Juni probably won't tell you anything but it's only a matter of time. This Swedish fintech is setting out to conquer Europe and the United Kingdom with an offer that could not be clearer: to seduce e-merchants.
E-merchants shunned by traditional banks
At first glance, Juni's offer resembles that of all neobanks. This is not the case. The Swedish start-up has added many services dedicated to its target. For example, it connects to the tools used daily by e-merchants such as Google Ads.
Above all, by addressing e-merchants, Juni fills a void in the banking market. Traditional banks “are not fond of new e-commerce models” confides to Les Echos Nima Karimi, co-founder of Silvr, a start-up financing e-merchants.
Fully digital companies (DNVB), those who sell on marketplaces or who have adopted the economic model of dropshipping have “a lot of trouble opening an account”, he specifies. This is where Juni comes in.
Be careful, the door is not open to just anyone either. Even if it has not obtained a banking license, Juni remains a regulated company, in the same way as Revolut or N26 (which has also been fined 4.25 million euros for having failed in its system anti-money laundering).
Already hiccups
Another problem: Juni is a young company that is already experiencing some setbacks. Like other neobanks, it depends on service providers for the issuance of physical or virtual bank cards or the banking engine. So anything can happen.
Recently, she had to find another partner, one of whom blocked the accounts of many clients. If the problem is solved, these situations are not reassuring, especially when addressing a professional audience.
Finally, the economic model of the start-up remains fragile. Juni does not offer a subscription but bases its entire model on an interchange fee and fees for foreign currency transactions.
So it will need a lot (a lot, a lot) of volume before it becomes profitable. In the meantime, like many start-ups, Juni relies on fundraising to finance itself. The last, for an amount of 52 million dollars, dates from the end of 2021.
There is therefore still a lot of work to be done at Juni so that it joins its compatriots Tink (banking data aggregator) and Klarna (payment in installments) to the rank of unicorn.
