Galileo Financial Technologies to be acquired by SoFi for $1.2bn

SoFi acquisition of Galileo : Social Finance (SoFi), a US online personal finance company, has signed a $1.2 billion worth cash-cum-stock deal to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Galileo Financial Technologies is a payments and banking technology provider. Through its open APIs, the fintech company’s digital payments platform enables critical checking and savings account-like functionality, thereby giving firms an easy way to make sophisticated consumer and B2B financial services.

Galileo Financial Technologies’ solutions can be accessed using desktop, mobile, and a physical debit card.

Its APIs are designed to help in enabling functionalities like creating accounts, funding, direct deposit, early paycheck direct deposit, IVR, ACH transfer, bill pay, transaction notifications, check balance, point of sale authorization, and others.

In March 2020, Galileo Financial Technologies processed $53 billion+ of annualized payments volume.

Commenting on SoFi acquisition of Galileo, Clay Wilkes, CEO of Galileo Financial Technologies, said: “SoFi has built a very strong diversified financial services company focusing on a full suite of financial services. These are products that many of our leading fintech clients are asking for. Distributing products through our enterprise class API is the vision behind this combination. I think it’s very powerful.

“We’re excited to work with SoFi to build on the services that have made Galileo the leading supplier of infrastructure services to leading financial, technology, and fintech companies. With the help of SoFi, we intend to continue to grow with and support all of our existing clients and the product roadmaps that they have defined.”

SoFi said that SoFi Money, its cash management account solution, is integrated tightly with the payment platform of Galileo Financial Technologies, including several of its account and events API functionalities.

By acquiring Galileo Financial Technologies, SoFi is looking to strengthen its capabilities and expects the combination to extend the footprint of its products to other partners of the former in the US and global markets.

Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, commenting on SoFi acquisition of Galileo, said: “SoFi has established itself as a leader in the fintech sector, providing our more than one million members a full array of financial products to help them get their money right.

“The response by our members to our innovation across borrowing, saving, spending, and investing has motivated us to think bigger, bolder and more expansively given the insatiable consumer appetite for financial services innovation.

“Together with Galileo, we will partner to build on our companies’ strengths to drive even greater financial technology innovation, making those products and services available to both current and future partners. While we march forward on our mission to help people achieve financial independence through our own direct efforts, with Galileo, we can enable a broader ecosystem of companies to join us in helping the world achieve financial independence.”

The completion of SoFi acquisition of Galileo will be subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.