Fintech
Money20/20 Exclusive: Strategic Growth and FinTech Focus at LHV Bank
Samuel Boutel is Head of Relationship Management at LHV, the UK-licensed bank operating through three distinct divisions: a savings team based in London, an SME lending team based in London and Manchester, and a banking services team managed from London and Estonia.
Each LHV division is strategically positioned to maximize the organization’s reach and efficiency.
Through its three divisions, LHV offers a full range of financial services, which Samuel describes as follows: “The services we provide in banking are a core product set for euro payments, sterling payments, accounts and account protection.”
Additionally, LHV has expanded its product set in recent times to include a set of ancillary services, including card acquisition. Leveraging the power of Open BankLHV is also taking the first steps towards offering card issuing and currency exchange solutions.
“We are growing rapidly in the banking sector. We have seen a significant expansion in payment volumes year after year. We want to do it again this year,” adds Samuel.
LHV: Focus on Fintech
Samuel attributes LHV’s growth to the success of its fintech partners. “That line of business will continue to grow because these fintechs are so good at what they do that we will grow as our clients grow.”
It’s no surprise that as it expands its products and services, LHV is doubling down on fintechs as its core customer base.
Boutel emphasizes the organization’s approach: “We’re trying to be a stable, tech-first, API-driven banking provider for small fintechs. And that’s what they need. They need a shoulder to lean on. They’re building their customer experience, and we’ll be in the background supporting them.”
Of course, not all fintechs are the same and LHV can offer services tailored to the specific needs of a particular fintech.
For example, larger fintechs may require more comprehensive support. “Larger fintechs like Coinbase, one of our clients, need more than just support from us and expect more from us, so we provide more.
“This includes providing data-driven insights into payment volumes around the world to support their strategic expansion decisions,” Samuel notes.
Rapid growth and expanded business services
In keeping with its commitment to fintech clients, LHV will look to explore new opportunities in the merchant and marketplace sectors as it grows. For Samuel, merchant services and marketplaces are an untapped area where LHV will look to make inroads.
“One area of the market that is untapped for LHV is providing services to merchants or marketplaces. If you think about Uber or Etsy, who have millions of customers processing millions of payments, we should look at how we provide services to those customers and how we can adapt our services from what we normally offer to our fintech customers,” Samuel concludes.