Dutch Banking Giant ABN AMRO to Develop FinTech Robo Accountant
Netherlands-based bank ABN AMRO has teamed up with Dutch invoice management firm InvoiceSharing to create an innovative FinTech solution for SMEs.
According to an announcement from ABN AMRO bank , the two companies are working together to develop a new tool that will provide small business owners with 24/7 insight into their accounts so they can estimate their working capital needs well in advance.
They are also creating a robo accountant tool that will read and check invoices, generate journal entries and export the invoices to the business accounts. With the use of this tool, companies are expected to process ten to 20 times as many invoices a year while helping to reduce costs by as much as 50 percent.
Jeroen Volk, InvoiceSharing’s CEO, said that bookkeeping no longer forms part of the last stage of the administration process. Now, it is the SMEs starting point to help improve their business.
ABN AMRO and InvoiceSharing have been working together since last October to build this new tool.
He said:
This collaboration enables us to launch a pilot for twenty companies, which will help us further fine-tune and optimise the user-friendliness of our solution. In due time, we want to help as many entrepreneurs as possible make their business smarter, so they can anticipate and play into future challenges.
FinTech Strong in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is proving a strong contender in the FinTech race.
A report in August found that in 2015, Netherlands-based startups raised around €430 million, across 153 deal, up from 76 from the previous year. Despite its small size the country is certainly ramping up its efforts within the FinTech sector.
So much so, that toward the end of 2016 ABN AMRO announced that it was launching a blockchain pilot in commercial real estate to help facilitate real estate transactions and exchange information.
In the past it has also teamed up with Dutch university Delft University of Technology to develop complex blockchain applications and Netherlands-based Rabobank, which has seen the two investing in blockchain initiatives as they increase their efforts within the industry.
The Dutch nation is certainly increasing its footing within the FinTech sector and is doing so at an increasing pace.
By providing an innovative tool that has been designed to help SMEs with their invoicing needs, this will help to push the country forward as an attractive location that is focused on helping small business owners improve their business stance.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
