iBanFirst announces closing of acquisition of Cornhill, to solve Brexit payment challenges for EU companies trading with the UK

Cornhill, the London-based FX provider, is officially part of iBanFirst, one of Europe’s largest providers of foreign exchange and international payments. It strengthens iBanFirst’s value proposition to SMEs in a post-Brexit context benefiting European SMEs trading across the channel. The main beneficiaries are European SMEs, including those in Romania, who have trading partners in the UK.

Global financial services provider iBanFirst announces the closing of the acquisition of Cornhill. This announcement comes as the group has been given authorisation by the British regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to make the acquisition of Cornhill. With this operation, iBanFirst is accelerating its international development in the most important and dynamic FX market in Europe: the UK.

The acquisition makes it easier for Romanian SMEs to transfer funds from/to the UK through instant payments and allows them to apply a unified risk management strategy to their related UK companies. In the coming months Cornhill’s clients and future clients will benefit from a cutting-edge platform for their cross-border payments, along with a wider range of products and services to hedge against currency volatility.

Cornhill Executive Director, Vivek Savani said:

“We are thrilled to officially become part of iBanFirst. The FCA’s approval of the closing will enable our clients and partners to benefit from a single intuitive platform to help them run their cross-border operations and track their payments. This union brings together two essential pillars: digital performance and human touch. Cornhill will keep on providing a bespoke personal service to help clients manage their FX risk while also offering them better pricing and a better overall service when trading across the channel.”

Alin Latu, Country Manager Romania at iBanFirst, added:

“The closing represents a huge step for the group. Thanks to the acquisition of Cornhill, iBanFirst will deploy all its technological assets in the UK to better serve SMEs and simplify GBP transfers across the channel. Day by day, we are achieving our ambition of becoming a global leader in multicurrency payments for SMEs. iBanFirst is building one of the most effective payment networks in the world, allowing Romanian companies to benefit from features such as instant payments with their stakeholders in the UK and thus, do business without borders.”