What happened: Deel has announced it has taken over Atlantic Money, a provider of international money transfers (The Paypers). Deel is an HR tool provider most known for its employee-on-record offering, making it easy to hire staff worldwide without dealing with the local requirements and compliance aspects. Atlantic Money was founded in 2020 and aimed to disrupt Wise’s international money transfer offering with a flat fee pricing. Instead of charging the market standard variable fee, Atlantic Money charged a flat fee, making it especially interesting for bigger transactions.
My comment: Deel’s acquisition of Atlantic Money aims to improve its payroll product. Deel’s position at the intersection of employees (or contractors) and employers makes it ideal for launching financial service products. Payroll is the most obvious financial product, but Deel has also tested contractor card products. By definition, an important aspect of Deel’s payroll product is the international money transfer feature. For example, a German company hiring an employee in India means Deel is being paid in Euros but needs to pay the employee in Indian rupees. Deel’s customers are already paying for this today. Still, any improvements in cost can either increase Deel’s profit or enable them to reduce pricing and make them more attractive.
Deel is one of the big international companies I closely monitor regarding their financial product development. Their core product and traction position them perfectly for embedded finance. I expect a lot more financial product announcements from Deel in the future.
