Platform engine FNZ is to acquire client onboarding solution Appway for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition is due to complete in the first quarter of 2022.

FNZ said the acquisition gives it extra expertise in client onboarding.

Appway’s workflow automation solution will enable up to 90% faster client onboarding for platforms using FNZ’s engine, FNZ says.

The technology firm claims that Appway customers see a 10% increase in margins on average per onboarded client.

Appway is headquartered in Zurich.

Hanspeter Wolf, founder of Appway, will join FNZ as chief technology officer.

Adrian Durham, CEO of FNZ, said: “We are excited that FNZ and Appway are coming together to provide financial institutions with an unrivalled platform to accelerate their digital transformations, deliver significant operational efficiencies and improve the client experience.

“Both our companies have a shared vision, relentless focus on customer success and a track record of innovation, and Hanspeter is an inspirational and seasoned leader with rich experience in the technology sector. We are delighted to welcome him and the talented Appway team into FNZ.”

FNZ provides a technology, transaction and custody platform to wealth managers, banks, insurers and asset managers in 18 countries across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The platform engine has over £1.13trn in assets under administration, which represents the combined savings and investments of over 20m customers.

The platform engine has faced opposition to a previous acquisition from the Competition Markets Authority (CMA).

Earlier this year the firm was told it must sell its recent acquisition of competitor GBST, but will have the right to repurchase a “narrower package of assets”, according to the final reassessment report from the CMA released in June.

The CMA reassessed the deal following FNZ appealing to the Competition Appeal Tribunal against the CMA’s original ‘Phase 2’ decision to block its £150m acquisition of GBST announced in November 2019.

A group of independent CMA panel members agreed with the initial assessment that the purchase of GBST by FNZ could substantially reduce competition on the sector due to them both being providers of retail investment platform solutions with “few other significant suppliers” that offer effective and competitive alternatives.

However, the reassessment said that GBST’s capital markets business does not currently compete with FNZ in the UK and therefore could be considered for acquisition separately.

FNZ had previously said the CMA has been inconsistent and said its original report into the acquisition was “fundamentally flawed.”