IBM has acquired Expertus Technologies Inc., a Montreal-based fintech company.
Expertus, a financial technology firm that processes more than $50 billion in transactions per day, according to a Dec. 15 press release, will be added to the IBM Global Business Services unit. IT Business Canada reached out to IBM to confirm the terms of the deal. A spokesperson for IBM was unable to provide that information as of press time.
In a prepared statement, IBM Canada president Claude Guay said the acquisition will also lead to improvements for customers in Canada.
“The acquisition of Expertus Technologies Inc. accelerates IBM’s leadership of payments innovation in Canada, and around the world. Their expertise will also strengthen our IBM Payments Centre capability in Canada and add further value to our clients and the financial services industry. It is great to welcome another Canadian company on board.”
Banks are facing tremendous pressure to innovate, according to Mark Foster, senior vice-president of IBM Services.
“Financial institutions must balance greater demand for secure digital solutions while complying with rapidly evolving regulation,” Foster said. “Expertus’ payment-as-a-service solution expands our hybrid cloud-based payments offerings, transforming payments and treasury management with AI to give financial institutions the flexibility to rapidly innovate and stay competitive as consumer demands evolve.”
IBM says the acquisition means it gets to improve customers’ end-to-end business processes with AI running under the hood, and new data analytics tools. It should also lead to improved pricing by reducing the cost per transaction.
“IBM and Expertus’ long-standing partnership is a great foundation upon which to deepen our relationship,” said Jacques Leblanc, founder and CEO of Expertus. “As a home-grown Montréal company, we are proud to bring our offering as well as our commitment to customers to a new level and to a broader market.”