Finnish digital banking service Holvi has launched its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking services in the UK.

BBVA-owned Holvi, founded in 2011, provides the self-employed, sole traders, freelancers and small business owners with digital banking services, including a business payment account with a Mastercard, invoicing tools and automated bookkeeping capabilities.

The Helsinki-based FinTech has garnered more than 200,000 customers across Finland, Germany and other Eurozone countries.

With the UK set to leave the European Union at the end of this week, Holvi’s chief executive Antti-Jussi Suominen, said: “We are excited to be launching in the UK today regardless of what shape or form Brexit takes – the UK is one of the most important markets for fintechs and has always been known as a nation of sole traders.”

The latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy put the number of SMEs in Britain at over 5.8 million, which equates to around 99.9 per cent of UK businesses, with 76 per cent without employees, suggesting a high percentage of sole traders.

Suominen concluded: “We genuinely believe that the banking market for microbusinesses is ineffective - it simply doesn't work for a lot of businesses - for most people, their business is personal and therefore they need a solution tailored for their needs.”

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