5 Major FinTech Acquisitions announced in March 2024

By Gloria Methri

The FinTech sector in 2023 witnessed a slowdown in deal activity, with companies around the world adopting a cautious approach to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In the first half of the year, only 128 M&A deals were recorded, compared to 248 and 188 in the first and second halves of 2022.

Despite the contraction, firms remain interested in exploring options and are looking forward to potential deals when market conditions improve. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, several FinTech segments, including payments, treasury management software, and corporate carve-outs, are attracting merger and acquisition (M&A) interest.

Let’s look at five such announcements made this month:

• Nationwide Building Society acquires Virgin Money

UK-based private lender Nationwide Building Society has confirmed the acquisition of its rival Virgin Money for around £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). The deal is set to launch Nationwide into business banking and increase its share of the UK’s mortgage and savings market. The acquisition is believed to enable Nationwide to accelerate its strategy and broaden and deepen its products and services.

• CapitalBox acquires Omniveta

CapitalBox, the alternative financing specialist for SMEs in Europe, has announced the acquisition of Copenhagen-based Omniveta Finance’s business. Omniveta is an invoice-purchasing company dedicated to improving lending liquidity for SMEs across Denmark. Founded in 2012, the company specialises in invoice purchasing, complimenting CapitalBox’s current alternative finance solutions offering.

• Levenue acquires MidFunder

Levenue, the European revenue-based financing company, has acquired MidFunder, a Zurich-based FinTech that provides financing for companies with recurring revenue. The acquisition marks a strategic move to enhance Levenue’s Swiss operations. Initially focused on crowdfunding for SMEs, MidFunder has pivoted to become a revenue-based financing platform for digital businesses.

• GoCardless acquires Nuapay

GoCardless, the bank payment company, has signed an agreement to acquire Sentinel Ltd, operating globally under the Nuapay brand, from EML Payments Limited. The acquisition will significantly scale GoCardless’ indirect channel proposition, consolidating its position as a key payment provider to existing and new customer segments, including Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs).

• Fintel acquires ifaDASH

Fintel, the provider of FinTech and support services to the UK retail financial services sector, has announced the acquisition of ifaDASH, a practice digitisation solution supplier. The acquisition was conducted through Fintel IQ, with an investment designed to support ifaDASH’s accelerated development, growth, and reach. The ifaDASH system acts as a hub through which advisers can connect front and back-office CRM data, training and competence MI, and information on vulnerable clients from multiple systems onto a single integrated platform.