Deutsche Bank has bought a 4.9% stake in open banking startup Deposit Solutions for €50m ($55.2m), making it Germany’s second most valuable FinTech enterprise.
With the new investment, the Hamburg-based venture has now achieved a valuation at more than €1bn ($1.1bn), according to the Financial Times.
Although, that’s still not even half of the $3.5bn valuation the number one German neobank N26 achieved in July after raising $470m in Series D round in July. The bank had previously closed the round in January after raising $170m from its investors.
The new valuation comes a little bit over a year since Deposit Solutions achieved a $500m valuation after announcing an August 2018 $100m funding round.
Deutsche Bank is already using Deposit Solutions’ technology as part of the bank’s Zinsmarkt deposit offering.
Tim Sievers, CEO and founder of Deposit Solutions, said, “With our open banking platform we are building the infrastructure for the deposits business of the future. The investment of Deutsche Bank is a milestone for us in two respects. Firstly, the expansion of our platform to include other Deutsche Bank businesses in Germany and abroad will help us grow even faster. Secondly, for the first time a client of ours becomes a shareholder of the infrastructure they use.”
Karl von Rohr, president of Deutsche Bank and the management board member responsible for private clients, said, “We have been investing in our capabilities to also operate as a digital platform for a considerable length of time. In the digital age the only players who will maintain client contact are those who can offer the best products, even if they are provided by third party vendors. Deposit Solutions has the right infrastructure to enable this in the important business segment of fixed-income deposits. We are looking forward to growing the business with such a strong and reliable partner.”
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