Weavr acquires Comma to merge open banking with embedded finance

The deal will combine Comma’s open banking technology with Weavr’s current BaaS capabilities

Weavr, an embedded finance provider, has confirmed the acquisition of B2B open banking platform Comma Payments.  

The acquisition, which is largely equity-based, will see Weavr retain most of Comma’s current workforce, including chief executive officer and founder Tom Beckenham, and its chief technology officer, Gianluca Pengo.  

The deal will combine Comma’s open banking technology with Weavr’s current BaaS capabilities.  

This will enable customers to progress from making payments via their own existing bank accounts to doing so through Weavr-provided accounts that offer “richer controls and payment options” than those given by many banks to small businesses.  

In an email interview with FinTech Intel, Alex Mifsud, chief executive officer of Weavr, said the acquisition brings together the two prevailing methods of delivering embedded finance: BaaS and open banking. 

Mifsud said: “BaaS offers embedders powerful payment-account and card-creation capabilities for customers.  While Weavr’s approach takes off most of the heavy lifting associated with traditional BaaS, customers are still required to go through high standards of verification to get access to services. 

“Comma’s unique approach to open banking offers businesses a way to make bulk payments from their existing bank accounts while minimising the friction associated with customer on-boarding.   

“With Comma, Weavr will be able to offer more comprehensive embedded finance solutions that allow B2B customers to get started with minimal effort and, at their own pace, progress to richer capabilities once they confirm the utility of the solution.” 

Speaking on his decision to join Weavr, Beckenham said: “We’ve watched Weavr’s growth closely and saw synergies with their plug-and-play model that could have greatly benefited our customers.” 

The announcement furthers Weavr’s continued growth. The company raised $40m in a series A round last year, launched in Singapore, tripled its user base and increased the number of transactions through its platform by 340% in 12 months.  

Image: Canva  

Learn more about embedded finance: Weavr’s Daniel Greiller on the evolution of embedded finance 

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.