Following final approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Cornerstone has completed the acquisition of FXPress Payment Services – a regulated Authorised Payment Institution providing cross-border payment services. Cornerstone will now operate as Cornerstone FS plc.
Additionally, Cornerstone says it has received the consent of the FCA for the acquisition of Avila House by FXPress.
Cornerstone noted that completion of the acquisitions means that it will bring together the technology capabilities of FXPress, the e-money assets of Avila House, as well as a team with decades of experience of the foreign exchange and payments industry to create a leading cloud-based, multi-currency payments platform for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Julian Wheatland, Chief Executive Officer of Cornerstone, commented:
“We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of FXPress following the consent of the FCA. We are now further developing the range of products and services we provide for the benefit of our SME customers. Our overarching aim is to decrease the cost and complexity of business finance and treasury functions, thereby easing process workflow. Through the use of our tools, technologies and services, SMEs can be more efficient in the way they conduct international business. We look forward to progressing our operations under the Cornerstone umbrella and becoming a major player in the global payments landscape.”
Wheatland was only recently appointed as CEO of the firm. He recently stated that “SMEs are an underserviced segment by the banking sector, but with our proprietary technology we will be able to take advantage of the Open Banking Initiative and provide them with a suite of products and solutions that will reduce costs and increase efficiency.”
