Abhi, the lending fintech platform best known for its earned wage access (EWA) product, announced that it has teamed up with TPL Corporation to acquire FINCA Microfinance Bank, in an announcement both companies made on Friday.
While the transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals, it represents a major advance in Abhi’s path towards becoming a fintech powerhouse in Pakistan. The company’s core business lines include various lending products, and while EWA is the one it is most well-known for, it derives the majority of its revenue from small business lending operation.
Abhi has been cash flow positive for over a year now, but being in the lending business, it is likely on the hunt for cheap sources of funding, as is just about any fintech company that is a lender. And there is no better source of cheap funding for a lender than deposits, which is why buying a bank – even a small microfinance bank like FINCA – can make sense.
There are four key reasons why lending fintechs have a tendency to pursue acquisitions of deposit-taking institutions. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan