Press

The Nordic tech companies Froda and Ageras have entered into a strategic partnership. Froda is one of Sweden's fastest-growing fintechs and has helped more than 50,000 businesses get access to financing. Ageras is a leading provider of software for banking, accounting, and administration with +300,000 SME customers across Europe, who now will get access to financing through Froda Embedded. The partnership is a part of Froda's international expansion and growth journey.

– Our vision from the outset has been to help as many small business owners as possible access financing. Through our partnership with Ageras, we can support even more small businesses in Europe with financing, says Olle Lundin, CEO and co-founder of Froda.

In Europe, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99 percent of all businesses, employ 100 million people, and contribute to over half of Europe's GDP. Despite this, access to financing is one of the biggest obstacles for small business owners in Europe that want to grow their business. Solutions that make financing accessible to small business owners are therefore crucial for Europe's growth.

– Together with Froda, we can scale up our business financing offering and provide our customers with an even broader range of financial services, says Martin Hegelund, co-founder of Ageras and continues:

– Our surveys show that 68 percent of small businesses are looking for financing, but most are unable to obtain it via traditional banks. With Froda, we enabled access to ‘smart’ funding by letting our customers use their own financial, banking and accounting data to get a credit approval in seconds.

Ageras is a leading provider of software for banking, accounting, and administration for small businesses in Europe. The company has more than 300,000 active customers using its products such as Billy, Zervant and Kontist. The partnership with Froda enables Ageras to expand its business financing offering.

– Our Embedded platform makes it easy for other fintech companies to expand internationally and scale their operations. The partnership with Ageras marks an exciting new phase for us, says Stella Snickare, VP of Froda Embedded.

Froda Embedded was launched in 2021 and has been a success story since its inception, contributing significantly to Froda's growth. Over the past year, the business area has grown by 100 percent, increased the number of partners from three to nine, and expanded from three to five markets. Through the partnership with Ageras, the reach is further expanded, and Froda will be able to reach and assist more European small businesses with financing.

About Froda
Froda was founded with a clear mission – to revolutionize the banking experience for entrepreneurs by making it easy and affordable for them to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, being data-driven, and applying machine learning, we can not only be faster than traditional banks but also more objective, precise, and fair in our assessments. Today, we are one of Sweden’s fastest-growing fintech companies with significant international expansion plans. Since the start, we have helped more than 50,000 businesses grow, and through Froda Embedded, we have made it possible for partners to connect to our technologically advanced financing platform to offer financing to their customers.

About Ageras
Ageras is a banking and accounting platform for small business owners. Its one-stop platform integrates its solutions into a single financial hub for invoicing, accounting, payroll, and banking, enabling small business owners and entrepreneurs to focus on running their businesses. The 250-person company was founded in Denmark in 2012 and now services +300,000 small businesses across Europe.

The buy-now-pay-later company Waylog was founded in 2022. Since its inception, the company's total lending has grown from 20 million to 500 million SEK, and they have expanded to four new markets. A key factor behind Waylog's rapid growth has been their early partnership with Froda as a financing partner, providing them with easy access to capital. The partnership is part of Froda's international expansion journey.

Froda Embedded was started in 2021 as a business area within Froda, aiming to assist fintech companies and banks in scaling up their offerings and expanding into new markets through seamless API integration. Waylog is an example of how embedded financing enables the development of scalable financing solutions that become increasingly sophisticated as a company grows. Over time, Waylog's integration level has evolved in parallel with its growing portfolio, transaction volume, and technical foundation. The company now operates a fully automated, customized API solution ready to support its continued growth and expansion.

– With Embedded financing, we can now help growth companies offer their customers flexible financing solutions. Before we had authorization from the FI (Financial Supervisory Authority), access to smart and flexible capital was a major growth inhibitor for us. Now, we can help Waylog avoid the same challenge. Being a part of their growth journey is fantastic, says Olle Lundin, CEO of Froda.

In just one year, Waylog has evolved from a newcomer to a reliable financier within the supply chain for hundreds of companies in the Nordics and the UK. Through Waylog's platform, customers can apply for a free credit limit, which can be used to pay up to 120 days before repayment to Waylog is due. This way, customers can optimize their liquidity, secure better order terms, and inject capital into their businesses without giving up control or ownership. Behind Waylog's platform is Froda Embedded as the financier. The rapid growth journey is a great example of how Froda Embedded can help fintechs and banks grow.

