Urban FT buys iParse to speed up mobile app onboarding for FIs
“It’s not just about the tech…”
Mobile banking technology provider Urban FT has completed its acquisition of US software firm iParse, which, CEO Richard Steggall tells Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore, will help the company provide a “mobile plug-in” for financial institutions.
Steggall says the quicker, cheaper option compared with core processing integration will open up feature-rich mobile banking apps to a large number of smaller institutions that need to be able to compete with the big guys for consumers.
“In as much as we’ve had success with our core offering, this tech enables us to intercept the same APIs the bank is using to power its website experience and interpret them with business logic to create a customised mobile experience combined with the various lifestyle features we have in our core offering,” Steggall says. “It’s a plug-and-play scenario that means we can have a financial institution live to customers in as few as 30 days.”
It also means that smaller FIs that haven’t been able to justify investing in their own mobile apps or anything more sophisticated than a basic app, now can be up and running quickly with an app that includes “lifestyle features,” such as bill pay, P2P payments, personal financial management and local deals – all integrated with social networks, Steggall says.
While Urban FT plans to offer the service directly to smaller financial institutions, the company also will work with processors and credit union service organisations to provide the mobile plug-in to their smaller clients and members, respectively. It already has a partnership with one large processor and is in talks with a second. Those partners would earn a share of the fees Urban FT charges for active users on its platform.
“We size the market at approximately 12,500 potential targets, and we know that almost 42% of credit unions have yet to launch any form of mobile banking,” says Urban FT president Kasey Kaplan.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Steggall expects the acquisition to have a “profound impact on our revenue”. The company estimates it will take 60 days to make the new mobile plug-in option available.
“It’s not just about the tech,” Steggall says. “It’s about the tech coupled with the value-added services.”
