Banco Santander, S.A. (BME:SAN) and Monitise Plc (LON:MONI) have today announced a joint venture agreement to launch a fintech venture builder later this year. The 50:50 joint venture will be aimed at investing in, building and scaling fintech businesses with the potential to redefine and support financial services globally.
The joint venture will invest in fintech businesses which will benefit from the opportunity to become partners with the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization with a meaningful presence across Europe and Latin America, with its partner being a specialist in mobile money (banking, paying and buying) with proven, scalable technology.
In addition to its 50% ownership interest in joint venture, Monitise will benefit from a multi-million pound upfront licence fee, with further ongoing revenues expected to be generated by initiative.
The venture includes access to Monitise’s new cloud-based platform which is designed to connect banks to digital innovation for their customers. Investee ventures will benefit from Santander’s and Monitise’s business know-how as well as access to Monitise’s design and delivery expertise.
In addition to its 50% ownership interest in the joint venture, Monitise will benefit from a multi-million pound upfront licence fee with further ongoing revenues expected to be generated by the initiative.
Monitise is also expected to grow its client portfolio by providing services to the companies the joint venture will support. Both partners have committed to provide up to a maximum of £10 million of capital each to the joint venture over two years dependent on the scale and nature of opportunities identified.
The joint venture will be led by Julio Faura, one of Santander’s innovation leaders, and chaired by Monitise founder Alastair Lukies, and will operate from London.
For the official announcement from Monitise, click here.