ING invests in startup behind multibanking platform for corporate market

The venture arm of ING is investing EUR7.5 million in Cobase, a Dutch fintech startup looking to cash in on the Open Banking era with its platform that lets companies access all of their accounts from one place.

Cobase's multibanking platform enables customers to access all their accounts at the various financial institutions with whom they do business. 

The Amsterdam-based firm arranges direct connections with banks or uses existing networks like Swift. In addition to worldwide bank connectivity, the platform's key features include a central payment hub and various cash management and treasury management modules. 

The company says that it is also working on a 'robo assistant', a module that clients can use, for example, to monitor balances and transactions and, if necessary, to perform automatic tasks, such as funding or sweeping accounts. 

ING has a history with Cobase, which took part in the bank's accelerator programme in 2016, where it tested its concept through prototyping, customer interviews and market research.

With ING's financial backing secured, the startup is now ready to start selling and marketing its technology.

Jorge Schafraad, CEO, Cobase, says: "Our goal is to make it easier and more efficient to work with multiple banks. Companies in our target group often hold many accounts with many different banks. Using Cobase, the customer can manage all those accounts via a single platform. 

"End users only need to use one portal, and the customer’s ERP system can be integrated into Cobase alone, so it no longer has to be integrated separately with each bank."