Digital bank Chetwood Financial has taken over core banking provider Yobota to extend its banking-as-a-service capabilities.
Founded alongside the bank in 2016 and developed as a separate entity, London-based Yobota has built a cloud-native core banking platform which allows companies to create and run innovative financial products, and manage them independently.
Yobota CEO and founder Ammar Akhtar (pictured) is stepping down to pursue new challenges after almost six years. Existing management will continue to run the company.
Wrexham-headquartered Chetwood enables businesses to develop their own financial offerings, such as lending and payment services, using regulated infrastructure.
Following the acquisition, Yobota will continue to deliver its core banking system as a separate brand under the Chetwood umbrella. The FinTech says current partners and customers will be unaffected by the transition.
Chetwood will continue to operate its existing consumer-facing products: Wave, LiveLend, SmartSave and BetterBorrow.
“Chetwood and Yobota have common shareholders and shared purpose, and there is pre-established trust from knowing and working together,” said Andy Mielczarek, CEO and founder of Chetwood.
“The acquisition is set to bring greater value to investors as well as strengthen our existing BaaS proposition, helping clients create better end-to-end journeys for their customers by handling both the regulatory and technological complexities involved in embedding financial services into existing propositions.
“Clients of both firms will benefit from our complementary offerings that will enable responsive, dynamic products and solutions not yet seen in the industry.
“It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Ammar, whose energy, experience and creativity were essential to launching Chetwood and Yobota, as well as driving many of our subsequent successes. He is a founder across our group and has always propelled us forward with enthusiasm and dedication. He will be missed and we wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Akhtar added: “These last six years have been an amazing journey. We’ve built a fantastic banking core and there is an extremely talented team in place to take it forward.
“I’m very grateful for all the opportunities and experiences I’ve had during this time and incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together. I look forward to following the successes of our current and future clients as I move on to my next challenge.”