France-based platform Powens has announced its partnership with Unnax to combine their technologies and extend in the European Open Finance market. Following this partnership, the two companies will focus on creating an opportunity to strengthen and improve Open Finance performance across Europe.

Furthermore, they will also extend the joint reach into the Latin American market as well. The official agreement was provided and supported by PSG Equity as a part of its strategy to bring Unnax and Powens together in one group. This is expected to happen in 2023, as Unnax is to be closed.

Currently, Powens provides connectivity to 11 European countries via one API. By tapping and leveraging Unnax’s regulatory license as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and using its experience in the digital payments industry, Powens will have the ability to offer its customers improved Open Finance products and tools. These will include PSD2 and beyond-PSD2 financial data, data analytics and categorisation, electronic money wallets, IBANs, credit checking, payment initiation, and onboarding services.

Unnax will also provide the platform with multiple solutions that focus on technology and software, offering banking infrastructure, simplifying payments, and streamlining access to financial data, using a single API. Its presence in Latin America promoted financial inclusion through the use of Open Finance services. The aim of Powens and Unnax is to serve over 260 trusted customers in Europe and Latin America while providing them with Open Finance technology that was designed to cover 12 countries.

The project is set to have over 186 employees based in multiple countries, such as Paris, Barcelona, and Mexico City. The agreement is a subject that requires the authorisation of Spain’s national competent authority (Banco de España). Powens’ strategy of expansion Open Banking and Open Finance solutions provider Powens offers multiple products to its customer base via a unified API, giving users the possibility to access accurate financial data from multiple sources in a fully-compliant way, while providing a full suite of services to streamline client onboarding, enabling credit decision-making, automating invoicing, as well as payments.

The company appeared in one of the `Voice of the Industry` articles published by The Paypers in January of 2023. In the article, the CEO of Powens, Bertrand Jeannet, talked about the journey that multiple banks, fintechs, and financial institutions went through to move from Open Banking towards Open Data via Open Finance. Included in the topics discussed were a number of services that meet real market needs (such as better management of money, the possibility of saving further and spending better, ensuring companies’ sustainability through cashflow forecasting solutions, or calculating the carbon footprint according to their expenses or customer habits), the way Open Data is already a reality companies need to recognise and focus on, as well as the security of organisations which can represent a crucial issue.

Earlier in December 2022, Powens announced its expansion to Portugal, as well as its aim to expand its coverage in the UK and Germany. Throughout this expansion, the company focused on increasing its presence in emerging Open Banking markets. The extension to Portugal provided access to 30 connectors, reaching 94% of the market, according to the press release published at the time.

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