Banco Santander and Monitise partner on a London-based £20m FinTech fund
One of Europe's biggest banks and one of London's most successful Financial Technology startups are joining forces to invest in technology companies that will disrupt the global financial services sector.
Banco Santander and Monitise are partnering on a new fund worth up to £20m that will seek out investments in the burgeoning FinTech sector.
The equally split venture will be searching for growth stage companies which have proof of concept but that have not yet launched, it's understood, and specific areas of focus, such as consumer payments or mobile for example, have yet to be decided.
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The London-based fund will be led by Santander's Julio Faura and chaired by Monitise founder Alastair Lukies who earlier this year stood down form the company as chief executive.
Monetise will make its technology available to startups as part of the venture.
“By making our technology and API approach accessible to entrepreneurs, the joint venture will help to bring innovative new digital financial services and products to market faster and more easily, and in doing so expand the potential of our platform,” said Monetise boss Elizabeth Buse.
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Santander last year launched a $100m (£64m) FinTech investment fund as major banks look to find innovation in banking technology from startups, but the new venture will be complementary to that, working with more established startups.
Santander owns a five per cent stake in Monetise after investing £33m through the fund last year.