Payment solutions provider for SMEs, Equals Group plc, has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Roqqett Limited, an open banking payments platform, for a total consideration of up to £2.25 million.
The fintech payments group has agreed to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Roqqett but the acquisition is still pending regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Under the terms of the deal, Equals will make an initial £1.0 million cash payment, followed by three deferred payments one of up to £0.25 million in cash and two of £0.5 million, one in cash and the other in ordinary shares in Equals.
Established in November 2019, Roqquett holds FCA licenses as WWE AISP (Account Information Service Provider), as well as PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider), allowing it to perform the full suite of open banking services, including taking payments and accessing financial data.
The acquisition deal is strategic move for Equals, as the fintech firm currently does not have these two authorisations.
Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of Equals, commented:
The platform, underlying technology, and licences that we are acquiring fit well with our stated strategy of providing payments solutions to our B2B customer base.
The ability to provide our corporate customers with an alternative route to acquire payments from their B2B or B2C customers is the last piece of the jigsaw in terms of Equals participation in the full payment lifecycle.
The acquisition of Roqqett will allow Equals to offer full payment lifecycle for its corporate and enterprise customers with the addition of a B2B2B/C leg to the ultimate consumer.
Furthermore, the infrastructure of Equals, significantly boost Roqqett’s proposition on a stand-alone basis. In addition, the data capabilities will allow Equals to make decisions informed by machine-learning technology.
Glenn Smith, CEO of Roqqett, said:
Roqqett has developed a unique checkout experience for the rapidly growing market in open banking payments. This offering is enhanced with the addition of Equal’s capabilities in IBANs and their membership of the Faster Payments Scheme. The team at Roqqett is looking forward to working with Equals to maximise the potential for both platforms arising from this Acquisition.
