US online personal finance company Social Finance (SoFi) has agreed to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies, a financial services API and payments platform, in a cash cum stock deal worth $1.2bn.
Based in Utah, Galileo Financial Technologies created a digital payments platform, which is said to enable critical checking and savings account-like functionality through its open APIs. The payments platform is claimed to give companies an easy way to develop sophisticated consumer and B2B financial services.
Galileo Financial Technologies’ offerings can be accessed using mobile, desktop, and a physical debit card. The company’s APIs help in creating functionalities such as setting up accounts, funding, direct deposit, IVR, ACH transfer, early paycheck direct deposit, bill pay, notifications on transactions, and check balance among others.
Last month, the payments platform provider is claimed to have processed more than $53bn of annualised payments volume.
Galileo Financial Technologies CEO Clay Wilkes said: “SoFi has built a very strong diversified financial services company focusing on a full suite of financial services. These are products that many of our leading fintech clients are asking for. Distributing products through our enterprise class API is the vision behind this combination.”
According to SoFi, its cash management account solution SoFi Money is already integrated tightly with Galileo Financial Technologies’ payment platform, which includes various account and events API functionalities.
Through the acquisition, the online personal finance company expects to bolster its capabilities. Apart from that, the combination of the two firms will extend the reach of SoFi’s products to other Galileo Financial Technologies’ partners in the US and international markets.
SoFI CEO comments on acquiring Galileo Financial Technologies
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said: “Together with Galileo, we will partner to build on our companies’ strengths to drive even greater financial technology innovation, making those products and services available to both current and future partners.
“While we march forward on our mission to help people achieve financial independence through our own direct efforts, with Galileo, we can enable a broader ecosystem of companies to join us in helping the world achieve financial independence.”
The completion of the transaction will be subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and meeting of other customary closing conditions.
