NatWest has invested €58m (£50.4m) in equity from Vodeno Group, the owner of Polish fintech company Vodeno TechCo, and Belgium’s Aion Bank for a UK launch.
Vodeno TechCo provides integrated financial solutions such as payments, deposits, point-of-sale loans and merchant cash advances.
“This strategic partnership represents a strong potential source of fee income in a growing market and an opportunity to deliver sustainable growth by building deeper relationships with our corporate customers,” said Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest Group.
“It also complements our existing investment in business banking technology within our Mettle business.”
The majority of the new unit in the UK will be owned by 82%. British Bankand the remaining minority stake is held by Vodeno TechCo.
NatWest will also receive a 9.9% minority stake, which could increase to 18% if Vodeno Group, which wholly owns Vodeno TechCo and Aion Bank, meets certain criteria.
Wojciech Saberaj, CEO of Vodeno Group, said: “Our fully API-based platform offers a wide range of BaaS products that enable brands to ’embed’ financial services directly into their ecosystems to create seamless customer journeys.
“We are delighted to combine our technology with NatWest Group to offer the next generation of financial services.”
The deal between NatWest and Vodeno is still subject to regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, the National Bank of Belgium and the European Central Bank.
