inFakt, offering accounting and technology services for business, is introducing a new product for entrepreneurs. Within one application, users can now set up a company, conduct accounting with expert support and manage finances through a fully integrated business bank account. The solution is also ready for the challenges related to KSeF.
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Bank account in accounting app
The account is offered as part of cooperation with UniCredit, one of the largest banking groups in Europe, which serves a total of over 20 million customers. Creating an account is possible thanks to the so-called BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service), a new type of banking that is becoming more and more popular, especially in Western countries.
BaaS is a model for ensuring the availability of financial services in which a financial institution (in this case, UniCredit) makes its infrastructure, banking license and regulatory base, and therefore its portfolio of financial products, available to non-financial entities. This allows partners (in this case inFakt) to provide financial products (e.g. accounts, payment cards or loans) directly in their own sales channels. At the same time, the bank guarantees the security of funds stored in the account and the correct execution of settlements within this account.
— We have always seen the potential in combining our offer, i.e. accounting services, with financial products. The moment of setting up a company is when, apart from accounting, you also need to look for a company account. We saw a need for our clients to submit an application to CEIDG and open an account from one application. As soon as we noticed that there was a “full” bank, and not, for example, a payment institution, that would allow us to launch such a service, we immediately decided to do so – says Włodek Markiewicz, chief product officer and vice-president of inFakt.
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He adds that thanks to this, the client is able to set up a company account entered on the white list with a VAT account, from which he can pay contributions, taxes and costs in one application. — The interaction between the invoice and payment flow is actually seamless, so one click is enough to pay tax or social security contributions. Moreover, according to my information, this is the only company account that currently has an interest-bearing VAT account, the rate is 2%. – Markiewicz points out.
The company expects that customers will be happy to use the opportunity to create an account, because about 90 percent sole proprietorships create a company account when registering. It will soon start offering the new service to all customers, including existing ones, so that they can have accounting and business accounts in one place.
— Those who already have an accountant with us will be able to open such a business account from June. Customers from the so-called software plans, i.e. those who only issue invoices or do their own accounting, will have this option in the fall, announces the vice-president of inFak.
A bank where the customer needs
UniCredit and its bank Vodeno strongly focus on the development of BaaS. Wojciech Sobieraj, head of the supervisory board of UniCredit in Poland, said in a recent interview with Business Insider that banking is the fastest growing sector in Asia and the United States. This market is growing at a rate of over 20%. compared to 5 percent in traditional banking
— In Poland, few people are aware that in a few or a dozen years, we will not go to banks to get loans, but will take them out in the place where we need financing – in an online store, in an application with tourist services, etc. The payment market will look the same. My favorite example is Uber. You get on, click, get off. There is banking somewhere in the background: the driver gets money, the platform gets money, everything is settled. But no one thinks about the bank. And this is the magic of modern finance, said Sobieraj.
UniCredit/Vodeno solutions in the BaaS model are used by several dozen entities, offering financial solutions to a total of approximately one million end customers (including Revolut, Shopify, InPost, Expatrio, Ant Group). This solution includes: keeping accounts, “buy now, pay later” services, loans and investments.
— The beauty and essence of the BaaS model is that, in fact, all the products we have, but also those we don't have, but which are of value from the point of view of users of a given platformwe can offer our partner to make them available to their customers under their own logo. These can be deposits, savings solutions, investments, payments, cards, or loans and credits in various forms. It basically depends on the needs and capabilities of our partner what he decides to do. The key factor here is the expansion of the value chain for its users, says Paweł Ławecki, chief BaaS officer at UniCredit/Vodeno and member of the Vodeno management board.
— The uniqueness of our offer lies in the fact that we have modern technology, comparable to that boasted by the fintech industry. At the same time, we have scale and a banking license, and not only in Poland. Therefore, we meet AML and KYC requirements and can also offer our partner support for these processes. In addition, there is a very important aspect in the form of the huge balance sheet of the UniCredit group, which allows for a large increase in credit financing – adds Ławecki.
Włodek Markiewicz argues that from the perspective of his company, the use of the BaaS model and the ability to offer banking services are of great value. — We have access to banking infrastructure without the need to apply for a license or take over a bank. We do not have to pretend to be a bank to offer this type of service. We can focus on our core business and, thanks to cooperation with the bank, develop tools and products that meet the needs of entrepreneurs – says the vice-president of inFak.
He adds that this approach means moving away from the “do it quickly” narrative to “do it well.” — Instead of forcing immediate decisions, we give the entrepreneur the opportunity to act at their own pace and with greater awareness. InFakt, in cooperation with the bank, becomes a partner offering accounting and financial services in one ecosystem. We compete not on speed or price, but on the quality of decisions, he emphasizes.
Polish banks are not ready to adopt a new banking direction for now
Which direction will banks go in terms of BaaS development? In what industries and companies can this model be applied? According to UniCredit representatives, white label banking products – i.e. those in which the bank provides technology and banking solutions, and the product bears the partner's brand – make sense wherever there is a sufficiently large base of retail or business customers who spend enough time in the partner's system, have financial needs and are an engaged group.
— Our partners observe their needs, which is the first step towards introducing new products with the bank's participation in order to expand the value chain. We provide BaaS services for e-commerce and marketplace partners, and we are also able to offer loans to companies operating on such platforms. BaaS services will go far and wide, because everything is aimed at increasing the friendliness and availability of services. Just like Steve Jobs accustomed the world to the intuitiveness of the iPhone, we want to make it easier to use banking products wherever the customer is and where he needs them. – points out Ławecki.
In his opinion, BaaS solutions can be used in virtually any type of business – product-wise, geographically, as well as in new industries. For the bank, it is also a good chance to safely increase financing, because it may have access to current customer data that is not available from other sources. This reduces credit risk.
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In the strategies of Polish banks, which we have seen in abundance in the last two years, there was almost no mention of BaaS. Will Polish banks try to move in this direction? — We see that in the Polish context we have a significant advantage over other banks, mainly due to our Vodeno Cloud Platform technology, which we are constantly developing and which has an advanced architecture based on API and microservices. At the same time, we have large capital resources and fintech efficiency, so we can act quickly and flexibly. Other banks will probably go in this direction, the only question is how much the IT projects necessary for such implementations will cost them, how much time they will take and whether they will make money on them – says the UniCredit and Vodeno expert.
— It is also important that, thanks to cooperation with partners such as InFakt, we can develop products and services exactly what customers need, where they do business, where they need us and where it is convenient for them. In such a model, the bank does not have to have such detailed competences in assessing their needs as a company that deals with accounting issues of small and medium-sized companies on a daily basis – this is its unique know-how. We use our competences in banking, create products, ensure compliance with regulations, etc. – says Ławecki.
He adds that this is the essence of BaaS: the solution presented to the client has to be simple, it has to use as much information as possible from a given platform and be available at the place and time where the user comes with his needs.
