iBanFirst goes to UK to solve Brexit payment challenges with Cornhill buy

The pandemic has underlined the importance of digitising payment processes and combining strong foreign exchange (FX) risk management with technological know-how. With the U.K.’s exit from the EU, small and medium UK businesses (SMEs) are facing difficulties making and receiving payments across Europe due to EU legislation.

Betting big on the growing demand for enhanced cross-border experience, financial services platform iBanFirst has acquired London-based FX provider Cornhill. Supporting its ambitious plan of expanding multi-currency payments for SMBs outside Belgium, the new buy marks the company’s entry in the U.K.

Talking about its arrival in the U.K., Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier, CEO of iBanFirst said: “Our arrival here represents a key milestone and marks our presence in 10 countries. We will continue growing across Europe and now turn our attention to Switzerland, Scandinavia and North America.” 

As an alternative to the traditional bank offer, the French company headquartered in Belgium helps international SMEs to thrive while simplifying their daily operations. The firm’s core banking platform enables fast, secure and cost-effective multicurrency transactions. The acquisition is expected to strengthen iBanFirst’s value proposition to SMEs, simplifying GBP exchanges in a post-Brexit context, and offering Cornhill clients access to its state-of-the-art cross-border technology, the CEO added.

Vivek Savani, executive director of iBanFirst UK added: “The deal will enable our clients  to benefit from an enhanced cross-border experience with features like the Payment Tracker, to trace payments the same way consumers can track parcels.”