5 Big FinTech acquisitions announced in Europe in July 2024

By Gloria Methri

In the first quarter of 2024, the FinTech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) sector in Europe saw notable activity despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. Transaction volumes in the wider EMEA region decreased by 26% compared to the previous year, but transaction values ​​increased by 9%, reflecting a trend where fewer but larger transactions are taking place.

Despite the contraction, companies remain interested in exploring options and look forward to potential transactions when market conditions improve. The FinTech sector specifically leverages acquisitions to improve technological capabilities, expand market presence, and meet changing customer demands.

Let’s take a look at five of these FinTech acquisitions announced this month:

Ant International has acquired Amsterdam-based payment service provider MultiSafepay and integrated it into its Antom division, a payment and scanning service provider. The acquisition aims to improve payment solutions and digital services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Europe.

MultiSafepay now offers merchants omnichannel payment services that connect over 40 international payment methods, including cards, e-wallets, buy now, pay later, internet banking, and more.

NatWest Group has signed an agreement with Metro Bank to acquire a £2.5 billion portfolio of prime UK residential mortgages, with a weighted average current loan-to-value ratio of approximately 62%. Once the transaction is completed, NatWest Group expects to accommodate approximately 10,000 customer accounts, which will continue to be managed by Metro Bank following the transfer to NatWest Group.

ThetaRay has acquired European screening company Screena to strengthen its mission of enabling banks, FinTechs and regulators to detect financial crime with cutting-edge AI solutions. This strategic acquisition formalizes Screena’s cloud-based AI-based monitoring solution as part of the ThetaRay product suite, providing financial institutions with a holistic view of transaction and customer monitoring risks.

UniCredit has signed a 370 million euro agreement to acquire the entire capital of Vodeno and Aion Bank. The companies combine an innovative, scalable and flexible cloud platform with banking services based on Aion’s BCE license to enable end-to-end Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) for financial and non-financial companies across the ‘Europe.

Aion/Vodeno can integrate financial solutions, including accounts, deposits, loan and payment propositions, directly into the customer journeys of retailers, e-commerce marketplaces, FinTechs, fintech providers and banks.

Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting (TAA) is set to acquire the accounting portfolio of Belgian FinTech group Isabel, consisting of cloud-based financial workflow and data exchange solutions, for 325 million euros in cash. This portfolio complements Wolters Kluwer’s existing European tax and accounting solutions and enables it to provide end-to-end coverage of accountants’ workflow, from pre-accounting to post-accounting. More than 130 FTEs based in Belgium and France will join Wolters Kluwer TAA Europe, which covers 10 European countries.

Also read: Applications of artificial intelligence in the banking sector Q3 2024