VIRAL PULSE: Banking v2.0
Several years after the "Estonian Nokia" phenomenon of Skype, innovators are moving on to transform banking as fundamentally as they did telephony, and 2013 appears to be the year of their media breakthrough.
Two companies in particular have been receiving press: TransferWise, a booming UK-based but Estonian-founded P2P transfer site, and Isepankur, a peer-to-peer microloan outfit run from a few home computers in Tallinn.
"I have just earned my first interest (€4.63) from Isepankur. Peer-to-peer lending. Better rates than UK banks. More fun too," tweeted The Economist's journalist Edward Lucas in December.
A piece in European Voice followed a month or so later, and was republished by the paywall-less Estonian World, a London-based zine for the cosmopolitan set.
Lucas wrote that, by January: "My net average return (like most Isepankur lenders) is about 17%. I have so far lent €1,570 to about 50 borrowers, in amounts ranging from €5 to €25. I have received €60 back in repaid capital and €24 in interest. I also got €0.06 in ‘penalties’ (my share in a small fine levied on a borrower called ‘Lillekas’ who paid a few days late)."
As far as taking pure delight in pulling the carpet out from under the international banking cabal, Transferwise is the unabashed leader. The Economist's blog ran a teaser on Transferwise, while The Huffington Post interviewed the well-spoken founders here.
Other established industry leaders that already enjoyed their first 15 minutes of fame are continuing strong as well. Fortumo, another Estonian IT company, drifts on the edge of traditional banking turf by providing a micro payments service.
The Tartu-based company, which came to prominence in the big mobile boom around two-three years ago, claims to be the most developer-friendly mobile payments provider, allowing an app or game creator to add payment possibilities in minutes, not hours.
Have you had experience with any of these interfaces? Were you able to set up an Isepankur account (ERR's editor did not succeed on the first go)? Let us know by adding your comments here or write to us at [email protected].