Digital bank Zopa has acquired payments platform Rvvup for an undisclosed fee as it looks to accelerate its retail finance offering.
The move positions the London-based FinTech at the centre of the merchant’s checkout, it says, expanding its capability from point-of-sale lending to supporting all modern payment methods via one unified experience.
New and existing merchants are said to benefit from a single, simple integration, deeper data insight, better payment conversion and lower overall processing costs within the next six months.
Rvvup, also headquartered in London, has created an AI Payment Agent that automates the entire payment process, choosing the best payment method to reduce costs and boost sales.
It automatically syncs with tools such as Xero and handles daily reconciliation tasks that merchants face when using multiple payment providers.
The firm currently works with a variety of businesses including Tile Giant, MP Moran, French Bedroom, Mole Valley Farmers and Fireaway Pizza.
The acquisition is Zopa’s second, having also acquired point-of-sale finance technology and lending platform DivideBuy in 2023.
It comes two months after the company expanded to Manchester, opening a new regional office with the potential of growing to over 500 staff in the region.
The firm also raised £80m in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital in May to strengthen its balance sheet and it is now trusted by 1.5m customers.
It reached unicorn status in 2021 and doubled its profit before tax to £34.2m in its latest annual results.
The latest move is expected to treble the size of Zopa’s embedded finance business within two years and cement its position as a top three retail finance provider within five years, as Rvvup becomes a subsidiary of the group.
“Acquiring Rvvup is a key milestone in both Zopa’s growth trajectory and our purpose of building the home of money,” said Tim Waterman, chief commercial officer at Zopa Bank.
“Data, technology and lending capability have always been core to Zopa’s growth, and by integrating Rvvup’s unique offering, we will further strengthen our payments and point-of-sale capabilities.
“We believe that together we can deliver a seamless checkout experience for merchants and customers alike.”
David Nunn, founder and CEO at Rvvup, added: “Rvvup and Zopa both have ambitious, strategic growth goals, and joining Zopa will propel our technology and capability immensely.
“At Rvvup, we set out to remove the complexity of payments, unifying every method and channel into a single platform. Zopa’s mission to be the ‘home of money’ is a perfect complement to that vision.
“By integrating Rvvup’s technology into Zopa, we will have a unique proposition in the market as the only platform to combine lending, banking, and multi-rail payments with AI embedded into the platform.”