BNP Paribas acquires B2B FinTech Kantox

BNP Paribas has agreed to acquire Kantox, a fintech working to automate currency risk management, to help add more automation to B2B cross-border work, it said in a press release.

Kantox has a software solution that offers an interconnection of the Corporate FX workflow, with a “one-stop-shop, API-driven” strategy. BNP Paribas will integrate the company’s work and expand it to more companies globally.

With the acquisition, BNP Paribas is working on its “Growth Technology Sustainability 2025 plan”, which will help accelerate the development of technology.

Olivier Osty, BNP Paribas head of global markets for the CIB division, said the company was looking to help corporate treasurers “navigate turbulent markets” and so the partnership will help add more advanced technology. He said this could help “lighten the burden of manual tasks and allow them to focus on core business.”

“We have been serving customers together since 2019 when our technology partnership started. During these 3 years, we spent a lot of time together in the field and had the opportunity to understand that together we were stronger and able to provide more value to customers,” said Kantox founder Philippe Gelis “It’s the best of both worlds, the leading software company in the currency management automation category and the leading bank in Europe.”

There has been talk of how to work with cross-border payments, and PYMNTS writes that many more companies need to work with them these days.

Read more: 48% of companies looking for improved cross-border payment solutions

There has been a global trend towards a more remote workforce, along with various supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic, which has created a need for assistance with fast, efficient B2B cross-border work.

A PYMNTS and American Express survey found that 48% of businesses surveyed said they were looking for a better cross-border payment solution, while less than a third said their current solution was doing well for them to meet cross-border needs .

New PYMNTS study: How consumers use digital banks

A PYMNTS survey of 2,124 US consumers shows that while two-thirds of consumers have used FinTechs for some aspect of banking, only 9.3% call them their primary bank.