– Waylog fundamentally revitalizes an old financial product and makes it more adaptable and flexible to meet our customers' unique needs. The ease of integration and the potential to scale outside of Sweden have been crucial to our ability to grow at the pace we have. Froda has played a crucial role in this, says Jens Malmqvist, co-founder of Waylog.

About Waylog:
Founded in 2022 by Jens Malmqvist and Nils Ohlsén, Waylog has experienced exponential growth from the beginning and quickly established itself as a reliable partner for importing companies in the Nordics and the UK. Since its inception, Waylog's total lending has reached 500 million SEK in financing, representing a remarkable growth of 2500 percent. The company has also expanded its services to include several Nordic countries and the UK.

About Froda
Froda was founded with a clear mission – to revolutionize the banking experience for entrepreneurs by making it easy and affordable for them to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, being data-driven, and applying machine learning, we can not only be faster than traditional banks but also more objective, precise, and fair in our assessments. Today, we are one of Sweden’s fastest-growing fintech companies with significant international expansion plans. Since the start, we have helped more than 50,000 businesses grow, and through Froda Embedded, we have made it possible for partners to connect to our technologically advanced financing platform to offer financing to their customers.

Froda, one of Sweden’s fastest growing fintechs, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Visa and Checkout.com that revolutionizes the use of Visa Direct. The solution introduces innovative push-payment functionality for business lending, enabling seamless payouts and repayments for businesses across Europe.

Visa Direct is a processing capability that allows safe, convenient and real-time funds transfers to financial accounts using card credentials. The service is used by a wide variety of businesses worldwide, but its potential for business lending has remained untapped until now. Through this partnership, Froda leverages Visa's robust infrastructure to provide a secure, efficient and fast method of payouts for business loans.

– We are excited to establish this partnership with Visa and Checkout.com that is going to strengthen our Froda Embedded offering and empower banks, neobanks and fintechs across Europe to offer financing with fast and reliable funds processing. With access to Visa Direct we are able to further streamline the lending process and offer a seamless experience across markets, says Olle Lundin, co-founder and CEO of Froda.

The solution is made possible through a partnership with the global payment provider, Checkout.com, which provides access to Visa Direct and the Visa Token Service, enabling the solution. Thanks to the use of tokens, end-to-end payments can be processed without requiring manual entry of card details. This improves the customer experience by providing easy card usage. Visa Direct access is offered to Froda Embedded partners that are providers of Visa Business Cards.

– We are excited to be a part of this innovative card-based embedded lending product for SMEs. At Checkout.com, we are constantly looking for new innovative partnerships, products, and ways to solve complex challenges by leveraging payments. This partnership is definitely the stepping stone for the future of payments and embedded lending, says Adel Naamneh, VP Global Strategic Solutions, at Checkout.com

Unlike traditional lending methods that typically rely on bank transfers for payouts, Visa Direct utilizes push payment functionality where funds are transferred between accounts directly through Visa's extensive card network. The advantages of leveraging Visa Direct for business loans are numerous. Through an automated real-time credit assessment process, Froda can offer instant loan approvals. Visa Direct makes it possible to send real-time loan disbursements as well, significantly reducing the time from application to payout. Moreover, Visa Direct works the same way regardless of market. Making it possible for connected partners to scale their financing offering without having to implement new direct debit solutions.

– We are thrilled to be a part of this pioneering initiative together with Froda and Checkout.com. Through this, we are introducing a new transaction type that is only available through Visa cards. I believe that this is going to set a new standard for business lending for our clients, allowing them to empower businesses across Europe to grow and thrive, says Philip Konopik, Regional Managing Director at Visa in the Nordics and Baltics.

The product card-based embedded lending was introduced in February 2023 and launched on the Danish market in June the same year together with the digital bank Lunar. Visa Direct access is offered to Froda Embedded partners that are providers of Visa Business Cards.

About Froda
Froda was founded in 2015 with a clear idea - to provide small and medium-sized businesses with the same opportunities to grow as large companies. The company's service makes it smooth and affordable for entrepreneurs to invest in their ideas. By digitizing the process, Froda has made it possible to help more businesses with financing tailored to their unique operations and needs. Simply put, it's a smarter business loan.

About Checkout.com
Checkout.com is a global payments solution provider that helps businesses and their communities thrive in the digital economy. Purpose-built with performance, scalability and speed in mind, our modular payments platform is ideal for enterprise businesses looking to seamlessly integrate better payment solutions. With a global team spread across 19 offices worldwide, we offer innovative solutions that flex to your needs, valuable insights that help you get smart about your payments’ performance, and expertise you can count on as you navigate the complexities of an ever-shifting world. Find out more at checkout.com.

About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.