Business Showcase: Holvi – A New, Innovative Banking alternative for SMEs

Holvi are a new online bank alternative aimed at business owners allowing them to not only manage their finances but to also send invoices, set up an online store and more. Originally founded in Finland, the company is now expanding into Ireland in Beta mode with a full launch expected in Q4.
We spoke with country manager Thomas O’Reilly to find out more about this new service and how SMEs can benefit. 

Q1 Hi Thomas. Can you tell me about Holvi and what services you offer?

Sure thing! Holvi offers a banking alternative to SMEs, sole traders, startups and project owners. We provide you with an online current account with lots of addition business tools, all housed within your Holvi profile. Like a traditional current account, Holvi allows you to store money and make transfers in and out. We also provide you the ability to send invoices, set up an online store, generate tax reports and to add multiple users to access an account if required.

Q2 Who are the target market for your services?

Holvi was set up to service a wide range of users, which we call the makers and doers. This includes SMEs, sole traders, startups, weekend warriors and project owners. In other words, we built Holvi for tradesmen and charities, sports clubs and event companies and everybody in between. We currently have such a wide diverse range of users that it’s hard to capture them all in one particular segment. It’s free to sign up so it’s definaltely worth checking out holvi.com whether this sounds like you, or not!

Q3 What are the uniques aspects of your service that you feel will make SMEs and start ups choose you for their banking services?

Holvi offers both an extremely price competitive and feature rich product which we believe is perfectly suited to both SMEs and start ups. Our solution will allow you to manage your business from an online hosted solution covering finance, accounting and sales. Our unique solution coupled with our user friendly interface is designed to service all the needs for our target market.

Q4 When will the service launch for Irish customers?

We are currently inviting interested customers to sign up. From there, we will be selecting beta customers to test our service soon. We will be doing a full scale launch in Q4 of this year. Adding your email to our waiting list will ensure that you are among the first people in Ireland to use Holvi.

Q5 You mentioned that there are no upfront costs and customers won’t be charged any monthly, quarterly or annual fees. What charges will potential customers face?

Correct, there are no costs to setting up an account! We operate off a very simple cost structure in that you only pay when you use Holvi to make payments or accept them. We charge just €0.90cent to send or receive funds, and if you use Holvi to sell online we charge 3 % to process a card payment. There are no charges for sending invoices, generating tax reports or managing accounts.

Q6 When was the company formed and what other countries does Holvi currently operate in?

Holvi was formed in 2011 in Helsinki, Finland. We have since then launched in Austria and Ireland and will be opening in new markets across Europe in the coming months. We operate using what is known as a Pan European license which allows us to branch out to all European countries. So we will be branching out to new territories in the coming months.

Q7 Will there be an an App available for your service at launch?

We currently have an expenses App available on iOS. The App allows you to manage your expenses, scan and save receipts and can be uploaded directly into Holvi online accounts. We will be adding lots of features as we grow but our current focus is to ensure our online solution is of the best possible quality.

Q8 Is it possible for people to register their interest now and if so, how do they go about doing it?

We are welcoming anyone to sign up at https://about.holvi.com/ We will be selecting a wide range of diverse customers to become our Beta testers who will be among the first people in Ireland to join the banking revolution. All you need to do is add your email address and we will get in touch with more details. It’s so simple!

 

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase get in contact with me on John@IrishTechNews.net