Rival German fintechs Raisin and Deposit Solutions merge to take on global savings market

Two leading German fintechs seeking to disrupt the savings and investments market are now set to merge, it has just been announced.

Raisin, which was last valued at well over $500m in 2019, and Deposit Solutions, which reached a $1.1bn valuation that same year, will now combine to form the newly-named Raisin DS.

The logic behind the merger is that Deposit Solutions brings a vast customer base of over 150 banks and institutions for which it operates a deposit marketplace, while Raisin operates one of Europe’s largest consumer-facing savings and investments marketplaces.

“Deposit Solutions and Raisin have brought important innovations to a market that has been underserved for decades. Together we can achieve even more," said Dr. Tim Sievers, CEO and founder of Deposit Solutions.

“By uniting Deposit Solutions and Raisin, we’re transforming two German innovation leaders into the European champion with global ambitions."

Sievers will join Raisin’s CEO and co-founder Dr. Tamaz Georgadze as co-CEO of the new combined entity, described as a “merger of equals”, but will move to the company’s advisory board at the end of 2021, then handing the reins over to Georgadze.

“Raisin DS is breaking down barriers and reinforcing our long-time vision for a single transparent market for savings and investment products. We want to contribute to a financial system that better serves day-to-day financial needs of people and enables banks to provide a stronger backbone to the real economy,” added Georgadze. 

“We will continue to strive to make a positive contribution to the financial system.”

The merger comes just weeks after Raisin touched down in the US with its first partner bank, and launched an ETF trading platform in Germany with plans to roll it out across Europe.

In April 2020 Deposit Solutions reached €25bn in savings through its platform, while Raisin most recently said it had surpassed €35bn in savings and investments.