The acquisition is expected to strengthen Tink’s position in the UK by enhancing banking connectivity and coverage
Tink acquires UK-based OpenWrks. (Credit: Pixabay/Markus Spiske.)
Tink, a Stockholm, Sweden-based open banking platform, has acquired OpenWrks, a UK-based open banking applications provider, for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition will strengthen Tink’s banking connectivity and coverage, solidifying its position in the UK.
The deal is also expected to be beneficial for OpenWrks as it allows to power its suite of applications through Tink’s platform connectivity.
Established in 2015, OpenWrks is based in Nottingham and has a workforce of 50. The firm offers applications which are claimed to assist people in knowing what they can afford to save, invest, borrow and repay.
Tink UK & Ireland country manager Rafa Plantier said: “We are devotees of pioneers. OpenWrks was the first platform to be licensed in the UK, and is arguably the most complete in coverage as it handles more than a third of the country’s account aggregation volume.
“The UK is a key market for us and we have grown both our customer base and workforce significantly here since we opened our London office in 2019.
“The UK is where we see national and global champions of their segments, such as our partners NatWest and PayPal, that put open banking at the centre of their digital strategies.”
Tink will also expand its UK connectivity into business account data
The acquisition of OpenWrks allows Tink to enhance its open banking platform by increasing its bank connectivity in the UK. Besides strengthening its coverage of personal account data, Tink can also expand its connectivity into business account data.
The Swedish open banking firm expects to make the launch of UK business account data available to all Tink customers later this year. The deal is expected to bring Fintech and SME customers including Xero, Liberis Finance and Snoop to Tink.
Through the partnership, OpenWrks is expected to speed up its growth in terms of affordability and data services business internationally.
In addition, it will be able to make its MyBudget and data services available to core European markets early in 2021.
OpenWrks co-founder and chief commercial officer Steve Bradford said: “Our strategy at OpenWrks is to focus all our energy on delivering market-leading consumer applications and data services built on open banking infrastructure.
“With this in mind, we have been evaluating open banking providers over the past 12 months and we believe that Tink’s platform presents the best opportunity for us to achieve our three year mission of helping ten million people in the UK and globally understand what they can afford to save, invest, borrow and repay.”