Finastra Expands Its Global Footprint with New Offices
Finastra, the U.K.-based financial software provider, is broadening its global presence with an aim to improve its appeal to international clients. The fintech is set to open a new office in Atlanta, along with expanding its existing offices and innovation center in India. This move is a part of Finastra’s broader expansion strategy to provide localized engineering and product solutions to its U.S. clients. Source: American Banker
Atlanta: A Rising Fintech Hub
“Atlanta has emerged as one of the world’s leading fintech hubs,” said Finastra CEO Chris Walters. The new Atlanta office will house employees across various departments such as engineering, product, data, and corporate functions. Furthermore, the office will serve as Finastra’s U.S. leadership base, with Walters dividing his time between his residence in Atlanta and the company’s global headquarters in London.
The Strategic Drive Behind Finastra’s Expansion
The establishment of new offices and expansion of existing ones signifies Finastra’s intent to be physically closer to its existing U.S. customers. “Our focus is on being closer to customers, attracting top talent, and building the capabilities banks need right now,” Walters told American Banker. The Atlanta office aligns perfectly with these objectives by giving Finastra a strong presence in a major tech and financial hub where it can attract top talent.
Tyler Brown, an independent fintech and payments consultant, commented on the strategic location of the new office, noting the abundance of fintech talent in Atlanta. Brown said, “There are plenty of vendors to poach from; Fiserv, Global Payments, and NCR’s descendants come immediately to mind. If they want to expand in payments, Atlanta is certainly where they’ll find the people to do it.”
Finastra’s Client Base and Business Evolution
Finastra boasts a client base of 3,500 U.S. commercial clients in financial services. This figure has remained steady over the years due to consolidation in the U.S. small bank and credit union market. Finastra itself is the result of a merger between two other fintechs, D+H and Misys, in 2017. The company has since launched various open banking initiatives to enter the U.S. community bank space in 2019.
Earlier this year, Finastra streamlined its product offerings by selling its treasury and capital markets division to private equity firm Apax. This move is part of a regular business strategy followed by Vista Equity Partners, the firm that owns Finastra.
Finastra’s Foray in the Crypto Space
In recent developments, Finastra ventured into the crypto space through a partnership with the U.S.-based digital asset marketplace Bakkt in late 2021. As of August this year, Finastra has also partnered with the stablecoin provider Circle to incorporate USDC into Finastra’s domestic and cross-border payment products for bank customers.
“Now that Fiserv has its own stablecoin and is pitching a digital asset platform, any large payment processor that doesn’t have a stablecoin strategy will slip behind peers as traditional and decentralized payment systems merge,” Brown warned.
As Finastra continues to expand its global footprint and align its offerings with emerging industry trends, its strategic growth initiatives are set to shift the competitive power among payment processors and fintech hubs.
For more details on Finastra’s expansion, click here.
