Strands


Strands is a FinTech software company. Strands Finance Suite is a set of white-label services including personal financial management, business financial management, Engager and customer-linked offers.

History

The company was founded in 2004 in Barcelona and in Oregon, starting out by developing personalization and recommendation solutions for the music industry. Apple Inc. acquired these early solutions together with a portfolio of 32 patents. Subsequently, the company refocused its efforts on the research and development of financial technology.
Strands is a founding member of SME Finance Forum, managed by the International Finance Corporation – a member of the World Bank Group, and is advisory member of MobeyForum, leading the open banking working group. In 2007, Strands organized a summer school on Recommender Systems, which led to the creation of the ACM Conference on Recommender Systems.
Strands signed a partnership agreement with Mastercard in July 2018 to work together globally and provide issuing banks with an integrated platform of digital cash management and commercial payment tools specifically designed for small-to-midsize business customers.
In March 2020, CRIF, a global company specialized in credit bureau, business information, credit and open banking solutions announced an agreement to acquire the total shareholding of Strands, a FinTech company specialized in advanced digital banking solutions. Already partners for financial management solutions, both companies have invested in advanced Open Banking and Digital Economy solutions. The closing of the deal finalized on April 2, 2020.

Operations

From its Barcelona HQ and offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur, Strands serves financial institutions including Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Huntington National Bank, Commercial Bank of Africa, and HSBC, among others.