Italian investment banking company UniCredit is exploring an acquisition of private equity-backed banking services provider Vodeno, according to a Bloomberg report.
Vodeno is a Poland-based financial software company that provides Banking-as-a-Service.
According to the Bloomberg report, the Italian lender has entered early-stage discussions for a potential deal with Vodeno’s owner, US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
Vodeno offers a platform, which is touted to be the world’s first and most comprehensive banking platform to operate entirely in the cloud.
The Vodeno Cloud Platform, in line with strict regulations, enables banks to provide services, from buy-now-pay-later to loans and investments.
The platform provides a fast-track solution for freshers entering the financial services market, and financial institutions looking to migrate from legacy technology.
It also helps financial and e-commerce firms widen their portfolio of products.
In 2018, Warburg invested in the Poland-based financial software company, alongside other investors NatWest Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
UniCredit is a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, the Central and Eastern Europe, serving more than 15 million customers worldwide.
The company is advancing investments in digitalisation and technology at a time when banks are spending billions to upgrade legacy IT systems and cut back-office costs.
Last year, the Italian commercial bank expanded its multi-year partnership with US-based payment card provider Mastercard, to enable a single-card multi-market strategy in Europe.
