Customer acquisition provider for financial institutions Andera Inc. has acquired oFlows Inc., a paperless multi-channel loan and account origination solution provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal units two ventures aiming to innovate the way banks on-board new customers and process transactions.
The aim of the acquisition is to empower Andera to debut a “universal origination platform” for FIs that lets customers have a paperless and unified experience through all customer contact channels when originating financial products, Charlie Kroll, Andera’s chief executive, tells Bank Innovation.
“Our vision is to help financial institutions originate at all delivery channels,” Kroll says. “The strategy, from the Andera perspective, is looking to go broader and deeper into originations.”
Historically, Andera has primarily targeted FIs’ online channel.
Scott Pitts, previously oFlows’s chief executive, will now serve as the chief product manager for Andera. Pitts tells Bank Innovation that consumers are interacting through different mediums and hunger for a seamless experience when they are originating financial products.
“The trends we’re seeing is that more and more people are adopting a multi-channel approach to their financial products,” says Pitts. Perhaps a consumer will start originating a loan via a computer and then continue the conversation with a FI over the phone, he poses. “There’s always back and forth to complete the process. …Integrating mobile devices is a big step so people can transact wherever and however they want to,” Pitts says.
Andera and oFlows began to collaborate on projects earlier this year. Both companies demo-ed separately at the recent Finovate event held in New York. OFlows won a “best of show” award at Finovate Fall, its third consecutive such award at a Finovate conference. Watch an oFlows demo here.
Andera has raised $9.35 million of venture funding to date, according to Crunchbase. The company completed its last funding round about a year ago.