Huntington Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:HBAN) has acquired a San Francisco startup that powers digital payments from businesses to consumers – transactions such as insurance claims, rebates and refunds.
Digital Payments Torana Inc. will rebrand as Huntington ChoicePay, the bank said in a release.
The deal helps Huntington's commercial banking division better serve businesses of all sizes, especially in industries such as government, healthcare and insurance that need to process payments to consumers, Scott Kleinman, commercial co-president, said in the release.
Cloud-based digital tools enable faster payments without consumers having to enter bank account numbers or other cumbersome steps.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Torana was founded in November 2020 by CEO Lon Huffman, according to regulatory filings.
Huffman will continue as an adviser, but not join Huntington full-time, a spokeswoman said. Other key employees are joining; the bank did not say how many.
Huntington National Bank has been embarking on a digital transformation, building in-house tools and working with startups. It launched its first all-digital product, Standby Cash for short-term loans, last June.
The bank also invests in startups indirectly as a limited partner in funds at Rev1 Ventures and Drive Capital.
Central Ohio's largest home-based bank has assets of $175 billion.
