An End In Sight For The Wirecard Scandal As Banco Santander Swoops In To Buy Remaining Technological Assets

In what could be a final chapter in the dissolution and resolution of German payments firm Wirecard’s scandalous year, Spain’s Banco Santander has reportedly closed a deal that will tie up loose ends on the insolvent business’ assets. Wirecard’s insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé shared that the Spanish bank had acquired the company’s technology platform as well as all of its “highly specialized technological assets.”

Formerly valued at $28 billion, Wirecard’s trials and tribulations were triggered when the company acknowledged earlier this year that $2 billion in cash that it had claimed it stashed in banks in the Philippines did not actually exist. Following this confession, Wirecard’s former COO, Jan Marsalek disappeared and remains missing. Since then, the company filed for insolvency and has been facing the numerous consequences in the fallout, with Jaffé in charge of handling the insolvency. It has been shared that, while investor processes are still finalizing across the board for the sale of Wirecard’s remaining global subsidiaries, this sale comprises the last of the assets.

A source close to the matter has revealed that Santander will be paying approximately $118 million euros for the technology assets. Speaking on the matter, Jaffé said, “We have completed the investor process for Wirecard Core successfully despite the most unfavorable conditions.” He further stressed his relief by adding, “this is even more remarkable because the whole process has been overshadowed by ever-new scandal reports of past events and initially no liquidity was available to maintain business operations.” The sale is said to include 500 of Wirecard’s remaining employees who will remain at their stations as part of Santander’s plan to grow across Europe.

The acquisition is said to be intended to grow Santander’s Getnet in the region, absorbing Wirecard’s developments to enhance its capabilities in e-commerce and multinational merchant servicing as well as other payments services. The assets acquired by Santander will elevate the current product offering with Wirecard’s specialized technology in time for the bank to branch its services out to other regions after its success in Latin America. Currently Wirecard and Santander are collaboratively working to ensure a smooth transition period to mitigate disruptions to current customers and vendors.

Santander was very clear about the fact that, while the bank was acquiring Wirecard’s technological advancements to further its own, it would not be acquiring any of the associated negative practices or scandal surrounding the disgraced payments company, and assumes no liability over the company’s legal misdoings. The deal is slated to be completed at the end of the year subject to regulatory approvals.