Fair credit options to consumers: Our investment in Finloup
‘Only 13% of Greeks over the age of 25 have access to a credit card’
Given the unparalleled rise in the usage and volume of e-commerce during the past months, this statistic really left an impression on us. In Greece, provisional numbers show that e-commerce turnover within 2020 exceeded the amount of €11bn, with this number expected to increase substantially within the next few years, with approximately 25,000 companies having an organized online sales channel.
The above market is met with an important gap when it comes to the financing alternatives presented to consumers. With only such a small number of Greek consumers having access to a credit card which allows them to make online and on-site purchases with installments, the remaining crowd is left with virtually no access to fair credit options thus restricting their purchasing power and ability.
A ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ solution based on Open Banking
Finloup was quick to identify such a gap in the market and launched a Buy-Now-Pay-Later solution (BNPL) utilizing the data made available by Open Banking. The startup gives consumers the option to break their online purchases in interest-free installments, without the need for them to have a credit card or take out a loan, and without having to worry about extra & hidden fees.
The premise is based on the power of financial data provided by Open Banking. When the consumer consents to safely share his bank account data with Finloup, the company’s proprietary algorithm can accurately determine the consumers’ creditworthiness based on several factors such monthly income, savings, expenditures, etc., and if satisfied it then approves the transaction allowing the consumer to split his or her purchases in a number of installments. More than that, Finloup rewards consumers who repay on time by increasing their credit limit for future purchases, effectively allowing them to improve their own credit score while ensuring responsible lending.
On the other end of the platform, the merchant has access to an easy to install solution for their online marketplace and higher conversion rates as fewer consumers abandon their baskets at checkout given that they are able to make their purchases in split payments. Further to that, they get access to a dashboard of advanced data and analytics which provide important insights regarding their business such as conversion rates, repeat purchasing behavior, seasonality effects, average order value increase, and other metrics.
The platform is already live and used by a number of ecommerce merchants in Greece such as Hermina Athens and will soon be launching with fashion & apparel merchant Funky Buddha.
A multidisciplinary team of fintech enthusiasts
Finloup is led by Antonis Prentzas (CEO), Marios Noutsos (COO), Kyriakos Georgiou (Chief Data Scientist) and Stelios Gasparinatos (Chief Information Officer), all of whom share a common vision of providing consumers and merchants with a safe and fair BNPL platform to facilitate their e-commerce transactions in Greece and the Eastern Europe area.
All of these factors surrounding Finloup’s product, proposition and team make us pleased to announce our lead investment, in an oversubscribed round together with TECS Capital, Everypay and industry renowned angels. We are excited about what lies ahead, and keep your eyes open for your next online purchase!
Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou, Partner at Velocity.Partners, states “BNPL products and the wider alternative credit space is a booming segment within the fintech world and a billion-dollar market opportunity in different — established and emerging — geographies as GenZers and Millennials are looking for more flexible and on-demand credit options to cater their needs. We firmly believe in finloup’s ability to capture this opportunity on a regional level, starting from Greece. We are excited to work together with Antonis, Marios, Stelios and Kyriakos on building a more fair credit option for the younger generations.”
You can view Finloup’s open job positions here.
About Velocity.Partners
Velocity.Partners is an industry-agnostic Venture Capital fund. Our mission is to fuel Greek entrepreneurs around the globe to build world-class technology companies.
We invest in pre-Seed & Seed stages, typically up to €500K, and follow up next rounds, helping our companies build their team, prove product-market fit, gain market traction and get ready for big-league VCs along the way.
Our portfolio gets instant access to a global network of industry experts, international investors and potential clients. We also offer lifelong operational support, strategic advice and mentoring as needed.
Velocity.Partners is part of the EquiFund family of venture capital funds and is also supported by the Operational Program “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship & Innovation” (EPAnEK).
