FINOM, the fast-growing mobile-first financial management platform for SMEs and freelancers has continued its European expansion with its launch into the Netherlands today.
The announcement marks another milestone in the company’s ambitious growth plan, having recently launched into the UK and become the fastest growing financial services app for professionals and SMEs in Germany.
In order to launch within the Dutch market, FINOM has activated its E-money license in the Netherlands to focus on delivering the best in-class onboarding and customer services. A unique stance from other fintech players, FINOM has autonomy over its operations and developed its own core and ledger.
Founded in 2019, FINOM has been on a mission to simplify financial operations for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and SMEs by unifying finance management and e-invoicing services, and payment options such as SEPA and SWIFT, together in one dashboard.
Headquartered in Amsterdam, FINOM has been present in the Netherlands from day one. However, in its quest for the right local banking partner to work with, the company decided to take the longer route of acquiring an electronic money license granted by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) in November 2021, instead launching into other European markets first.
“In Europe, where SMEs and freelancers need to pay high taxes, tackle bureaucracy and deal with the inconveniences of paperwork and red tape processes that accompany business administration, there is strong market demand for an integrated solution to streamline financial management. With a deep recession lurking across Europe, it is prudent to leave nothing to chance. Today we are entering the Dutch market, our home base. When founding FINOM in 2019, we made the strategic decision to start our local business once we had our own electronic-money license, which we acquired last year, after just 14 months. Now we can freely expand into all EU markets using our own infrastructure, from our home market. We are excited to be able to bring our online financial service to SMEs and professionals working in the Netherlands. We are not just building a pan-European business, but a business that helps other businesses to thrive. And we are proud to do that from our native Netherlands.” Sergey Petrov, Co-founder and CEO of FINOM payments B.V.
FINOM’s automated finance platform blends an array of financial services, including business and expense management, into one mobile-first product. The suite of top features includes e-invoicing, SEPA & SWIFT payments, virtual cards and digital wallets. FINOM has also partnered with VISA and Klarna to respectively provide the virtual and physical VISA debit cards and facilitate multi-banking.
“For entrepreneurs, self-employed persons and SMEs it is of great importance to have full control over their finances. This is especially important with the current inflation levels to have financial affairs in order. That is precisely why we are enthusiastic about our collaboration with FINOM. Together we are working on ways to give these business customers convenient, digital and secure means of payment that enable them to thrive under all circumstances.” Jos van de Kerkhof, Country Manager Visa Netherlands
Across Europe FINOM currently employs around 180 full-time-equivalent staffers, with 30 of them based in the Netherlands. FINOM aims to double the local team by the end of 2023.
Having started with bigger countries such as France and Germany, FINOM now seeks to gradually showcase its practicality and presence across Europe, expanding its product offering in Italy by the end of 2022, while launching in five more markets by the end of 2023, including Poland, Spain, Austria, Portugal and Belgium.
“We are extremely pleased to be one of the early backers of FINOM as the business goes from strength to strength. Our decision to invest was based on the impressive team and, just a few years later, we are already seeing amazing results delivered by that same team. Within two years, FINOM has become a leader in the German market, demonstrated steady growth in France and is now launching into a new market in The Netherlands. To achieve such significant milestones already is extremely impressive and we are excited to see what this next stage of growth holds for the business as it continues to expand across the continent." Mike Lobanov, Founder and Partner at Target Global, the main investor in FINOM