Citadele Bank has issued a EUR 4 million loan to the financial technology company Esto AS, which is currently expanding its operations in all Baltic countries.
The loan will be used to develop the company’s digital tools offering to enhance users’ online shopping experience, as well as working capital to strengthen the company’s operations in Estonia and facilitate Esto’s expansion in the Baltic market.
Esto offers companies in the Baltic States e-commerce and digital payment tools that allow consumers to order goods online, but choose different payment methods – in addition to traditional bank card payments, there are options to split the purchase payment into several parts, as well as split the payment for up to 48 months.
We offer a “buy now, pay later” solution, which is already used by more than 1,000 merchants in Estonia. In the near future, we want to grow our network of merchants to 3,000 traders in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Customers most often buy electrical goods, furniture, as well as products for home and garden care using the “pay later” solution, and the average purchase amount is about 500 euros, “says Miks Metsa, the head of Esto Group.
“With the growth of e-commerce volumes and consumer expectations, the companies that will quickly position themselves to offer the widest and most convenient payment options will work and develop most powerfully. The “buy now, pay later” concept is developing rapidly in the world and is gaining popularity in the Baltics as well. Our goal is not only to develop convenient digital financial tools ourselves, but also to be a driver of innovative financial services in the Baltics, because at the end of the day the beneficiaries are both buyers and traders, ”said Vaidas Žagūnis, Citadele’s Corporate Client Manager in the Baltics.
“Abroad, the tone and trends are determined by leading e-commerce players, such as Amazon, Zalando and other large companies that dominate on a global scale, but in the Baltics we see that e-commerce more widely includes specialized niche product and service vendors who are ready to market one product type and work with your audience. Our platform gives them the opportunity to successfully communicate and offer various payment options to people all over the Baltics and beyond, ”reveals the head of Esto Group.
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