By: 7 July 2021

Following Rapyd’s recent financing round, the company is actively pursuing acquisition opportunities

Payments fintech Rapyd has entered into a definitive agreement with Arion Bank to acquire Valitor, an Icelandic payments solutions company. The deal is worth $100 million and subject to regulatory approval.

Valitor is a well-established payments brand and considered one of Europe’s leaders, providing both in-store and online payments acceptance solutions as well as card issuing to merchants in Iceland, the UK and Ireland, and across Europe.

The acquisition of Valitor will complement Rapyd’s existing payment capabilities throughout Europe, as well as enhance its issuing portfolio.

Following Rapyd’s recent financing round, the company is actively pursuing acquisition opportunities, targeting strong payments companies and enhancing their capabilities by connecting them to the Rapyd Global Payments Network.

With its strong European presence, the acquisition of Valitor will empower customers from any industry to streamline integration of omni-channel payments, expand into new markets, flatten foreign exchange fees, unlocking revenue and growth potential that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.

Arik Shtilman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Rapyd, says: “Businesses are looking beyond their borders to scale up and expand their customer base, and they need the right payment providers that can make it happen quickly. With the acquisition of Valitor, customers across Europe will now have access to a greater and more diverse set of payment offerings, ensuring that more companies can take advantage of any opportunity they wish to pursue.”

“Iceland has long distinguished itself as a cashless nation and an innovation hub, with extraordinary levels of talent and a developed payments ecosystem. We plan to continue to grow and invest in Iceland, making it our European Hub, and will support local merchants while increasing our reach across Europe so that we can provide payment solutions to any business committed to pursuing global success.”

Benedikt Gislason, chief executive officer at Arion Bank, comments: “It has been our long-stated intention to find a new and more appropriate home for Valitor. In Rapyd, we have found exactly that. A highly strategic partner, at the forefront of technological innovation and with complementary strengths to those of Valitor. I would like to thank our Valitor colleagues for their cooperation and wish them best of luck on their new adventures as part of the Rapyd Group.”

Herdís Fjeldsted, chief executive officer at Valitor, adds: “Today’s announcement marks a landmark moment in Valitor’s long history. This is a game-changing transaction for the Icelandic payments market. The Valitor management team is excited about the future prospects and very much look forward to closely working with Arik and the broader Rapyd team on the integration of the two businesses.”

Rapyd’s cloud-based technology allows fast and easy integration of payments and fintech services into any web or mobile application and simplifies the complexity of offering local payment methods while managing diverse compliance and regulatory requirements.

By leveraging Rapyd’s Collect, Disburse, Wallet, and Issuing capabilities, Valitor businesses and merchants can expand into a broad set of new use cases and services and quickly enter new markets thanks to a ready-made payments infrastructure that fits their needs.

Images: Rapyd, Valitor