Technology beyond banking borders

“In order to achieve its vision of a Banking-as-a-service platform, iBanFirst raised its first capital in October 2016, with Xavier Niel as the main investor, through its holding company NJJ. Founder of School 42 and Station F, Xavier Niel is also the first business angel in France with 35 million euros invested in recent years. This list makes him the best representative of the startup ecosystem. NJJ Capital is one of its personal holding companies, which manages the largest tickets and post-seed phases. In November 2018, Xavier Niel participated in iBanFirst's second fundraising campaign.”

“iBanFirst is only at the beginning of its development and already brings considerable value to its customers. With real-time price transparency, industry-leading features and an impeccable customer experience, we are confident in the company's ability to become the European leader in this market. The founder and his management team are experts in their field and have the ambition to build a reference in financial services for companies with an international activity explains Bertrand Diard, Venture Partner of Serena.”

Ben Marrel, co-founder of Breega, explains: “Few startups take the full measure of the scope of possibilities offered by the DSP2 regulatory change. As with telecoms and energy in their time, it is now possible to build an incomparable value proposition over banking infrastructure. This is what iBanFirst is developing with its vision of meta-banking for international companies and that's why we are delighted to join the adventure. The common objective of building a European leader makes us all vibrate!”

Damien Launoy of Bpifrance Large Venture said: “Bpifrance collaborates daily with the SMEs and mid-tier companies that iBanFirst caters for, and we are fully confident that such companies have an increasing need for improved services when it comes to international payments and currency exchange. These needs are all the more palpable in such uncertain times, and will be in the months to follow, when these companies will have to resume or intensify trade with the greatest possible ease and flexibility. We are therefore delighted to be a part of this new chapter in iBanFirst’s development and we are eager to support the company’s management team in their growth ambitions, as they facilitate the digitalisation of SMEs and mid-tier companies. We are confident that iBanFirst will quickly become a leading international tech company, like many of the companies we invest in via our Large Venture fund.”

“The digitisation of the traditional economy is not only underway, but it has been drastically accelerated by the current health crisis,” said Xavier Lazarus, Managing Partner at Elaia. “The fintech sector, and especially the international payments sector, is on course to becoming one of the clear winners of this crisis period. While the bulk of the market remains in the hands of offline historical players, their quality of service and transaction costs are increasingly challenged. This is why we are both proud and delighted to support iBanFirst in its international growth and in the development of a leading pan-European digital platform specialised in B2B payment services and currency exchange. From the determination of the company’s management team, the quality of the tech platform and financial processing on offer, right through to iBanFirst’s already impressive performance – the lockdown period being no exception – the evidence is overwhelming that this is a historic opportunity to be part of the development of a leading tech company here in Paris.”