MONEY MEETS TECHNICAL INNOVATION
“FinTech”, the coming together of financial services and technology, stands for many different business models. With Compeon, Ebury and insyt finance, VIVID presents three examples from Düsseldorf that highlight this diversity.
Dr. Nico Petres, Managing Director Compeon
Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) uses the collective term FinTech to refer to providers of alternative payment methods, blockchain technology, crowdfunding or automated investment advice, among others. As a traditional finance location, Düsseldorf can offer such specialist businesses a good network, an exciting infra-structure and access to talent. This is appreciated by small start-ups and established players alike, such as the digital credit portal Auxmoney.
“FOR US, DÜSSELDORF IS A FINANCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND TECH LOCATION ALL IN ONE.”
When Compeon, another large FinTech company based in Düsseldorf, was looking for a second business location next to Emsdetten in Münsterland, the management deliberately decided against the “tech stronghold” of Berlin: “For us, Düsseldorf is a fi nancial, industrial and tech location all in one. And at the same time, it is very easy for FinTechs to find suitable office spaces that also enable scalability,” says Dr. Nico Peters, one of the managing directors. Compeon is obviously doing well with its decision to settle in the Rhine metropolis: in recent years, the company has developed into the leading productand provider-independent fi nance portal for German SMEs and now employs more than 100 people. The fi nance portal enables entrepreneurs to search for various fi nancing solutions - from loans to leasing and factoring to purchase and project fi nancing – and by means of a digitalised process Compeon is then able to find the best offer from currently more than 300 participating banks, building societies and other finance partners. Additionally, a number of independent Compeon advisors are there to help in the search for solutions. And whereas at the beginning of the Covid pandemic there was a greater demand for loans to secure liquidity through Compeon, it is now the relative demand for investment financing that is increasing - which can be interpreted as a positive sign with regards to the economy. Looking ahead to the next few years, Compeon‘s management is aiming to approach its clients even more actively so to be able to support them. “The more data we generate, the better we can understand and anticipate our clients' financing needs - and thus assist them as partners,” says Dr Peters.
Nils Hennemann, Director of Partnerships and Indirect Sales DACH Region, Ebury
Another company that is set on course for growth is Ebury. Founded in London in 2009, the FinTech has also had a location in Düsseldorf since 2017. “Ebury was inspired by the question of how to make cross-border payments easier, faster and more cost-effective for companies,” explains Nils Hennemann, Director of Partnerships and Indirect Sales DACH Region. By using the web platform, customers can not only process national and international payment transactions, but are also supported in currency and receivables management, collective payments and trade financing, and recently also in the area of international accounts. The payment specialist now employs around 1,100 staff in 25 countries worldwide, 38 of whom can be found in person at the Düsseldorf location. The pandemic in particular has shown how important fast and secure international payment transactions are: “It can make a big difference whether it is possible to move a load onto a container ship because the corresponding payment has already arrived,” says Hennemann. The Ebury manager also sees great potential in the area of e-commerce and wants to expand the company’s expertise in this area in the future. “We believe it is possible to do it even cheaper and in a more customised way.”
Roberto Schneider, Co-Founder insyt finance
“TRADITIONAL BANKS WILL HAVE TO BE BENCHMARKED AGAINST FINTECHS AND WILL THEREFORE INCREASINGLY BUY THEM UP AND INTEGRATE THEM.”
FinTech insyt finance, which was founded at the beginning of 2021, focuses not on commercial customers but on young, private investors. The founding team, all of whom are in their mid-twenties, knows from their own experience how important the topics of pension plans and financial independence are for many young people. “We are enthusiastic investors ourselves and have noticed that a new generation of ‘mobile-first investors’ is emerging, who no longer want to plan and evaluate their portfolio on a PC in Excel. We wanted to hand these investors a mobile app that covers the entire investment process from research and investment planning to monitoring and analysis,” explains co-founder Roberto Schneider. In addition to that, the insyt team has also attracted a dedicated Instagram community of more than 1,600 followers. In a special project in partnership with BANX Broker a real stock portfolio with a nominal value of 25,000 euros is currently being established there in close coordination with the community: “The goal is to enable beginners to experience the process of starting a stock portfolio, while experienced traders can exchange their ideas and views,” says Roberto Schneider. The insyt team is currently preparing its infrastructure for expansion, in order to hit the ground running in 2022. Looking to the future, Roberto Schneider says: “Traditional banks have to be benchmarked against FinTechs and will therefore increasingly buy them up and integrate them.” The fact that both worlds can complement each other is illustrated well by, for example, Ebury's strategic partnership with Santander Bank: “By combining the strengths of Ebury and Santander, customers benefit from both Ebury's agility as a FinTech and its specialised international transaction services and Santander's extensive Nils Hennemann credit offering,” says Nils Hennemann. •
Words Tom Corrinth
Pictures Compeon, Ebury: Andi Werner, insyt finance, Istock