On June 10, 2020, the Crédit Agricole Group finalized the acquisition of fintech Linxo, a specialist in payments and bank account aggregation.
Crédit Agricole holds over 85% of Linxo Group's capital
The Crédit Agricole Group's acquisition of a majority stake in Linxo Group was initiated in January. The transaction, which was approved by the French banking regulator, theAutorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), at the end of May, was finalized on June 10.
Crédit Agricole now owns over 85% of the capital of Linxo, a fintech specializing in bank account aggregation and payment initiation. The fintech retains the remaining capital and will be involved in its development.
Linxo offers APIs (Application Program Interfaces), programs that enable information to be exchanged between the various software packages that make up a company's IT system.
The fintech also offers white-label mobile applications to startups, banks and insurance companies. The Crédit Agricole Group was already one of the first investors in Linxo, founded in 2010.
New prospects for the Crédit Agricole Group
With the acquisition of Linxo, Crédit Agricole aims to consolidate its leading position in digital payments. The technologies deployed by the fintech will enhance the customer experience, facilitate professional accounting and cash management, help private individuals manage their budgets, and offer new payment methods.
As Bertrand Chevallier, CEO of Crédit Agricole Payment Services, states in a recent press release: "the acquisition of this major player in banking aggregation in France, a long-standing partner of the Crédit Agricole Group, is fully in line with our strategy to offer customers of the Group's banks innovative payment services to the highest market standards."
Bruno Van Haetsdaele, Chairman of Linxo Group, added: "This operation will enable us to accelerate and strengthen our services to the Crédit Agricole Group, while at the same time giving us the opportunity to develop our offering in France and internationally."
The Crédit Agricole Group and Linxo Group are both winners from this operation.