Rapyd, a multinational Fintech as a Service (FaaS) provider, has entered into a definitive agreement with Arion Banki (Arion Bank) in order to acquire Valitor, an Icelandic payments solutions firm.
As confirmed in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider, the deal size is $100 million and “subject to regulatory approval.”
Valitor is an established payments brand and it’s also one of Europe’s payments leaders, offering in-store and online payments acceptance options along with card issuing to SMB merchants in Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and across Europe.
The acquisition of Valitor will aim to complement Rapyd’s extensive payment capabilities throughout Europe, while improving its issuing portfolio.
After Rapyd’s recent investment round, the firm is actively seeking out key acquisition opportunities, “targeting strong payments companies and enhancing their capabilities by connecting them to the Rapyd Global Payments Network,” the announcement revealed.
With its solid European market presence, the acquisition of Valitor will aim to empower clients from any sector to “streamline integration of omni-channel payments, expand into new markets, flatten FX fees, unlocking revenue and growth potential that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.”
Arik Shtilman, Rapyd co-founder and CEO, stated:
“Businesses are looking beyond their borders to scale up and expand their customer base, and they need the right payment providers that can make it happen quickly. With the acquisition of Valitor, customers across Europe will now have access to a greater and more diverse set of payment offerings, ensuring that more companies can take advantage of any opportunity they wish to pursue.”
Arik added:
“Iceland has long distinguished itself as a cashless nation and an innovation hub, with extraordinary levels of talent and a developed payments ecosystem. We plan to continue to grow and invest in Iceland, making it our European Hub, and will support local merchants while increasing our reach across Europe so that we can provide payment solutions to any business committed to pursuing global success.”
Benedikt Gislason, Arion Bank’s CEO, remarked:
“It has been our long-stated intention to find a new and more appropriate home for Valitor. In Rapyd, we have found exactly that. A highly strategic partner, at the forefront of technological innovation and with complementary strengths to those of Valitor. I would like to thank our Valitor colleagues for their co-operation and wish them best of luck on their new adventures as part of the Rapyd Group.”
Herdís Fjeldsted, Valitor’s CEO, noted:
“The Valitor management team is excited about the future prospects and very much look forward to closely working with Arik and the broader Rapyd team on the integration of the two businesses.”
Rapyd’s extensive Cloud-enabled tech supports quick and seamless integration of payments and related Fintech services into any web or mobile app while simplifying the complexity of providing domestic payment solutions. This services are offered in a compliant manner.
By leveraging Rapyd’s Collect, Disburse, Wallet, and Issuing capabilities, Valitor businesses and merchants can “expand into a broad set of new use cases and services, quickly enter new markets thanks to a ready-made payments infrastructure that fits their needs.”