This is a story that has only happened a couple of times. A Fintech, Raisin, has purchased a traditional bank, according to a release from the firm. Raisin recently closed on €100 million funding round.
The acquisition of MHB of Frankfurt by Raisin is still subject to final approval by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the European Central Bank (ECB). MHB is Raisin’s longtime service bank.
Raisin, a marketplace for savers to earn more on their deposits, said the acquisition is expected to help Raisin expand its area of operations as well as its value chain. MHB Bank currently handles portions of Raisin’s process related to account management, customer identification and financial transactions, all the preserve of licensed financial institutions.
Raisin CEO and co-founder Dr. Tamaz Georgadze explained the purchase as assisting in their mission to build a more sustainable financial system for their customers.
“Together with MHB, we can continue to develop — and seamlessly integrate — the services we offer customers, partner banks and distribution partners,” said Georgadze.
Today Raisin has over 165,000 customers which can choose from over 250 products offered by nearly 70 European banks. This acquisition is predicted to expedite Raisin’s growth.
Raisin expects to be able to streamline the onboarding process for deposit banks as well as distribution partners like o2 Banking of Telefónica Germany and N26.
“With the changes this takeover makes possible, we will be able to offer better services more sustainably to our customers and partners. We want to grow ‘deposits as a service’ into a widely-accepted market standard for banks across Europe,” explained Georgadze.