Kostas Tovil for CNN Greece: We want to be where and when the customer needs us

Entering our third core market of operations - Greece, is undoubtedly one of our key achievements in 2021. What solutions we will provide there and what are our next steps, shared Kostas Tovil, Senior Vice President, for CNN Greece. See for yourself:

What exactly is TBI Bank doing and how will this be implemented in the Greek market?

TBI Bank is a challenger bank and one of the fastest growing financial institutions in South-Eastern Europe with very large operations in Romania and Bulgaria. At the core we are an inclusive lender, a shopping partner and a financial enabler for our customers, be that merchants or consumers. Our alternative payment solution supports merchants in increasing their sales and customers. Testament to the success of our model are the 13,000 merchants and the customer portfolio of 2 million clients that have embraced our financial products. Specifically on the merchants side more than 95% of our partnerships are SME retailers and here aside from the more traditional industries like electronics and technology, furniture and second hand cars, we also cooperate with other verticals like fashion, cosmetics and beauty as well as medical services and home improvement.

So our goal is to replicate our successful model in the Greek market where we aim to establish partnerships with thousands of SME companies and offer our alternative payment solution to their customers. We understand that after several years of recession the retail SME sector is underbanked and underserved and that financial services that support them to increase their sales in their physical and online store are necessary and expected. Likewise, we aim to offer to the digital-savy generation of consumers accessible, instant, transparent and fully digital financing from their mobiles available 24/7 either embedded on the check out of the merchant of directly via our APP and website. Thus, to strengthen our position as a Buy now, Pay later (BNPL) leader in the region.

How does the Buy Now, Pay Later model work? What is the difference, for example, with interest-free installments by credit card?

BNPL is the ability to split the payment of a purchase over a period - be that a pair of jeans, a car, home improvement or even a tooth implant. Also, BNPL is embedded financing on the checkout of the merchant so that when a customer irrespective of their main banking relationship can split the cost of their purchase instantaneously with 0% interest or a small fee per month depending on the period of the financing. So in essence BNPL is financing on demand with no strings attached, hidden fees, revolving interest etc. The difference vs. a credit card is that the consumer first has to acquire the plastic and then shop in installments adding time and friction to the customer journey. In addition, credit cards work on a more complex basis, for example if a customer misses a payment or pays a smaller amount, additional fees or interest are applied. Let’s also don’t forget that the share of credit cards out of the general population is small and if we zoom into the millennials this share is significantly smaller and that in many cases BNPL gives the opportunity to purchase in installments using a debit card.

What are your goals for your first year of operation?

We will be starting with our BNPL solutions in physical and online stores. Especially our eCommerce solution is literally plug and play as we have plug ins for all major platforms that are prevalent in the market giving the ability to SMEs to offer installments on the checkout without investing time and money. For physical stores our solution is likewise seamless and all merchants can get access to our platform in minutes. Following the deployment of BNPL we will be introducing to the market our general purpose loans that will be made available for the public without the need of having a current account with TBI, again fully digital and instantaneously we will finance any account they hold in another Greek financial institution. In the second half of 2022 we will introduce to the Greek market our Mobile APP giving the ability to customers to manage their loans, make top ups as well as payments. Then early in 2023 our NEON card is coming in the market, it will allow customers to shop in 3 installments in our partner network, or even 6 to 12 months if they choose to do so. The card is designed for the digital-savvy generation customer segment that uses mobile phone as an essential of their lifestyles. 

Respectively, what are the development plans of TBI Bank in Greece in physical and digital level?

TBI Bank is entering Greece with a phygital proposition, this means that end customers will be able to find us in three ways - directly online, through online merchants and at the physical locations of our partners. We believe that with our planned customer journeys and direct communication channels (website, chat, video banking, call center) our target audience will be having a full banking experience without the need to visit a physical location of the bank. Contrary to fully digital neo banks, TBI will always have a specially dedicated colleague to serve the needs of our merchants and customers if necessary and to that end we will deploy a sizeable team of Business enablers from the start.

Is there enough “room” for a new bank in Greece?

Banking globally as well as in Greece is being transformed in a very fast pace with relevance, technology, speed and new customer journeys and solutions are being at the core of what fintechs, neo/challengers offer. We have seen in many markets such models of coexistence between challengers and traditional banks and what is important to keep in mind is the focus, resources and drive for excellence on specific customer journeys, products and solutions that fintechs are putting vs. the split of resources that traditional banks need to allocate to serve their universal model spanning from Shipping loans up to current accounts and everything in between. So, in this respect I do believe that the Greek market needs more options to address the increasing demand of consumers that can be better addressed by a specialized provider and at the end - competition always benefits the customer.

And why would anyone prefer you over a traditional financial institution?

We may be a new entrant in the Greek market but TBI Bank as I mentioned earlier has already attained significant size both in terms of merchant partners and consumers and due to the extremely intense competition from local as well as Western European banks, specialized Consumer Finance companies and fintechs in the core markets where we operate. What has fuelled our growth is the fact that we design solutions and journeys for our customers be those businesses or individuals and our entire company mindset is based on these principles. We don’t assume that we need to develop a couple of thousands of actions and solutions on our mobile APP and then wait for the customers to come and search what they need, instead we believe that in one’s daily life challenges and needs arise and TBI Bank can address them fast, transparently, digitally and of course personalized. In a nutshell we want to go and to be where and when the customer needs it.

You are returning to the Greek banking market after many years. How did you make that decision and what has changed in the meantime?

Due to the proximity of our markets and my previous roles, I have always kept in touch with the developments in the Greek market including the financial one. And although Greek banks have retracted from South-Eastern Europe in the last years, many other companies have remained and even expanded with great success their operations in the region and TBI Bank cooperates with many of them. At the same time retailers from the region are setting up physical and online operations in Greece as the overall economic sentiment and opportunities have vastly improved. This, combined with the pace of digitization in government institutions and the retail sector is impressive making TBI Bank’s entry and my return very smooth and I am very eager to initiate our operations in the next couple of months.