The Italian company Crif, specializing in credit bureau and business information whose customers include financial companies around the world, has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital of the fintech Strands. The aim of this acquisition is to create a worldwide provider of digital solutions for open banking businesses.

Strands was founded in Barcelona and in Corvallis (Oregon, United States) in 2004. It is currently one of the world's leading providers of corporate and personal financial management with solutions based on artificial intelligence. It is headquartered in the United States and has offices in Spain, Asia and South America. Its presence extends throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, where it has collaborated with over 700 digital banking entities.

Personalized tools
Strands' solutions have helped financial institutions to increase their customers' use of digital channels and to improve their customer relations. The company's wealth of experience in big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence acquired over these 16 years has served to develop advanced personalized tools to help private individuals and businesses make financial decisions.

Crif expects to close the definitive agreement in the coming weeks. This deal will serve to consolidate the two companies' former relationship as partners for advanced financial management solutions for the digital economy and open banking that has been enabled since the opening of banking information to external applications.

Solutions based on artificial intelligence
The purchase of Strands will reinforce Crif's role as a worldwide digital solutions provider for access to account, account aggregation, and AI-powered Business Financial Management (BFM) and Personal Financial Management (PFM).

According to Erik Brieva, CEO of the Latin American company: “Strands has the confidence of over 700 financial institutions and more than 100 million banking consumers as a key part of the financial ECO system, and in partnership with Crif, can support the rapid growth of digital banking services”.

For his part, the CEO of Crif, Carlo Gherardi, said: “With this agreement, Crif will combine its knowledge and experience in the market with an innovative and well positioned fintech player, creating synergies that will help our global customers to continue growing and innovating through their digital transformation journey”.