Estonian Inbank is entering the Czech market

by   CIJ News iDesk III
2022-09-13   16:22
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Estonian fintech bank Inbank, which specializes in financing renewable energy sources for end users, is entering the Czech market, the bank announced today. A total of 44 banks with a license from the Czech National Bank operate in the Czech Republic.

In addition to its focus on the principles of sustainability and ecology, Inbank will offer its clients the possibility of financing means of transport, for example cars, electric bicycles, scooters and other products, such as furniture, consumer electronics and fashion goods.

Director of the Czech Inbank Vít Růžička said that one of the main advantages of Inbank is speed. "Processing a request even for relatively high amounts of financing, for example in the order of hundreds of thousands of crowns for the purchase of photovoltaic systems or heat pumps, takes a few minutes at Inbank and can be handled completely online, without the need to visit the client at any branch," he said.

Entering the Czech market is strategic for the bank. "The Czech Republic is a country with ten million inhabitants, whose consumer financing market is about ten times larger than that of Estonia. The granting of a banking license by the CNB as a branch of the bank also guarantees us access to the local deposit market. The aim is to obtain a one percent market share in the Czech Republic, which represents a portfolio of more than 100 million euros (CZK 2.46 billion)," said Chairman of the Board and founder of Inbank Priit Põldoja.

"The Czech banking market is already quite competitive, Czechs are relatively conservative in the field of financial services and prefer established brands, and at the same time they are not staunch supporters of sustainability," said Cyrrus analyst Vít Hradil. However, according to him, the ongoing energy crisis will probably increase the demand for alternative energy sources, and therefore also for their financing, and there is thus a potential window of opportunity.

Inbank is an Estonian bank with a European banking license. It operates in five European countries, mainly in the Baltics and Poland, with more than 823,000 contracts and 5,100 business partners. Through them, it financed goods worth more than EUR 1.5 billion (CZK 36.8 billion).

Source: Inbank and CTK