Swindon, U.K.-based Nationwide Group has offered to acquire U.K.-based financial institution Virgin Money for 2.9 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) in cash, according to a March 21 Nationwide release. 

The acquisition, which must be approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, would help Nationwide grow its customer base, deposits and operations organically, the release stated.

The acquisition of $114 billion Virgin Money would give Nationwide 6.6 million additional customers and the company would be re-branded or absorbed by Nationwide in the longer term, according to the release. 

The $272 billion Nationwide and Virgin Money plan to close the deal by year end, a source familiar with the matter told Bank Automation News. 

Nationwide has promised to keep Virgin Money’s branches open at least until the start of 2028, the source said. “This decision was in part influenced by customers wanting to choose how they interact with Nationwide and valuing the face-to-face interactions in physical branches.” 

BBVA deepens ties with Cisco 

Madrid-based bank BBVA is deepening ties with tech provider Cisco to improve its customer experience and digital banking efforts, according to BBVA’s March 7 release. 

“This partnership will foster product and services in the following spaces: cybersecurity, collaboration, networking and data center,” a BBVA spokesperson told BAN. 

The bank will use Cisco’s Wi-Fi, routing and LAN services on premises to better manage its data sets and improve connectivity, the spokesperson said.  

The $771 billion bank will also use Cisco’s SD-WAN and SD-LAN cloud-based solutions to improve customer experience and provide its employees with VPN access and the Cisco Webex application for remote and hybrid work environments, the spokesperson said. 

The move gives BBVA a full suite of tech solutions, reducing time to market for its features. It also provides a tech partner that understands BBVA since some of the bank’s core operations are already live on Cisco’s platform, the spokesperson said. 

Cisco’s solutions will be rolled out for BBVA globally, the spokesperson said, adding that they will allow clients to remotely handle transactions that previously required a visit to the bank. 

NatWest invests in Icon Solutions 

London-based NatWest has invested an undisclosed amount in payments solutions provider Icon Solutions, according to a March 14 release from NatWest. 

“NatWest is modernizing its end-to-end payments capabilities in support of global standards changes to ISO20022,” a source familiar with the transaction told BAN. “The payments domain supports all our bank payments activities, with initiated payments requests leveraging a new API connection layer linked to Icon IPF.” 

Icon Solutions’ services will be implemented globally for NatWest’s cross-border, payments and market activities, the source said. 

NatWest has been working with Icon Solutions since 2020 and joined Citi in becoming a minority stake holder of the company. 

JPMorgan invests in payment network Cartes Bancaires 

JPMorgan has invested an undisclosed amount in French payment network Cartes Bancaires, which can help Cartes compete with Visa and Mastercard. 

The move will provide JPMorgan merchant clients access to the French payment network by the end of the year to provide competitive pricing to its customers, a March 5 release stated. 

Cartes Bancaires (CB) processes 15 billion payments each day from cards and mobile phones, while JPMorgan’s EMEA payments business processes 1 trillion transactions daily, the release stated. 

“This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the European and French payments markets,” Shahrokh Moinian, head of EMEA payments at JPMorgan, said in the release. “The European payments landscape is rapidly evolving, and our principal membership positions us perfectly to provide future innovations and efficiencies to our clients.” 

JPMorgan declined to comment to BAN and CB didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Visit Bank Automation News’ Transactions Database, which lists the technology selected or acquired by companies in the financial services industry, with a specific focus on technology that enhances automation.