London-listed TCS Group Holding, the owner of Russian retail lender Tinkoff Bank, has bought the MyPocket (VKarmane) mobile app for an undisclosed fee.
Tinkoff Bank said it plans to customise and integrate MyPocket, which allows users to store any data and scanned documents on their smartphone securely, into the infrastructure of its website Tinkoff.ru.
The app, launched in May 2013, is available for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, and has been downloaded 700,000 times with 150,000 active users.
Maxim Yevdokimov, vice president of mobile at Tinkoff Bank, said, "MyPocket will complement our services and make them even more convenient. The new app will make any transaction faster and easier by eliminating the need to enter the data manually: all the users have to do is store the data in the app. After that, it will be uploaded automatically when Tinkoff.ru services are used."
Dmitry Maslennikov, founder of Disruptive.vc accelerator and MyPocket's shareholder, said that the sale of MyPocket was one of the most important developments of 2016 across the startup ecosystem in Russia.
“First, it features an accelerator's exit from a portfolio company, which is quite uncommon, and second, it is a deal between a startup and a corporation - something that our market is lacking. We are particularly pleased to close the deal with Tinkoff, which means our service has been highly appreciated: the bank is well-known for its in-house development of banking solutions."
Source: http://www.digitallook.com/news/small-caps-news/russias-tinkoff-bank-buys-mypocket-app--2373354.html