United Fintech has entered the commercial banking segment with the acquisition of Commercial Banking Applications (CBA), a Norway-based vendor offering API-based solutions for payments and trade finance.United Fintech enters commercial banking segmentFounded by CEO Rolf Hauge in 1983, CBA’s solutions enable banks to “modernise legacy infrastructure, enhance efficiency, and streamline financial workflows”, the company writes on its website.The Oslo-headquartered fintech operates predominantly across Europe and Asia, with Dutch banking giant ABN Amro being one of its major clients.United Fintech says it has financed the purchase through a mix of both debt and equity provided by existing investors, which include financial services heavyweights BNP Paribas, Citi, Danske Bank, and Standard Chartered.Although the financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, United Fintech confirms that 15% of the total consideration of the deal has been reinvested into its own shares, “ensuring that CBA’s employees remain actively engaged in the company’s future”.United Fintech plans to integrate CBA’s API-driven trade finance and payments technology into its digital transformation platform, which currently includes solutions for trading and investing, compliance and risk, data, and wealth management.The company’s founder and CEO Christian Frahm says the acquisition of CBA “complements our vision of building a comprehensive digital ecosystem for financial institutions”.United Fintech previously purchased foreign exchange (FX) and digital asset risk and data services provider Cobalt in late 2022.The solution was subsequently relaunched as CobaltFX the following year, and attracted the likes of BNP Paribas and NatWest as clients.
Mar. Feb 4th, 2025
