Personal finance and debt consolidation company Wisr (ASX: WZR) has substantially opened its growth opportunities through a strategic investment in European fintech platform Arbor which will include IP sharing between the two companies.
The investment of $400k cash via a convertible loan structure will give Wisr an opportunity to secure up to 45% of Arbor over the next 36 months in a deal that provides a pathway to tapping Europe’s $1.76 Trillion consumer finance market.
“We’ve proven the effectiveness of the Wisr Financial Wellness Platform domestically, with over 350,000 Australians on the platform and our data is showing enormous benefits to both Wisr, and to our customers that use it,” said Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes.
“We share a clear and united vision of disrupting the outdated consumer credit model with a superior alternative: a highly automated digital lending experience based on market leading UX, delivered alongside a customer platform that actually improves financial wellness. This allows us to build better, data-driven relationships with customers at every stage of their lifecycle and opens up a number of potential revenue models.”
As part of the IP sharing arrangement, Wisr will have access to new fintech functionality not currently offered by their Australian business due to regulatory requirements. This may include digital wallets, savings features, investment features and subscription revenue from the platform. In exchange, Arbor will have access to Wisr’s credit score tech for potential application in European markets.
Founded in 2017 with the backing of various high profile venture capital firms, Arbor has now amassed more than 100,000 customers. The platform itself is free to use but generates revenue through freemium features of which 25% of users upgrade to, alongside their digital lending business.
Included on the Board of Directors is BetaShares CEO and Founder Alex Vynokur who has driven the portfolio management functionality into Arbor’s financial wellness platform.
“Like Arbor, Wisr has built a genuine platform that not only delivers long-term growth opportunities through a differentiated business model but really does make a difference to the consumer’s financial wellbeing,” said Vynokur.
“We are the first to market in the EU and ready to scale our holistic value proposition, and now with Wisr, we have a fantastic strategic partner that complements our solution, with significant opportunity for growth ahead.”
In the event that Wisr looks to integrate micro-investing functionality into their platform, it could be a substantial opportunity for the Company which has almost 1 million Australians in its ecosystem that manages more than $390 million in loan originations.
Alfred Chan is a Business Reporter at The Sentiment specialising in ASX-listed small cap companies, a bloodstock enthusiast and former equities analyst.
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