📷 Image: Schufa
- With the acquisition of STRATECO, SCHUFA is further expanding its position in the KYC and compliance market
- “SCHUFA Compliance Suite” offers services across the entire value chain
- STRATECO complements ClariLab’s strong expertise in retail and small-to-medium-sized businesses with extensive experience in the financial services sector, particularly in corporate and investment banking.
Wiesbaden, June 23, 2026 – SCHUFA Holding AG is acquiring STRATECO GmbH and systematically expanding its KYC and compliance business to serve as a second strategic pillar alongside credit assessment. The goal is to strengthen its position as an independent, technology-driven partner for corporate clients. The “SCHUFA Compliance Suite” will integrate seamlessly into the German financial ecosystem and establish itself as the de facto standard for compliant and efficient compliance solutions.
The focus is on combining the complementary expertise of ClariLab (KYCnow)—a SCHUFA subsidiary established in 2020—and STRATECO under the umbrella of the “SCHUFA Compliance Suite.” While SCHUFA, through ClariLab, contributes scalable, standardized KYC processes in particular, STRATECO complements the offering with 25 years of experience primarily in corporate and investment banking. This creates an integrated offering that combines data, technology, and operational services across the entire KYC value chain and provides financial institutions with comprehensive solutions. At the same time, SCHUFA is actively supporting the Europeanization of anti-money laundering efforts through this approach and addressing the growing demand for KYC services in the financial sector. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
With this acquisition, STRATECO will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SCHUFA and a sister company of ClariLab.
Anti-Money Laundering: SCHUFA Becomes the Go-To Resource for Banks
“By combining STRATECO and KYCnow, we are creating a unique, integrated end-to-end offering for our customers across the entire KYC value chain. In this way, we are bringing together expertise and technology to continuously increase our collective impact in the fight against money laundering. According to estimates, more than 100 billion euros are illegally funneled into the financial system in Germany every year,” says Tanja Birkholz, CEO of SCHUFA Holding AG.
“Our anti-money laundering efforts and those of SCHUFA complement each other perfectly,” says Laurence Dickler of STRATECO. “SCHUFA brings to the table, above all, the high quality of its database and the strong trust in its brand name. By combining our efforts, we have the potential to become the market leader,” adds Dickler.
“The European Anti-Money Laundering Regulation will bring about lasting changes to the market and further increase the demand for high-quality data, smart technologies, and efficient processes. Together with STRATECO and SCHUFA, we are laying the groundwork to support our customers through this transformation,” says Tobias Weber, CEO of KYCnow.
The acquisition is a response to market complexity.
At the same time, the acquisition addresses the growing demands of anti-money laundering (AML) efforts resulting from European regulations and the new EU supervisory structures centered on AMLA. These factors lead to increased complexity regarding data and processes, as well as a higher frequency of checks.With this approach, SCHUFA is deliberately positioning itself as a national provider. However, it already collaborates with the German branches of several international financial institutions and intends to increasingly support its clients as they expand into European markets. In doing so, SCHUFA also contributes to safeguarding the sovereignty of the German banking sector.
Source: schufa.de
