December 15 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria-based TBI Bank said on Wednesday that it will start operating on the Greek market in the first quarter of next year after it was granted approval by the Bank of Greece.
"As first steps, the bank will offer the full range of Buy now, Pay later (BNPL) products online, in-store, and omnichannel in a transparent approach helping merchants sell more and consumers to spread the cost of their purchases over time. Later in 2022 additional customer journeys will be deployed in the market like the general-purpose loans and the innovative NEON card," TBI Bank said in a statement.
These products will be accessible to Greek customers online, via TBI’s mobile app and website, and through a call center. TBI’s team in Greece will be led by Costas Tovil.
Entering Greece is a natural expansion for TBI Bank, since the lender is already successful with its payment solutions for merchants in Bulgaria and Romania, Petr Baron, CEO of TBI, said in the statement.
Earlier this year, TBI Bank entered the Lithuanian market as part of its strategy to expand its presence in the Baltic and Nordic countries, as well as in Central Europe.
TBI Bank currently offers its financial products to retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises in Bulgaria and Romania in addition to cross-border activities without physical presence on five other EU markets - Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, and Sweden. As an inclusive lender in South-Eastern Europe, TBI has a network of nearly 13,000 merchant partners online and in-store and a portfolio of 2 million customers, according to the statement.
TBI Bank was the 15th largest lender by assets among 18 banks and seven branches of foreign banks that operated in Bulgaria as at the end of October 2021, according to the latest central bank data.
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