San Francisco, Mar 22 (IANS): Apple has acquired Italian Application Programming Interface (API) integration developer - Stamplay - for $5.678 million, the media reported.

Stamplay describes itself as a "low code work-flow automation platform, empowering organisations to streamline manual work by integrating data and business applications used every day".

However, the reasons for the iPhone-maker purchasing the Rome-based start-up remains unclear, VentureBeat reported on Thursday.

"However, it's noteworthy that this start-up has experience in the financial payments industry, a sector that Apple entered with Apple Pay, and is expected to expand upon with a self-branded credit card next week," the report said.

In 2016, the start-up won Visa's Everywhere Initiative API contest and was entrusted with an unspecified development project for the payments giant.

As part of the deal, Apple has decided to permanently keep the Co-Founders of the company, Giuliano Iacobelli and Nicola Mattina.

Apple has not officially announced the acquisition as yet.