FinAPI (www.finapi.io), a BaFin licensed FinTech, develops solutions for data integration and analysis using artificial intelligence. In 2019, German credit rating agency Schufa took a 75% stake, but finAPI continued to operate independently. As has now been announced, the open banking payment platform operator Yapily (www.yapily.com), headquartered in London, wants to take over the German startup and acquire the Schufa shares.
The acquisition will make Yapily, a payment institution authorized by the Bank of Lithuania, the largest open banking payments platform in Europe with a combined total of $39.5 billion in processed payment volumes and more than 1 million monthly active data users. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete in H2 2022.
“This is a major milestone for Yapily on our way from revolutionary startup to ambitious scaleup. Within three years of launch, we have made our platform economically successful, expanded our customer base and now have the largest open banking payment volume in Europe. By joining forces with Finapi, we can gain more clout, flexibility and expertise to increase our innovative strength and play a decisive role in shaping the future of available finance in Europe and beyond,” comments Stefano Vaccino, the Italian founder and CEO of Yapily.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022. finAPI is to remain an independent company in Germany for the time being. finAPI and Schufa want to continue their cooperation and play a role together in the merged company even after the acquisition. Other takeover conditions were not disclosed.
According to the company, Yapily’s customer base will more than double as a result of the acquisition, and more than 50 large companies from the financial, insurance and IT industries will be among the new customers finAPI brings with them. Finapi’s customers, on the other hand, are to benefit from Europe-wide coverage in the future, which is guaranteed by Yapily. The London-based company is active in 16 European countries and intends to open up the markets in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary in the future.
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