German fintech Moss advances European business with Deutsche Bank partnership
Ellie Duncan | News
16 May 2023
Berlin-based expense management fintech Moss has chosen to partner with Deutsche Bank, meaning that from now on, the bank will handle the payment transactions between the Moss platform and its customers in the EU.
The partnership, which follows the decision last year by German regulator BaFin to grant Moss a European E-Money Institute (EMI) license, is the first in a series of steps that will eventually enable Moss to offer payment services under its own license.
In selecting Deutsche Bank as a partner, Moss focused on three criteria, including whether the potential partner had “significant and meaningful” references in the industry, while emphasis was also placed on the bank’s technical infrastructure “as a means to map the future growth of Moss internationally”.
Stephan Haslebacher, chief operating officer and co-founder of Moss, called Deutsche Bank a “pioneering, trusted partner” for many fintech startups.
“After a long and detailed examination, we decided on this partnership to advance our European business,” he said.
“Deutsche Bank will handle the receipt, custody and shipping of all funds for Moss. As the first new change, our European customers will receive German IBANs, as requested.”
Moss’s EU Debit customers will be migrated to Deutsche Bank in the third quarter of 2023, with the bank holding all funds from then on.
In time, the fintech’s customers will benefit from instant transfers and new products in addition to the German IBANs, with further announcements to come in the second half of this year.
“There is a strong desire in the market to further digitise and automate financial processes and payments. With our solution, we want to help companies reach their full potential,” said Haslebacher.
Kilian Thalhammer, head of merchant solutions at Deutsche Bank, added: “Moss won us over with its pioneering product and technology. We want to support the Moss team to grow in the core market of Germany and to expand into other markets.”
