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THE BIG INTERVIEW Smart moves
Germany’s Penta is a digital-only new entrant targeting SMEs. Luka Ivicev, Head of Product, tells IBS Journal that the Berlin-based startup is a reaction against terrible customer experiences
Senior Editor Scott Thompson
Over the past few years we have spoken to SMEs and startup owners and realised everyone had the same experience. Hidden fees. Expensive rates. Time consuming banking. Not enough tools to help a business really accelerate. The three of us ultimately got together and started brain storming about what type of banking experience we would like to have.
Penta’s mission is to empower businesses to do more. We’re breaking down our vision into several milestones. The vision for the launch of Penta for 2017 is to offer a groundbreaking banking experience for SMEs in Germany. We’re working hard on getting the security right, deposits, an intuitive and Twitter-like activity feed for increasing business efficiency, account balancing as well as tools like Smart Transactions in the first year. We’ll be rolling out more tools and services towards 2018 that allow businesses to make more data-driven decisions.
how do you see the vision for the launch of the bank in 2017?
I
Luka Ivicev: Lav Odorovic (Head of Banking), Sir Gabriel Holbach (Head of UI/UX) and I have all had businesses of our own over the past few years. For an internship, Sir managed over 500 bank accounts for a banking publisher. From the age of 19, Lav had his own international software development business and I started my first business with Sir at 19 where we had a large budget to manage. Ultimately, the banking experience was terrible. We would have to go to the branch to send money internationally (Wells Fargo, for example, is allowing online international transfers starting July), account balancing was delayed by up to 48 hours. There was no modernity, utilising existing tools and innovative ideas to give businesses the resources to do more.
BS Journal: How did Penta come about and
IBS Journal: You are looking to launch a smart bank for small businesses, but what exactly is a smart bank for small businesses?
LI: Online smart banking for SMEs should be more than just an ordinary bank account with transaction history, sending and receiving money. We’re eliminating the friction that current banks are offering. Instead, Penta’s definition of online smart banking for SMEs incorporates data driven services, innovative solutions for running your business and a holistic overview of what’s going on and what’s coming up in the future.
Data-driven services include automatising accounting by categorising expenses and different types of metrics from day one. Having treasury management software that helps business owners understand their cash-flow, liquidity and when they should maybe take out a loan. We also plan to offer payroll services, budgeting and other incredible FinTech products that empower businesses to do more.
www.ibsintelligence.com © IBS Intelligence 2016
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