Groupe BPCE has announced today the signing of an agreement with the key shareholders and the founders and managers of Fidor Bank AG related to the acquisition of their equity interests in the company.

The planned acquisition of Fidor is fully in line with Groupe BPCE’s strategic plan “Another Way to Grow” and will contribute to the acceleration of the rollout of the group’s digital strategy.

Founded in 2009 by its CEO Matthias Kröner, Fidor is one of the world’s first “Fintech Bank”, pioneering the collaboration between traditional financial services and technology businesses and having developed an innovative approach to retail banking. Fidor offers a unique proposition by combining an innovative customer experience relying heavily on the involvement of the 350,000 members of its community and an open organization and architecture to foster flexibility and agility.

Fidor has developed in particular a proprietary digital banking platform – Fidor Operating System – allowing for fast and easy functionality and enabling open and most advanced API Banking. Telefónica has announced this week the launch of O2 Banking, its mobile-only bank account in partnership with Fidor using the API Banking infrastructure.

By joining Groupe BPCE, Fidor will be able to capitalise on the support and backing of a solid banking group to accelerate its own growth and international development.