The decision follows a phase 1 review by the CMA in which the regulator investigated how the deal could affect competition in the U.K., it said. The regulator concluded that Visa would continue to face competition in the U.K. after the merger as Plaid is only one of a number of payment-initiation service providers already active in the U.K. Several of Plaid's peers possess similar, or stronger, competitive capabilities, the CMA said. 


  The U.K. regulator, which launched a formal review of the deal at the end of June, also found that the combined Visa-Plaid business wouldn't have the ability to push other providers out of the market. 


  Visa in January said it would buy Plaid for $5.3 billion, as part of an effort by the card giant to tap into consumers' growing use of financial-technology apps and noncard payments. 


  Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com