Israeli global payments and fintech company Rapyd has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Arion Banki to acquire Icelandic payments solutions company Valitor for $100 million.
Rapyd has been pursuing acquisition opportunities with payment companies since raising $300 million in January at a company valuation of $2.2 billion. The acquisition of Valitor will complement and strengthen the presence of Rapyd's global payments network in Europe.
Rapyd added that, "the acquisition of Valitor will empower customers from any industry 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."
With offices in Tel Aviv, London, San Francisco and Singapore, Rapyd was founded in 2016 as Cashdash by CEO Arik Shtilman, VP R&D Arkady Karpman, and VP Corporate Development Omer Priel.
Rapyd's platform embeds fintech services into any application and simplifies the complexity of offering local payment methods through an easy-to-use API while managing diverse compliance and regulatory requirements. Businesses can accept and send payments without having to build their own infrastructure through the Rapyd Global Payments Network, which supports hundreds of local payment methods including cards, bank transfers, ewallets, and cash.
Shtilman said, "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. 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."
Arion Bank CEO Benedikt Gislason said, "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."
Valitor CEO Herdis Fjeldsted added, "Today's announcement marks a landmark moment in Valitor's long history. This is a game-changing transaction for the Icelandic payments market. 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."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2021
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