Saldo Is One Of The Largest Fintechs In Finland, Exceeding The Average Industry Growth By 59% For 2019
Saldo Finance exceeded the Finnish fintech industry average growth by 59% in 2019 and was the largest company in the scaleup category when revenue alone was taken into consideration. Overall, the consumer-lending firm is the seventh largest fintech in Finland.
Helsinki Fintech Farm published the latest statistics about the fintech sector in Finland in August, which revealed that the sector has grown 12.6% since 2018. Growth in the sector can mainly be attributed to two types of company:
Start-ups (companies who are no more than 5 years old); and
The 20 companies with the biggest revenue.
These 20 companies included scaleups (which are companies that are more than 5 years old but less than 10) and more established companies. Saldo featured in this category.
According to its financial statements, which were published in June, Saldo reported revenue growth of 20% for 2019. Saldo saw significant growth in 2019, with the Finnish firm exceeding average growth in the fintech sector by 59%. Saldo is currently the seventh largest fintech company and second largest in the lending space in Finland.
Taking the ten largest fintech companies by revenue into consideration, the only businesses that provide services to consumers are lending companies, while all others operate in the B2B space. Because Saldo provides value to consumers through new and innovative financial services, it has established itself as the second largest Finnish fintech operating in the consumer space.
Saldo Is The Largest Fintech Scaleup Company In Finland Taking Pure Revenue Into Account
Helsinki Fintech Farm introduced the category of scaleup companies to their statistics for the first time this year. Scaleups are mid-sized companies who have been in operation for between 5 and 10 years. This new category is an important one to consider, as it takes into account scaleups who have gone beyond the startup phase, but who are still focused on growth in comparison to more established companies. Saldo is the largest scaleup when revenue alone is taken into consideration. This is the case due to the fact that UKKO.fi’s reported revenues also take account of salaries paid to customers through its platform*.
The five largest fintech scaleup companies by 2019 revenue
It’s interesting to note the largest scaleups included in the report are also some of the biggest Finnish fintech firms. This highlights that fact that age isn’t necessarily the only relevant metric for comparing companies. For example, scaleups such as Saldo already dominate the sector in terms of revenue and growth. In addition, startup companies were excluded from the list of the largest companies solely due to the fact that they were founded less than 5 years ago. Nevertheless, the number of start-ups that were founded in 2012 or later has grown to include over 50% of all fintech companies operating in Finland.
*Not comparable as UKKO.fi includes salaries paid to its customers through its platform to the reported revenue. Reported service fee on website is +5% of salaries, so if whole revenue of UKKO.fi would consist of salaries, then comparable revenue is 4,965 thousand euros (=104267/105 * 5).