Top 3 FinTech deals of the UK and European region
By Joy Dumasia
Financial technology (FinTech) describes new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, FinTech is utilized to help companies, business owners, and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes, and lives by utilizing specialized software and algorithms that are used on computers and, increasingly, smartphones. Fintech, the word, is a combination of “financial technology”.
In 2021, Europe has already broken the record for annual investments into FinTechs. European FinTechs have reached € 10.4 bn, trumping the €9.4 bn raised across the whole of 2019.
It’s also a marked recovery from 2020 when, in the midst of Covid-19, European FinTechs raised a total of €8.4bn. The FinTech sector looked vulnerable at the start of last year, hitting a three year low as governments shut down and investors took stock.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of digitalisation for the financial services industry. Amidst the unprecedented market volatility, the industry’s appetite for digital technology has been on the rise. The new year saw some significant deals being undertaken by FinTech companies.
Here are the Top 3 FinTech deals of the UK and European region:
- Atom & Funding Circle
UK-based small business loan platform Funding Circle and Atom, the UK’s app-based bank, announced a lending partner that will provide £300 million of new funding to small businesses. With £350 million already lent through the Funding Circle platform, this latest commitment brings Atom’s total lending to £650 million.
Atom will utilise FinTech Funding Circle’s technology and distribution platform to deploy new funding to around 4,000 UK small businesses, continuing Atom’s support for UK SMEs. The partnership will support SMEs through Funding Circle’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) product and existing loan product. Atom will lend through the platform alongside a wide range of investors, including banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, government-backed entities, individuals and funds.
Recently IBS Intelligence reported that Atom Bank, the UK’s first app-based bank, achieved two significant milestones this week when it exceeded £3bn of residential mortgage completions and, on the same day, hit £1bn in deposits into its Instant Saver accounts.
- SimCorp and SIX
SimCorp, a provider of integrated, front-to-back, multi-asset investment management solutions and services, and SIX, the Swiss financial data provider and operator of the Swiss and Spanish Stock Exchanges, announced an extension of their partnership, providing the former’s clients with global reference, pricing and regulatory data directly within SimCorp Dimension.
The extension deepens the collaboration between the companies, which already includes corporate actions and sanctions data from SIX to SimCorp clients. Looking ahead to February 2022, with the go-live of CSDR, SimCorp clients will be able to integrate SIX CSDR data as part of their regulatory responsibilities.
IBS Intelligence reported SimCorp, a provider of integrated, front-to-back, multi-asset investment management solutions and services, and SIX, the Swiss financial data provider and operator of the Swiss and Spanish Stock Exchanges, today announced an extension of their partnership, providing the former’s clients with global reference, pricing and regulatory data directly within SimCorp Dimension.
- Tink & Wealthify
UK digital investment platform Wealthify partnered with Tink to boost payment initiation services and transform the way investors transfer money to their investment accounts. The partnership sees Tink’s payment initiation service (PIS) technology embedded in the Wealthify app. This enables investors to seamlessly transfer an initial investment sum during the onboarding process and make additional payments to top up their accounts.
In June 2020, FinTech Wealthify became a wholly-owned subsidiary of insurance and investment giant Aviva and was set to double its 50,000 investors in the coming year. Starting as a Stocks, Shares and General Investment accounts platform, it has since expanded into Ethical Investments, Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs and Self-invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs).
Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that Visa announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tink, a European open banking platform. Visa will pay total financial consideration of €1.8 billion, including cash and retention incentives, to acquire Tink. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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