Portugal’s Banco Montepio has agreed to sell its business banking brand, Banco Empresas Montepio (BEM), to financial services start-up Rauva for €30m.
The organisation, whose history in the banking sector goes back almost 200 years, launched BEM in 2019 in a bid to offer commercial and investment banking services to businesses.
Rauva’s $30m purchase is set to enable it to accelerate its innovation domestically, as it intends to develop new financial products for SMEs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, including new credit features.
Described as Portugal’s first business super-app, co-founders Jon Fath and Sam Mizrahi reportedly took less than a year to develop the project and bring it to the market.
Headquartered in Lisbon, the start-up aims to meet the everyday financial needs of SME-orientated clients, through services including payments, digital accounts, invoice, business management and accounting services and the issuance of physical and digital cards, among others.
Rauva’s CEO Jon Fath commented enthusiastically on the announcement, stating: “Since day one, we’ve been working towards building a fully-fledged bank. This exciting move also puts us even closer to becoming one of Portugal’s first unicorns.”
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