Monese, founded by Estonian entrepreneur Norris Koppel in 2015, offers digital banking services across the UK and Europe, specializing in multi-currency accounts for individuals and businesses who need easy cross-border financial access. The company is now being acquired by Pockit, a UK-based fintech that provides financial services to underserved, lower-middle-income consumers, focusing on products like digital accounts, salary advances, and credit-building tools. Supported by a £15 million equity injection from Puma Growth Partners, the acquisition will allow both companies to expand their offerings and customer base. During the integration process, they will continue operating independently, with Koppel remaining involved to oversee the transition.
Monese is a leading pan-European fintech that offers smart money services to millions of consumers across UK and Europe. Monese was launched in 2015 by the entrepreneur Norris Koppel, after his first-hand experience of the pain of trying to open a bank account in another country.
Norris Koppel, CEO and founder of Monese, said: “This new era with Pockit is a fantastic way to build on our success and to scale our offering to more customers, and comes at a time when we are approaching profitability. These two businesses have closely aligned customer bases andmissions, and are highly complementary in terms of products and geographic footprint. We arelooking forward to working with Virraj and the wider Pockit team on the next chapter.”
Pockit is a UK-headquartered financial technology company, founded in 2014 by Virraj Jatania. It provides vital financial services to more than 900,000 customers in the UK whose needs aren’t met by the traditional banking system. The company offers a digital account which is designed to provide customers with a range of essential financial services.
The combined group will serve c.3 million customers and generate almost £30 million in annualised run-rate revenue. In addition to this significant expansion, Pockit will benefit from Monese’s regulatory infrastructure (including electronic money and consumer credit licenses) and the operational synergies arising from the two businesses’ closely aligned customer bases, as well as their complementary product offerings and geographic footprints. The transaction will allow Pockit to accelerate the roll-out of new services, such as Monese’s multi-currency accounts, on top of an existing product suite that includes digital accounts, salary advance and
credit-building.
There will be no impact on customers of either Pockit or Monese upon completion of the deal, with the two separate services continuing to run independently until a careful review and integration process has been completed. In the longer term, both Pockit and Monese customers will benefit from an expanded product offering and greater investment in customer services and the technology stack.
Following the completion of the acquisition, Pockit founder and CEO Virraj Jatania will lead the enlarged business. Norris Koppel, founder and CEO of Monese, will remain involved with the combined company post-completion to help ensure a smooth transition.
Virraj Jatania, CEO and founder of Pockit, said: “This is a transformational acquisition for Pockit. It immediately propels us to a size where we can support financial inclusion for a critical mass of people who would otherwise be locked out of mainstream finance. While nothing will change for our 3 million customers in the short term, over time this deal will result in new products and an enhanced in-app money management experience. We’re also delighted to be welcoming the talented Monese team that Norris has built to advance our shared mission of providing essential financial services in an accessible, transparent and affordable way.”
Puma Growth Partners is a leading provider of growth capital to SMEs across all sectors and regions of the UK, delivering investments between £4 million to £10 million. Puma Growth Partners takes a highly active approach to value creation, partnering with management teams to help drive up equity value through expansion and professionalisation. Further information on Puma Growth Partners can be found at www.pumagp.co.uk. Puma Growth Partners is the private equity division of Puma Capital Group.
Rupert West, Managing Director of Puma Growth Partners, said: “We were always great believers in Pockit’s mission to address financial exclusion and help low-income customers access high-quality digital financial infrastructure. This acquisition materially propels Pockit forwards along its planned growth strategy, adding significant scale. We’re excited to continuesupporting Virraj as he builds Europe’s leading fintech for the financially underserved.”
Click here to read more IPO/M&A news.
Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/monese-acquired-by-pockit/
