Bank / Credit Union

Jiko acquires bank to deploy money platform

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September 4, 2020

Jiko Group, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Mid-Central National Bank, formerly Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank, headquartered in Wadena, Minnesota

The transaction, which was approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is a major plus for Jiko. Its strategy has been to establish an entirely new model for handling and storing money, according to a company press release.

Jiko transparently invests customers' money directly in U.S. Treasury Bills instead of holding the deposits. With Jiko's proprietary technology, an investment can act as a liquid and spendable alternative to cash.

Over the last three years, Jiko has invested heavily in its core infrastructure, which merges payment rails with real-time, 24/7 principal trading capabilities on T-bills. Jiko's technology, combined with the recently acquired banking and broker-dealer licenses, delivers on its core mission of deploying a platform that gives customers the opportunity to control and benefit from their money.

"The past decade of fintech and online banking innovations has exposed new customers to our industry and demonstrated that innovation in the financial sector is needed," Stephane Lintner, CEO and cofounder of Jiko said in the release. "People's relationship to money must be fundamentally improved for everyone. One of Jiko's primary goals is to give people what they deserve: more organic and direct returns, without intermediaries and unnecessary friction."