PacWest Bancorp is set to merge with Banc of California and raise $400 million in equity from investors, the financial institutions announced Tuesday. 

PacWest had been in talks with potential investors or buyers since May, following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank. 

The new entity “will have operational and financial scale to increase investment in the franchise, including its technology platform, in order to elevate the client experience, improve efficiencies, attract the highest quality talent,” a release stated. 

“The combined company will have the strength and market position to support the banking needs of small and medium-size businesses in California and to capitalize on the opportunities created for stronger financial institutions in the wake of the recent banking industry turmoil,” Jared Wolff, president and chief executive of Banc of California, said in the release.  

Wolff is expected to serve as CEO once the merger goes through, the release said. The entity will boast $36 billion in combined assets. 

The banks “anticipate a smooth integration,” which will help them capitalize on “long-term opportunities unlocked by the strength of our combined platform,” Wolff said. 

Under the agreement, the banks will form Pacific Western Bank. The merger will be completed in late 2023 or early 2024, pending regulatory approval, the release said. 

Brex taps Airwallex for global expansion 

Digital bank Brex selected payments platform Airwallex to aid in its global expansion. 

Brex provides multiple spend management solutions for businesses, including issuing corporate credit cards, travel expense management and bill payments, according to the Brex website. Through Airwallex, Brex can expand these services beyond the United States, Michael Tannenbaum, chief operating officer at Brex, told Bank Automation News.  

Airwallex has the “ability of connecting local payment rails in tens of countries,” making expansion simpler for Brex, Tannenbaum said. 

Ariwallex has more than 50 global licenses, which Brex aims to leverage, according to a company release.  

Coinbase, Airbnb and Doordash are among companies that use the Brex spend management platform, according to the company. 

Flywire partners with Tencent on cross-border payments 

Flywire, a Boston-based payments company, is working with Tencent, parent company of Chinese messaging app WeChat, to facilitate cross-border education payments. 

The partnership is expected to aid Chinese students in the U.S. make tuition payments through the WeChat Pay digital wallet, according to a release. 

Chinese students can make payments in renmibi with a minimum payment of 1,000CNY ($139) and maximum 300,000CNY ($41,950), Flywire Senior Vice President of Global Payments and Payer Services Mohit Kansal told BAN. 

Students can make payments to educational institutions in countries including the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong, Kansal said. 

Flywire processed $5.7 billion in domestic and cross-border payments in the first quarter, recording a 36% increase year over year, according to the company’s SEC filings. 

PayPal deepens relationship with Microsoft 

Digital payments behemoth PayPal is deepening its relationship with Microsoft as the company announced that its buy now, pay later service will be integrated into Microsoft’s platform, PayPal announced today.  

PayPal’s Pay Later solution will be made available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, France, Spain and Italy for Microsoft customers, according to a release. Customers can buy software services and hardware from the Microsoft Store and pay the bill in a fixed amount over weeks or months, the release said. 

PayPal also announced that customers in the U.S. can soon pay with Venmo in the Microsoft Store. The Venmo payment option is currently available only on Microsoft’s Xbox stores. 

Visit Bank Automation News’ Transactions Database which lists the technology selected or acquired by companies in the financial services industry, with a specific focus on technology that enhances automation.