10/05/2019
Swiss company SONECT AG, managing payment application, which allows customer to deposit and withdraw money in convenient access points free of charge, have chosen Lithuania for its activity in Europe. The Bank of Lithuania has issued an electronic money institution license to the company, which will grant the right to expand the services throughout the EEA. SONECT’s service allows its customers to cash out in way more convenient places – from ordinary shops to restaurants and cafes – than traditional ATMs.
“SONECT AG” in Switzerland manages the largest cash withdrawal network in the country, with over 2’200 withdrawal points (stores, cafes, and others), giving its customers the opportunity to cash out using their mobile app, this way avoiding inconvenience searching ATMs. This is especially good news for those who still like to settle in cash but are also using smart technologies. The Company intends to implement unique interaction solution for direct exchange of digital and ready money.
SONECT states that the main incentive to start their business in Europe is the relatively importance of cash as a method of payment in the EU and the fact that more and more people are looking for alternatives to cash out money.
“The EMI licence is a strategic move that perfectly sets us up to expand across the European market quickly. Our success in Switzerland showcases the need for a solution like SONECT to bring cash withdrawals to the next level. We are looking forward to replicating our success in other European markets soon”, Sandipan Chakraborty, CEO & Founder.
This company comes with completely different point of view. While all payments are moving fast into digital space and banks are cutting their cash transactions, SONECT has its own way. “This client has had an alternative thinking from the beginning. Their business model is interesting in a way that they managed to combine people’s willingness to use cash with smart technologies. Moreover, favorable FinTech environment in Lithuania, high computer literacy and widespread use of smart technology perfectly matched what they wanted to do,” says Inga Karulaitytė, attorney at law and a head of FinTech group of ECOVIS ProventusLaw.
In 2018, the number of financial technology companies (FinTech) operating in Lithuania and the number of people working in them increased by more than 40 percent. In 2018 there were about 170 FinTech companies in Lithuania (while in 2017 there were 117). Number of people working in this sector increased up to 2600 per year. Actually, 70 percent all FinTech companies operating in the country are established in Lithuania, the headquarters of other companies are in Europe and beyond – in Israel, Singapore and Hong Kong. Even 96 percent FinTech companies operating in Lithuania consider Europe as their target market.
During two years ECOVIS ProventusLaw has helped over 25 companies from different parts of the world to obtain payment or electronic institution license. Because of Brexit, there appeared great interest form British investors, however, there is no lesser interest in licensing activities from Europe and Asia. ECOVIS ProventusLaw has helped to obtain electronic institution licenses for such international financial consulting companies as deVere Group, InstaReM.
ECOVIS ProventusLaw is a part of ECOVIS International, operating in over 70 countries around the world.
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