Despite being strategically located between East and West, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania often go unnoticed by executives. However, they are steadily establishing themselves as fintech powerhouses.

The Balkan states faced major economic challenges after regaining their independence in 1991. However, these challenges also presented new opportunities. Post-Soviet countries transitioned to market economies and rapidly transformed their business environment.

One advantage of the Baltic states was their lack of legacy banking infrastructure. Unlike many Western nations that had to transition from traditional banking systems to digital platforms, the Baltics made a direct “leap” to digital financial services.

Today, The Baltic fintech ecosystem consists of over 500 companies tackling digital payments, cryptocurrency, insurtech and more. Estonia’s Wise (formerly TransferWise), Lithuania’s Vinted and Revolut have all reached “unicorn” valuations of over $1 billion (0.92 million euros).

Each of the states has its own successes. Estonia, for example, has the highest number of unicorns per capita in the world. Latvia just won an anti-money laundering (AML) crackdown, making it a wise choice for compliance expertise. Meanwhile, Lithuania has has increased the number of fintech companies from a handful to over 270.

Every state has a unique approach to fintech. Let’s meet some of the disruptors in this sector.

– A message from our partner –

Montonio

Founder(s): Henrik’s Degree, Karel Nappus, Karl Kristjan Kalluste, Kristofer Turmen, Marco Lember, Rasmus Õisma

Founded: 2018

Funding: 14.5 million euros

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Founded by a team of entrepreneurs, Montonio is an all-in-one payment platform for European online merchants. It offers a variety of local payment methods, including card payments, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, all at low costs.

Montonio streamlines the refund process and shipping management for its customer base. It offers a “buy now, pay later” option, which allows customers to split purchases into installments without fees or interest. Merchants, however, will receive full payment up front.

Its dashboard allows merchants to access real-time data on payments, shipments and refunds.

Through its platform, Montonio promises to put an end to overcharging. It also wants to eliminate payment complexity through its self-service API integration.

Xolo

Founder(s): Avocado Alender, Erik Mellon, Erko Hansar, Urmo Parg

Founded: 2015

Funding: 11 million euros

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Fintech Company Xolo has reduced business administration time to almost zero by merging invoicing, compliance, and banking into one app. Designed for entrepreneurs, it serves 40 million professionals worldwide who run their own businesses independently.

Xolo’s platform hosts company formation, banking, accounting and other services, making it the fastest and easiest way to start and run a solo freelance business in Europe.

Although it is headquartered in Tallinn, Xolo’s largest user base is in Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Turkey.

Its typical customers are professionals who need a robust and simple platform for business operations. These include software developers, management consultants, designers, and others.

Led by CEO Mikko Teerenhovi, Xolo currently has 140,000 members and €7.2 million in annualized revenue (ARR).

Your

Founder(s): Jan Laxpere, Where Kreison, Uibo River, Vilve Vene

Founded: 2019

Funding: 45 million euros

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Formerly known as Modularbank, Your is a cloud-based banking platform. Founded by a team of banking and technology experts, the company offers a range of banking services for businesses.

Tuum is designed to easily integrate with existing financial infrastructures. With it, both traditional banks and fintech companies can enhance and add to their digital offerings. Tuum’s platform is cloud-native, which means it can run on all major cloud and private cloud providers.

Tuum, which raised €4 million in a late seed funding round in December 2020, is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. Its CEO Vilve Vene employs over 60 people across offices in Berlin and Malaga.

4finance

Founder(s): Aigar Kesenfelds

Founded: 2008

Funding: $734.2 million (€679 million)

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

4finance is a fintech company specializing in online and mobile consumer lending. Founded in 2008, the company has become the largest consumer lending group in 11 countries in Europe.

Its lending products include lump sum loans, installment loans, and lines of credit. The company assesses credit risk using advanced analytics to provide specific lending solutions.

The unique approach has led the company to issue over €8 billion in loans to a broad customer base. Leading brands such as Vivus, SMSCredit and Zaplo are included in its customer portfolio.

The corporate group’s offices are located in Riga and London. However, it oversees operations in countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Sweden.

4finance also provides its services to its clients through TBI Bank, an EU-authorized banking institution providing loans to consumers and SMEs in Bulgaria and Romania.

Kevin.

Founder(s): Pavel Sokolov, Tadas Sameness

Founded: 2018

Funding: $79.4 million (€73.4 million)

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, KAndwine. is a fintech company that offers an advanced account-to-account payment infrastructure. Led by entrepreneur Tadas Tamošiūnas, it has become a major player in the payments industry.

kevin. technology eliminates the need for credit cards by connecting directly to users’ bank accounts. The platform supports traditional cards, pay-by-link, point-of-sale (POS), direct debit and online payments.

kevin. benefits both merchants and consumers with its efficient and convenient transactions. Businesses of all sizes can also use kevin’s customizable and scalable payment solution.

The company has raised $65 million (€60.11 million) in Series A funding from investors such as Accel and Eurazeo. This financial support has allowed kevin. to hire over 300 employees across Europe. He is optimistic that he is on a trajectory towards reaching unicorn status.

Mintos

Founder(s): Martin Sulte, Martin Walter

Founded: 2015

Funding: 14.2 million euros

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Mintos is a global marketplace for investing in loans based in Riga, Latvia. The company was founded by entrepreneurs Martins Sulte and Martins Valters in 2015.

Mintos has created a platform that connects retail investors with lending opportunities. The company serves over 500,000 investors across the European Union. It also manages assets worth over €600 million.

Regulated under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in the European Union, Mintos is a unique way to create wealth. It implements environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in its practices. The company also maintains high standards of anti-corruption and anti-bribery measures.

Mintos encourages existing clients and the wider public to become shareholders. Ultimately, it aims to become the leading choice for every individual looking to build long-term wealth.

Profit

Founder(s): Victoria Vanage

Founded: 2017

Funding: Not disclosed

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Profit is a real estate investment platform based in Vilnius, Lithuania, with a new approach to real estate financing. Launched in mid-2018, it aims to democratize real estate investing by allowing users to start investing with as little as €50.

The platform connects investors and real estate developers looking for financing. Investors can browse real estate projects on the platform and choose the ones that align with their goals. The investment is secured by the assets pledged by the project owner, which further secures the transaction.

In 2019, Profitus participated in a trial within the Vilnius-based Realbox Proptech sandbox. The project allowed it to expand its network of investors and customers. Profitus also raised €300,000 in seed funding to further develop its platform.

Evarvest

Founder(s): Stephanie Brennan

Founded: 2018

Funding: €239.5K

Hiring: Yes, check job openings Here

Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Evarvest is a fintech startup that seeks to change the way individuals invest in the stock market. Founded in early 2018, Evarvest makes global stock exchanges accessible by providing a simple, commission-free investment platform.

The company helps users invest in brands they know, love, and trust, without the complexities associated with stock trading. Even before its official launch, Evarvest already has over 28,000 users on its waiting list.

It now integrates more than 30 global stock exchanges and offers users access to over 9,000 stocks. Evarvest is currently focused on obtaining its brokerage license and finalizing its investment platform.

Despite being a relatively young company, Evarvest has gained recognition in the fintech industry. The startup was recognized in the Barclays Rise Vilnius 2018 Fintech Week Pitch Competition and the FintechInn Conference 2018 Pitch Battle.

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