Qonto, the European business finance solution, has launched a new in-house financing solution, ‘Pay later’, extending its product offering and strengthening its market leadership as the most advanced business banking offer.
Leveraging its existing payment service licence, Qonto is providing short-term financing in the form of ‘Pay later’, which gives eligible customers instant access to funds of up to €10,000, directly from the Qonto app.
Once approved, the funds are instantly available on the customer’s Qonto account, via the buy now, pay later solution, paid back alongside a 1.17 per cent per month interest rate. The repayment period begins 30 days after the invoice purchase, repaid in three automatic instalments over 90 days.
This launch signposts a new milestone for the company, which has so far relied on strategic partnerships to provide financing to its customers. The launch of Pay later marks another step in Qonto’s ambition to become the business finance solution of choice for one million European SMEs and freelancers by the end of 2025.
Alexandre Prot, CEO and co-founder of Qonto, commented: “Offering our first in-house financing solution is a big milestone for Qonto – and our customers. Our goal is to offer European SMEs and freelancers everything they need to seamlessly manage their business finances, from an online business account to invoicing, bookkeeping, spend management and, of course, financing.
“There is a real need for financing among European businesses, and we’re proud to offer a comprehensive solution with Pay later and our financing platform. The launch of Pay later brings us one significant step closer to our goal of becoming the business finance solution of choice for one million European SMEs and freelancers by the end of 2025.”
The new solution is accessible from Qonto’s mobile and web apps and complements the financing platform Qonto launched in 2023 through strategic partnerships, giving customers access to a comprehensive range of financing solutions that dispense amounts up to €10million.
Improving access to finance across Europe
In 2023, Qonto launched the Qonto financing platform across all four of its markets (France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Over the past year, almost 8,000 projects have already been financed for a total amount of almost €60million.
By launching this short-term financing offer, Qonto aims to provide businesses with increased financing options that respond to the very different needs of its customers. Its new Pay later offer complements existing offers from partners (Defacto, Silvr, Karmen, Edebex, and Riverbank in France; Faicredit and Viceversa in Italy; and Defacto, Kintai and Bankable in Spain) on the financing platform.
According to the European Commission, ensuring access to finance is one of the major challenges faced by European SMEs. In 2023, 21 per cent of SMEs reported ‘problems with financing’ as a main challenge for their business.
A Qonto report on the state of European SMEs, published at the end of 2023, shows similar results: 23 per cent of surveyed SMEs felt ‘pessimistic’ or ‘very pessimistic’ about their access to financing in 2024. Qonto’s ambition is to always meet its customers’ evolving needs and demands. With the launch of Pay later, Qonto aims to address the increasing need for SME financing in France, Italy and Spain.
