French investment bank Societe Generale has acquired Shine, a neobank for entrepreneurs, for an undisclosed price.
Launched in 2018, the French neobank is said to cater to more than 70,000 entrepreneurs.
The challenger bank provides a 100% online business account to self-employed and small businesses. It also offers a co-pilot functionality to help them with their administrative task such as invoicing, calculation of charges, simplification of accounting, and others, thereby allowing them to concentrate on their business and development.
Shine is said to be helped by the technological expertise of Treezor, which is a major provider of solutions for fintech companies. Treezor was acquired in 2018 by Societe Generale.
Shine CEO comments on joining Societe Generale
Shine CEO and co-founder Nicolas Reboud said: ‘We created Shine to make the lives of entrepreneurs easier and allow them to concentrate on their business. We are pleased and proud to join Societe Generale group, further proof of the solidity of our model, based on digital technology, human support, and responsible development.”
According to Societe Generale, Shine is among the few French fintech firms to have proven its ability to quickly attract entrepreneurs by means of its position as an innovator and the quality of its offer.
The neobank will continue to develop independently with the goal of supporting new clients, said Societe Generale.
The French investment bank said that it will also market the neobank’s products to business clients that prefer completely online management and low-cost services.
Furthermore, Societe Generale and Shine by coming together are expected to help develop broad synergies across the group. Services like credit, insurance, and payments, will be provided to the neobank’s clients in line with its mission to simplify the banking experience for entrepreneurs.
Societe Generale France retail banking director Marie-Christine Ducholet said: ‘Through the acquisition of Shine, we will be able to offer entrepreneurs the widest offer in this growing, high-value market.
“Shine’s model appealed to us because it reinforces our relational promise to offer clients the best of mix of people and digital technology. Finally, there are many synergies with our various businesses allowing us to take our Open Banking strategy to the next level.”
