In another sign of increasing momentum in the German fintech sector, Hamburg-based fintech figo, provider of solutions and services to support firms’ PSD2 strategies, has snagged €6.8 million in Series B financing. In addition to German business angels, DB1 Ventures, the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Deutsche Börse, has handed over a seven-figure sum to secure a ‘significant’ minority stake.

Figo is certainly in the right place at the right time with its proposition to build ‘the banking infrastructure of the future’. PSD2 is one of the drivers for a global move to open banking underpinned by open APIs, and incumbent banks will, whether they like it or not, be forced to open up access to account information in order to facilitate innovative new payment initiation and account aggregation services. Publishing APIs is one thing: integrating them into core systems is another. Given the legacy IT challenges faced by most banks across Europe, the demand for technology such as figo’s Banking API and other solutions in the context of PSD2 is likely to be high.

For its part, Deutsche Börse sees the huge potential of PSD2 implementation, says its MD and head of Venture Portfolio Management and DB1 Ventures, Ankur Kamalia. "In a changing financial landscape, figo has established itself as a reliable partner and has built up a fantastic fintech ecosystem around itself. We look forward to supporting their growth and also learning from the innovation they are driving,” he adds.

Meanwhile figo reckons Deutsche Börse is a “perfect partner” says its CEO André M. Bajorat – given its neutrality and status as an infrastructure provider able to give figo “enhanced visibility”. The new funding will be used to push ahead with internationalisation of the company and to expand products for PSD2 and other regulations, he adds.

For more insights into how banks are preparing for PSD2 and open APIs, check out Finextra’s latest research on the topic here.