FinBee, a Lithuania based p2p lending platform, has started to expand internationally by launching in the Czech Republic. By 2020, FinBee plans to begin operations in another two European countries.

FinBee will provide personal lending services for residents of the Czech Republic as well as for investors from across the entire European Union. The company expects that during the first year of operation, 50M CZK (1.94M EUR ) will be distributed via the platform.

The Czech Republic’s business environment, as well as the possibility to launch with experienced local teams, were among the main reasons to launch in this Central European state, CEO of FinBee Laimonas Noreika said. Payday loan companies offering loans with high interest rates play a significant role in the Czech consumer lending market. Noreika emphasized that borrowers are looking for opportunities to refinance expensive loans.

“We are launching in the Czech Republic to provide competitive interest rates for Czech borrowers,” he said. “In other words, by borrowing for less and paying lower monthly instalments, customers will be able to repay expensive payday loans. We see a growth potential here.”

According to Noreika, one of the main challenges in the Czech market will be borrower credit risk evaluation. In the Czech Republic, there is no centralized credit rating agency or government-issued database for credit risk evaluation. Therefore, this needs to be manually extracted from several sources.

“Our historical interest rate of 21 percent, and our NPL rate of 4.9 percent are some of the best among European P2P platforms. We are very committed to maintaining these results. Therefore, solvent borrower selection will be our utmost priority in the Czech Republic.”

FinBee provides services to borrowers and investors in Lithuania and the Czech Republic. The company started operating in Lithuania in 2015.

Chart supplied by Finbee