FinTechs Package Financial Tools for EMEA Freelance, Gig Workers

For its latest banking offering, Revolut recently launched Revolut Pro, a dedicated income, payment and expense management account for freelancers, sole traders, contractors and self-employed individuals looking to manage their business funds.

Alongside the recently-launched Revolut Reader, a lightweight point of sale (POS) terminal suitable for freelancers and small businesses, the new account is part of a growing set of financial tools Revolut and other FinTechs are specifically marketing to freelancers and gig workers.

Among other features, Revolut Pro allows users to accept multi-currency payments with a physical or virtual card, Google Pay and Apple Pay, as well as money transfers.

See also: Revolut Takes on Square, PayPal in UK With POS Reader

In a press release announcing the news, Revolut stated that “as businesses and consumers increasingly use digital payments and cards instead of cash, Revolut Pro enables independent professionals to instantly accept payments [either in-person with Revolut Reader or] online with QR codes, payment links, and by generating invoices and tracking their payments.”

Revolut’s decision to target freelancers suggests that this group of workers can benefit from an account that allows them to easily collect payments without having to open a full business account. Part of the appeal of such an account is the slow processing times associated with some of the other payment methods that have traditionally been popular with freelancers.

As explored in the PYMNTS Expanding Payments Choice Playbook, same-day wages can make all the difference for freelancers and independent contractors, who are often the worst affected by late payments and legacy payroll solutions.

Get the report: PYMNTS Expanding Payments Choice Playbook

Cumbersome invoicing and payment processes can even put them off working for a certain employer, and instant paydays are becoming a valuable tool in businesses’ efforts to recruit the best freelance talent.

Learn more: Instant Payday Becoming Critical Tool in Battle to Recruit Freelance Talent

Multi-Feature Platforms

Another FinTech looking to make a splash in the freelance banking space is the Turkish neobank Norma, which combines a business bank account, a POS solution and a range of financial services and money management features to help freelancers and small businesses manage their finances.

Hakan Gonca, founder and CEO of Norma, explained to PYMNTS in an interview that the company wants to equip freelancers with the tools they need to manage their finances, including accepting payments, monitoring their spending and streamlining their accounting.

Read the interview: Turkish FinTechs See Growing Business Opportunities in Neighboring Europe

He said the platform is intended to function as a “financial toolbox” for small businesses and self-employed workers that can aid multiple business processes, “from where the money starts and finishes to where you pay your taxes.”

Gonca’s vision for a “financial toolbox” for freelancers is similar to the ImaliPay platform, which seeks to financially empower African gig workers by packaging together productivity-enhancing features and financial services such as savings, credit and insurance into a single app.

Related: Nigeria’s Underbanked Gig Workers Flock to One-Stop-Shop Financial Platforms

Rather than delivering its gig worker solution as a bank account, however, ImaliPay sits as a layer between gig workers and the platforms on which they run their business.

Because the FinTech is connected both to the gig workers via the app, and to the gig platforms via an application programming interface (API), it is able to collate data from both and offer credit to workers in the form of buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans to cover business expenses.

In the end, ImaliPay, Norma and Revolut offer three distinct propositions to different requirements for self-employed, freelance and gig workers. What they have in common is that they intend to put important financial tools into the hands of people who don’t necessarily have the time, money or expertise to navigate what can be the complex world of business banking.

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