London FinTech Yapily has swooped for a German counterpart in a deal which it says creates Europe’s largest open banking platform.
The acquisition of finAPI from German credit bureau SCHUFA – which holds 75% of the company – brings together the companies with leadership positions in two of Europe’s largest markets: the UK and Germany.
Over the last 12 months, the FinTechs have enabled customers to process a combined total of $39.5 billion in payment volumes and connect to more than a million monthly active data users.
The acquisition will double Yapily’s customer base, adding well-established finAPI customers to its roster, including over 50 large enterprise firms in the financial, insurance and IT industries.
In addition to its existing coverage of 16 European countries, Yapily will enter new territories including Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, broadening its geographic footprint and accelerating the roll-out of open banking to millions of people and businesses across Europe.
The combined offering will also bring a number of finAPI solutions to the table for new and existing Yapily customers, including identity and age verification and legally compliant KYC checks, and digital account checks that can be used for automated credit scoring.
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SCHUFA will continue to cooperate with finAPI, both in the use of products and services as well as further product development.
“This is a hugely exciting milestone for Yapily on our journey from disruptive startup to ambitious scaleup,” said Stefano Vaccino (pictured), Yapily founder and CEO.
“Within three years from launch, we have commercialised our platform, grown our customer base, and now have the largest open banking payments volumes in Europe. Working with finAPI, we can gain more speed, agility, and depth to accelerate innovation and shape the future of open finance in Europe and beyond.”
Dr Florian Haagen, founder and CEO of finAPI, said: “Yapily’s core DNA as a FinTech and open banking enabler is equally aligned with our belief in an infrastructure-first approach.
“From the products we’ve built to the industries our customers operate in, our complimentary offerings mean that together, we are perfectly placed to spearhead Europe’s open finance agenda and make the financial lives of millions of people more resilient, simple, and secure.”
Tanja Birkholz, CEO of SCHUFA, said: “Our strategic focus is to further strengthen client centricity. Open banking is one of the technological levers advancing Europe’s digital economy. How transparently and appropriately the benefits of these technologies can be utilised will be very important for our customers and stakeholders.
“We know the customers’ needs, and together Yapily and finAPI will accelerate innovation to meet them.”
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete in H2 2022. For now, finAPI will continue to function as an independent, regulated company in Germany.