DNB and Danske Bank have invested a further EUR4.6 million in Spiir, the Danish financial app as it prepares for a full-scale launch of its Nordic API Gateway subsidiary in Europe.
Founded in 2011, more than 200,000 Danes today use from Spiir to manage their budget, monitor their spending and find less expensive alternatives for their fixed expenses.
For the account aggregation element, Spiir has set up its own Nordic API Gateway ahead of the incoming PSD2 Directive as a data sharing utility for banks in advance of the development of individual bank API platforms.
The platform is currently in use at Danske Bank, DNB, Jyske Bank, OP Financial Group, and Pleo and plans to roll out to 17 European countries during 2020.
DNB in February extended the account aggregation tool to incorporate account-to-account payments from any bank listed in the mobile banking app.
CEO and founder of Nordic API Gateway, Rune Mai, says: “This initial investment is the first step in a larger strategy to become one of the leading European open banking players in 2020. We have fully invested in building the best market coverage in the Nordics, including understanding local market dynamics such as payment laws, regulators and functionality needs from our fast-increasing customer base.”
Global head of business development at Danske Bank, Lars Malmberg, adds: “We are very pleased to join forces with DNB to raise our investment in Nordic API Gateway. Building a European infrastructure requires collaboration, muscle and a large network. It’s clear that Nordic API Gateway has been a key player in the Nordic region, and we’re looking forward to keeping up the pace and supporting open banking adventures to achieve a strong common platform that increases financial innovation across industries in the European landscape.”