Tink will retain its brand, current management team, and headquarters in Stockholm
Open banking platform Tink to be acquired by Visa. (Credit: Tumisu from Pixabay)
US-based digital payments major Visa has agreed to acquire European open banking platform Tink for a sum of €1.8bn, inclusive of cash and retention incentives.
Tink helps financial organisations, fintechs, and merchants to develop customised financial management tools, products, and services for consumers and businesses across Europe, based on their financial data.
Through a single API, the fintech company enables its customers to access financial data, use risk insights, account verification, and other smart financial services. Additionally, the API helps them to develop personal finance management tools.
Tink’s open banking platform is said to be integrated with over 3,400 banks and financial institutions. Post-acquisition, the company will continue to be headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and will also retain its brand and the present management team.
Established in 2012, the Swedish fintech company has a workforce of 400. Currently, it caters to over 300 banks and fintechs across 18 European markets through its offices in 13 countries.
In December 2020, the company announced the closing of an €85m investment round extension.
Tink CEO and co-founder Daniel Kjellén said: “For the past ten years we have worked relentlessly to build Tink into a leading open banking platform in Europe, and we are incredibly proud of what the whole team at Tink has created together.
“We have built something incredible and at the same time we have only scratched the surface. Joining Visa, we will be able to move faster and reach further than ever before.”
According to Visa, the deal will combine its infrastructure and continued investment in resilience, fraud prevention, and cybersecurity with Tink’s APIs, technology and customer relationships. This will help expedite the adoption of open banking in Europe, said Visa.
The financial services firm also said that the combination will help businesses of all sizes to access a greater and more tailored variety of tools for operating digitally and securely.
Visa CEO and chairman Al Kelly said: “Visa is committed to doing all we can to foster innovation and empower consumers in support of Europe’s open banking goals.
“By bringing together Visa’s network of networks and Tink’s open banking capabilities we will deliver increased value to European consumers and businesses with tools to make their financial lives more simple, reliable and secure.”
The closing of the deal is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and meeting other customary closing conditions.
Last month, Tink acquired FinTecSystems, a Germany-based open banking technology provider. FinTecSystems is said to specialise in data analytics, account aggregation, digital account checks, and open banking payments.