JPMorgan said it had agreed to acquire an around 49% stake in Athens-based payments fintech Viva Wallet, subject to regulatory approvals. The American banking giant is expected to inject around $1.15bn into the firm, including a capital increase in Viva Wallet which will not dilute the founders’ stake of 51.5 per cent. Viva Wallet, which provides payment and card payment services in 23 countries across Europe, is the latest in a spate of acquisitions for the bank which announced plans to ramp up its annual tech investment. JPMorgan’s stake will be acquired from Viva Wallet’s minority shareholders, the Latsis Family office, which owns a 13 per cent stake, and Hedosophia, a British hedge fund which owns around 23 per cent of the firm.
The European payments landscape is fragmented yet large in terms of opportunity, with more than 17 million merchants ready to implement scalable payments solutions. The announcement marks JPMorgan’s first deal in 2022, on the heels of its most prolific year for buying and taking stakes in smaller firms since at least the financial crisis. Athens-based Viva Wallet focuses on serving small and medium-sized businesses in 23 European countries. Its services include bill pay, virtual debit card issuance and merchant cash advance. JPMorgan’s payments business is focused on growing its merchant-acquiring capabilities in Europe.