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By the end of 2023, Qonto intends to switch Penta customers over to its platform

France’s Qonto bought out Germany’s Penta, a rival firm, last year. Small and medium-sized businesses, in addition to sole proprietors, may open bank accounts with both firms. Qonto explained the integration procedure today.

Penta had 50,000 business clients in Germany at the time of the purchase, whereas Qonto had 300,000 clients in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Despite Penta’s decision to stop taking on new clients, German businesses still in need of a banking solution may join up with Qonto.

When it comes to current clients, Qonto has plans to switch over all Penta customers to its banking platform by the end of 2023. Once this is completed, the business will be known simply as Qonto.

In a similar vein, there have been some adjustments made on the inside. With the upcoming merger of the Qonto and Penta teams, Lukas Zörner, co-founder of Penta, will take on the role of vice president of Germany for Qonto. Suddenly, Qonto will have tens of thousands more users on its site.

When it comes to expansion, Germany has been Qonto’s fastest-growing market for the last two years (in 2021 and 2022), and that trend will only continue in the next year (2023). With the merger of Qonto and Penta, Europe’s fintech sector has entered a new age of consolidation. “By merging the talents of two firms, we are strengthening Qonto’s position as the digital business finance leader European SMEs and freelancers demand and need,” said Alexandre Prot, co-founder and CEO of Qonto.

If you are a Penta client, you should watch your inbox for an invitation to switch to Qonto. It is expected that customers would continue to use their existing German IBAN. In addition to quick SEPA transfers and virtual and actual corporate cards, Qonto now provides the option to export and sync your bank statements with your accounting system (including compatibility for Datev).

Both Penta and Qonto’s entry-level plans cost €9 per month, so freelancers may expect to spend about that amount for their membership. However, Penta’s corporate package offers 15 cards for €49 per month, so larger firms with more users may wind up paying more. If a business wants more than two cards on the most affordable Qonto plan (€29 per month), it must pay an additional €5 per card, each month.

Qonto announced a huge Series D investment round in January 2022, raising €486 million ($522 million at the current currency rate). There were fewer late-stage rounds in the IT business since it was a different era.

This is likely the first of several acquisitions in the financial technology sector. Given the present decline in venture capital and too ambitious development plans in 2021 and early 2022, the fintech sector is likely to undergo further consolidation in 2023.