The deal will facilitate a pathway to develop strong payment capabilities
Cuscal, one of Australia’s largest independent providers of payments, banking, and regulated data, has successfully acquired Consumer Data Right (CDR) platform Basiq for an undisclosed sum.
The two Aussie companies entered into a binding agreement, wherein Cuscal will acquire a controlling interest in Basiq, subject to customary conditions.
Operating for more than 50 years, the Sydney-based Cuscal is an accredited data recipient and provider of compliant data holder solutions that services clients like AMP, Australia Post, and Square.
Basiq, a Sydney-based start-up founded by CEO Damir Cuca in 2016, provides fintechs and institutions with the data services they need to compete and ultimately offer more value to their end consumers.
Cuca said the acquisition provides hope to local homegrown startups given the recent investment downturn by facilitating a pathway to develop strong payment capabilities.
“To provide a complete platform, it was inevitable that Basiq would need to enhance its payment services,” Cuca said. ‘Cuscal is behind most of the innovative payment services in Australia and was the first to launch PayTo capability to the market, making it possible to use the new payment services that provide real-time account-to-account payments.”
The deal will enable Basiq to create a one-stop-shop to roll out CDR services for fintechs as well as empower Cuscal to support its client base of credit unions, mutuals, and banks by providing them access to data services required to adopt open banking capability.
Craig Kennedy, Cuscal’s managing director, said he was impressed with Basiq’s ability to execute and present complex services such as data in a simple and developer-friendly way.
“Basiq has taken the SaaS playbook to heart, ensuring that their customers have the services they need to plug and play and help launch their apps to market with relative ease,” Kennedy said.
Basiq will continue to function independently and will be encouraged to use the capabilities of Cuscal to provide innovative solutions to the market.
“With the acquisition of Basiq, we will be able to add the new data capabilities that will enable them to enhance the delivery of their current services,” Kennedy said.
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