Svea Bank acquires Arex fintech operations in Finland
AREX Markets, the data-driven FinTech company that drives down funding costs for SMEs and enables them to get paid faster, has announced the sale of its Finnish operations to Swedish payments and finance institution Svea Bank.
In connection with the agreement, Svea will further strengthen its position as corporate financier, as AREX’s approx. 1,200 Finnish customers and partnerships within financial management and software for financial management are transferred to the bank’s portfolio. The Finnish operation of AREX has financed over 500 million euros in invoices.
AREX’s Spanish and UK operations remain unaffected and continue to focus on building integrated financing products for third-party platforms. Customers in Finland have been informed of the transition and their contracts and service details will be transferred to Svea.
Svea is reshaping the playing field for corporate finance in Finland, and taking on the operation of AREX in the region is a natural step to strengthen its own business and at the same time offer AREX’s partners and customers an easy way to a wider range of services than before.
“Svea has grown a lot over the years, also through business transactions, so buying AREX’s business in Finland was a good and natural solution for us. In addition, the agreement is pleasant for us in Svea because the focus of our activities is to help partners and customers succeed – offering AREX’s partners and customers a wider range of services is exactly that, says Pasi Väre, country manager of Svea in Finland. .
The agreement also provides new opportunities for AREX to focus on the UK and Europe in the launch of integrated financing products, which can be branded by both neobanks, ERPs and accounting software. The business seeks to bridge the liquidity gap that most small businesses face in the face of a recessive economic climate.
UK SMEs can continue to access AREX’s core invoice finance product through the Xero marketplace.
“For us at AREX, this is a great step: we are developing a stronger presence in embedded finance, which is underpinned by our sophisticated marketplace software, our strongest point,” says AREX CEO, Airto Vienola.
“For the AREX team, it was extremely important that we find the best possible corporate financier to take care of the company’s customers and partnerships in Finland. Svea convinced us with their customer- and partner-centric approach,” adds AREX’s co-founder Perttu Jalkanen.
