Sisal Group to launch Italian banking partnership
Betting and lotto operator to offer payment processing to 50,000 businesses
Sisal Group has agreed an investment partnership with Italy’s largest banking firm, Intesa Sanpaolo, which will see the operator launch a new banking and payments business.
Under the terms of the deal, the operator’s SISALPay subsidiary and Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca 5 retail banking payment service will merge to form a so-called ‘proximity’ banking partnership.
The business will be owned 70% by Sisal Group, and offer banking products, payment and transaction services in over 50,000 businesses throughout Italy.
The formation of the partnership will be partially funded by credit arrangements at the new company.
The new banking network will be operational from 2020, pending approval from Italian competition authorities and clearance from the Bank of Italy.
Sisal’s business is split 50/50 between gaming and payments
Sisal Group CEO Emilio Petrone called the new partnership an “important opportunity” to enhance the evolution of the company’s payment business, in line with a previous development plan set by the company’s owners, CVC Capital Partners.
“Thanks to this important agreement, we will be able to further improve the quality of the service offered to our customers and to all citizens,” Petrone added.
SisalPay contributes around 50% of the entire Sisal Group turnover, processing 200 million transactions a year at over 40,000 points of sale.
The announcement is the group’s second major milestone in two months, following confirmation in July that it will retain the Italian national lottery concession for a further nine years.
Stefano Barrese, head of Intesa Sanpaolo’s banking division, said the new deal will enable its 12 million customers “to have basic products and financial operations in an even simpler and more accessible way, even in the municipalities and smaller villages that today have remained without a direct banking presence”.