Prague-based Banking Software Company (BSC) and Budapest-based W.UP have announced the completion of their merger, forging a new entity, Finshape. The new company aims to provide financial sector clients with a low-code development platform that will speed up the time-to-market process for legacy players that are struggling to meet the increasing demands from customers in a post-pandemic world.
According to Juniper Research, the number of active online banking users is expected to top 3.6 billion by 2024, and yet, most long-time players in the industry are struggling to match the user experience provided by the Open API players, i.e. digital-only banking service providers. So much so that one-fifth of CEE financial institutions have not addressed the elephant in the room, with only about one-third of them having dedicated teams working on it.
By combining the strengths of BSC’s low-code banking software expertise, thus allowing banks to develop and own their own digital offer, and W.UP’s vast experience with data analytics centered around a customer’s financial health, helping said banks make sense of the vast amount of data and engage better with customers, Finshape finds itself in a unique position, with a unique offer.
Finshape will be co-led by Petr Koutný, CEO of BSC and József Nyíri, CEO of W.UP, who combined, count over 40 years of fintech knowledge. On the reasoning behind the merger, the duo explains, “One of the main reasons why W.UP and BSC match up well is that our products and knowledge combined will offer banks a one-stop-shop in transforming into truly data- and experience-first businesses. But the strong strategic fit between our firms goes beyond capability building and the benefits it will bring to our now-shared customer base. Value, cultural compatibility, and a shared vision have also been a key factor in our decision to merge.”
As a combined entity, Finshape hits the ground running with a team of over 600 players, and a client list of over 100 businesses on 4 continents including household names such as Raiffeisen, BNP Paribas, Erste, Société Générale, and Alfa-Bank.
“Until now, these services have been fragmented and requesting specialized products from non-local suppliers was often complicated, lengthy and sometimes risky," commented Raiffeisen’s IT digital development director, Tomáš Zrna. "Personalizing content, presenting relevant offers in real-time in response to client events are all innovations that are moving the banking market forward and increasing customer satisfaction rates."
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