The British fintech company Pockit and the pan-European fintech Monese today announce that they have agreed terms for Pockit to acquire Monese, subject to Change in Control approval by the FCA, creating the leading fintech for the financially underserved and lower-middle-income consumers across the UK and Europe. Pockit and its shareholders, led by Puma Growth Partners (formerly Puma Private Equity), will make a significant injection of up to £15 million in equity capital to fund the integration and future growth of the business. Further financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.

The combined group will serve c.3 million customers and generate almost £30 million in annualised run-rate revenue. In addition to this significant expansion, Pockit will benefit from Monese’s regulatory infrastructure (including electronic money and consumer credit licenses) and the operational synergies arising from the two businesses’ closely aligned customer bases, as well as their complementary product offerings and geographic footprints. The transaction will allow Pockit to accelerate the roll-out of new services, such as Monese’s multi-currency accounts, on top of an existing product suite that includes digital accounts, salary advance and credit-building.

There will be no impact on customers of either Pockit or Monese upon completion of the deal, with the two separate services continuing to run independently until a careful review and integration process has been completed. In the longer term, both Pockit and Monese customers will benefit from an expanded product offering and greater investment in customer services and the technology stack.

Following completion of the acquisition, Pockit founder and CEO Virraj Jatania will lead the enlarged business. Norris Koppel, founder and CEO of Monese, will remain involved with the combined company post-completion to help ensure a smooth transition.

Virraj Jatania, CEO and founder of Pockit, said: “This is a transformational acquisition for Pockit. It immediately propels us to a size where we can support financial inclusion for a critical mass of people who would otherwise be locked out of mainstream finance. While nothing will change for our 3 million customers in the short term, over time this deal will result in new products and an enhanced in-app money management experience. We’re also delighted to be welcoming the talented Monese team that Norris has built to advance our shared mission of providing essential financial services in an accessible, transparent and affordable way.”

Norris Koppel, CEO and founder of Monese, said: “This new era with Pockit is a fantastic way to build on our success and to scale our offering to more customers, and comes at a time when we are approaching profitability. These two businesses have closely aligned customer bases and missions, and are highly complementary in terms of products and geographic footprint. We are looking forward to working with Virraj and the wider Pockit team on the next chapter.”

Rupert West, Managing Director of Puma Growth Partners, said: “We were always great believers in Pockit’s mission to address financial exclusion and help low-income customers access high-quality digital financial infrastructure. This acquisition materially propels Pockit forwards along its planned growth strategy, adding significant scale.  We’re excited to continue supporting Virraj as he builds Europe’s leading fintech for the financially underserved.”