Kotapay, a division of First International Bank & Trust (FIBT), today announced Raisin, the global savings and investment platform, as the first financial technology company to integrate with its new bank-direct banking as a service (BaaS) platform, known as Kavinu. This integration expands on FIBT’s existing partnership with the German-based fintech leader, which already included serving as the holder of Raisin customers’ cash accounts. With the conversion of service bank responsibilities to FIBT, Raisin now accesses a variety of cloud-based microservices to processes fund transfers between external accounts and the 80+ banks and credit unions on the Raisin marketplace, as well as perform critical risk management and compliance functions.

By removing unnecessary middleware and nonbank providers used by many to connect banks and fintechs, Kotapay’s vertical integration simplifies the BaaS model and accelerates speed-to-market for fintechs and embedded finance providers.

“Kavinu represents the next generation of banking as a service where innovative companies like Raisin connect directly to an experienced banking partner like FIBT and Kotapay,” said Trent Sorbe, Chief Payments Officer at FIBT. “Raisin is an ideal first partner for demonstrating Kavinu’s capabilities and the advantages of our BaaS 2.0 approach. One contract and one connection greatly accelerated speed to market, as Raisin was able to launch in less than half the time experienced by other fintechs reliant on convoluted, unstable models.”

Kotapay, which already provides payments processing to more than 107,000 employers and 1.5 million consumers nationwide, launched Kavinu to redefine BaaS by emphasizing direct relationships between fintech companies and banks. This approach ensures fintech solutions are built on a trusted foundation with faster time to market, proven scalability and increased revenue potential.