Sonect – 1st Swiss FinTech company to get e-money licence in Lithuania

Sonect, the location-based matchmaking platform that connects people who have cash with people who need cash, has obtained its Electronic Money Institution licence from the Bank of Lithuania. This enables the company to operate in all EEA countries. This marks a starting point for pan-European expansion for Sonect.

It is obvious that by matching cash withdrawal with cash deposit, Sonect builds a community around local businesses and helps them generate physical leads. It has taken the Swiss FinTech a mere 18 months to become the largest single cash withdrawal network in Switzerland and is now ready to enter new markets in Europe and beyond. Sonect plans to replicate its success story in several European markets in the months to come.

We see that banks around the world are phasing out their ATMs on a massive scale, withdrawing cash becomes more and more problematic. Sonect seeks to solve this issue by allowing customers to withdraw, deposit and transfer cash at any participating business – be it a café, a pharmacy, or any other place that accept cash.

As a result Lithuania will serve as the European headquarters for Sonect. Lithuania is the optimal hub for European expansion due to the outstanding conditions provided by the Bank of Lithuania, like support, infrastructure, and a fast and reliable process next to the extensive talent pool in Lithuania. Sonect expects to build a team of 20 people in the next couple of years, in addition to the 30 current Sonect team members.

Ready for the EU expansion

As the CEO & Founder of the company Sandipan Chakraborty, said: “The EMI licence is a strategic move that perfectly sets us up to expand across the European market quickly. Our success in Switzerland showcases the need for a solution like Sonect to bring cash withdrawals to the next level. We are looking forward to replicating our success in other European markets soon.”

According to him: “In order to operate in other EEA countries, we could have chosen any European jurisdiction to apply for a licence, but our due diligence showed that in Lithuania this process was the smoothest. We also get to benefit from the direct access to CENTROlink – a convenient gateway to SEPA offered by Bank of Lithuania”.

In addition, Mantas Katinas, General Manager of Invest Lithuania, added that Lithuania has what it takes to match the dynamism of such disruptors as Sonect: “As a country, Lithuania is flexible and agile enough to pave the way for novel solutions – the area of finance being no exception. The same qualities are seen on the personal level, with young professionals willing to stand out and think outside the box. It’s no surprise that more and more game-changers like Sonect are choosing us for their expansion projects.”