Open has acquired a consumer neo-banking startup for $10 million, as the Bangalore-based platform looks to broaden its offerings and deepen relationships with banks.
The two said the deal involves both cash and stock. The first consumer-focused neobanking startup in India was launched in 2019. The founder and chief executive of the startup will move to Open.
Anish Achuthan, co-founder and chief executive of Open, told the website that the acquisition of Finin was in line with Open's broader offerings.
Open, which recently received the backing from Google and Temasek, operates an SME banking platform and also provides banks with infrastructure to launch their own digital banks. Over a dozen banks use Open's infrastructure to offer their banking services. Open has partnerships with many banks in India and Southeast Asia.
Consumers can save and invest their money with a savings account from finin.
Finin is an addition to our offerings. We will help banks launch their own consumer-focused neobanking offerings. Many banks are looking to launch their own modern platforms.
He said that Open isn't looking to launch a consumer-focused neobanking service. He said that direct-to-consumer is not in his genes. We may complement some B2C features as part of our payroll management offerings.
When we first launched, I promised my squad that we would make a hallmark in the fintech industry, and show Indian consumers what neo-banking can really do for them.
With the acquisition by Open, I am absolutely certain that we are speeding towards that goal. We will be able to add a lot of value to Open's SMEs by exposing consumer banking rails to them, as we will be working hand-in-hand with a B2B neo-banking platform.
