This London-based Fintech has acquired a quarter of Silicon Valley Bank's clients in Africa and the Middle East
London-based fintech Verto said it has acquired a quarter of Silicon Valley Bank's customers from Africa and the Middle East, after the U.S. bank's collapse last month, according to a report by TechCrunch.
Verto provides a cross-border platform that helps startups, SMEs and large corporates send, receive and exchange money in more than 190 countries, and has over 3,000 clients, including MTN, Yoco and Interswitch.
According to Verto's own data, SVB had nearly 250 clients operating in both regions before its collapse. Thus, it is onboarding over 60 companies and venture firms (some with headquarters in the U.S. and Europe), including Jumia, Chipper Cash and TapTap Send.
Verto says it’s received more than $30 million in monthly deposit requests per company; however, the company notes that this money won’t sit idle in their accounts as most of its newfound clients plan to use Verto for operational purposes, such as payroll and payouts.
Verto claims its transaction volume grew 70% last year to over $3bn, and it expects to triple this volume within the next 12 months after carrying out some expansion plans as well as product launches.
After the collapse of SVB, African startups have been forced to review their banking options to cushion them from future eventualities.
Founders and investors who spoke to TechCrunch said they would hold funds in multiple bank accounts across big financial institutions, which are generally perceived to be safer. They said they would also leverage smaller fintech startups such as Brex and Mercury that have more extensive FDIC protection.
