BNP Paribas acquires majority stake in France’s Compte-Nickel

BNP Paribas has purchased a majority stake in French fintech startup Compte-Nickel.

The bank has acquired 95% of the startup’s shares. The company was founded in 2010 by Financière des Paiements Électroniques (FPE) and provides alternative electronic banking services. No terms were officially disclosed but Le Monde is reporting the deal is worth €200 million.

“As a partner of choice for startup companies, BNP Paribas was immediately able to grasp the relevance of our positioning, our need for agility in developing our business model, and the resources required to drive our growth. Our brand, our values and our disruptive culture all remain unchanged,” said Hugues Le Bret, chairman of FPE.

“Compte-Nickel will remain independent from the rest of the Group,” commented BNP Paribas group deputy COO, Thierry Laborde. “Meanwhile we will be making every effort to help Compte-Nickel improve the customer experience and foster its growth, while remaining true to its concept.”

Investors in Compte-Nickel include Eight Roads Ventures and Partech Ventures, which described the deal as showing “great foresight”.

“Compte-Nickel is not a company, it’s a movement which is changing the face of banking in France,” added managing partner of Eight Roads, Davor Hebel. “It has been an honour to work with a fintech company that seeks to bank the many rather than the few, using a model that other countries could learn from.”