Many startups are in the news these days. Fintech is quite popular these days because its capital, London, is one of the world’s main financial hubs. Just today, one of the startups, Jaja, made a big move by buying a reclining business to strengthen its position.
Jaja is a popular mobile business company in the UK, which provides financial services and credit cards. Today, the Company announced that it would buy the Bank of Ireland’s UK credit card accounts for $671 million. It has also turned into a credit card issuer for the Bank’s UK businesses. It is also starting an equity investment of around $25 million.
Neil Radley, CEO of Jaja Finance, said in a recent statement, “Announcing with the Ireland Bank is an important development in Jaja’s journey to start partnerships that will give people an easy way to manage credit. Our main agenda is to provide people with mobile credit card products with excellent service and security. We welcome the customers of the Ireland Bank, as cardholders.”
The Bank of Ireland’s UK credit business involves many accounts that cover the Post Office, the AA, and a Bank of Ireland card. It doesn’t include the commercial card business of the bank.
Just a few days ago, the bank put the business for sale. It was a strategy to divest its intensive capital to push for profits by improving the mortgages business and loans. However, the Bank’s UK business has been a big challenge and investors valued this business at zero last month.
“Jaja is an innovative company which provides outstanding customer service. We are proudly partnering with them to bring the next-generation credit card to customers around the UK,” said the Bank of Ireland CEO, Des Crowley, “The announcement today shows that the Bank is delivering strategic targets for transformation and growth to 2021.”
Jaja is making this deal by collaborating with Centerbridge Partners, KKR and other investors. They are helping Jaja achieve its targets. They have also put together an investment of $25 million. Previously, Jaja raised around $16 million, which includes $4 million by Seedrs crowdfunding platform. The Company isn’t disclosing its value in this $671 million purchase.
A spokesperson of the Company said that the Company isn’t releasing any numbers regarding its current services. The Company has kept the route of the waitlist to new users, and it had around 6,000 people before Jaja launched its cards.
Currently, the Company has a deal with Asda, the UK Walmart, to finance its online store. Although Jaja has around 6,000 customers, it hasn’t operated on a massive scale. Therefore, this new acquisition will add many key brands and users.
London-based entrepreneurs, Kyrre Riksen, Per Elvebakk, and Jostein Svendsen founded Jaja. They also found other startup companies in the past, like Svenden. Currently, the Company’s CEO is Neil Radley, who used to be the MD for Barclaycard.
The main mission of the Company is to bring a new approach to the world of credit cards. However, this is the mentality of any new startup credit card Company. Still, this approach is gaining popularity quickly because many transactions and credit card services are being handled by traditional means.
The Company is actually a mobile-first business. This means that you can avail the company services through the Company’s app. The phone’s camera and other AI-based algorithms are used for data input, which gives instant credit card decision within minutes. Jaja provides customers with physical cards. It also gives customers the opportunity to use digital wallets. The Company offers cash withdrawals with an annual percentage rate of 19%.
Jaja is in its initial stages right now. It will be interesting to notice how it uses the modern infrastructure in the well-established world of credit cards. Currently, the majority of the UK uses traditional credit cards. However, considering the fact that everything is becoming digital, Jaja will gain worldwide fame quickly.
Related: Zero raises $20 million for a Credit Card that Works Like a Debit Card
