Vadim Culea, Head of Business Banking at maib, told Pavel Zingan of the maib edu initiative in an interview about the general principles of choosing a bank, including his insider's view of the process.
Vadim, hello. We have a more unusual task - to objectively help an entrepreneur with advice on choosing the right bank and what to pay attention to when selecting a bank.
Let's try.
I'm an entrepreneur and consider the essential criteria when choosing a bank. What to pay attention to first?
First, we need to decide if I am an entrepreneur with a newly established company or if I represent a well-established business because some of the criteria for choosing a bank will differ.
Let's start with the businesses that already operate because they are a big part of my audience.
As an experienced entrepreneur, I will look at several aspects when choosing a bank. The first is whether the bank can offer me exactly the products and volume I need.
Let me clarify if I understand correctly. For example, I produce or import food products and sell them through chain stores. I don't need a loan, but factoring would be good for me because sometimes I need money in circulation unexpectedly, but I can't rush the chain store with payment because there is a waiting period. So, I'm looking for a bank that has factoring services. Right?
This is what I meant when I talked about targeting bank products. You know your business, understand what you need, and reasonably choose a bank based on its ability to meet your banking product needs.
What other criteria would there be?
I would put service and technology second. Third, dynamism and ecosystem. And only then - the cost of the product. Although it is almost the first thing a customer asks, and it can't be otherwise in a competitive environment, the differences between banks in the price of services are insignificant. I would pay more attention to the speed of access to products and services. For the same loan payment, processing time can be a critical factor.
What is the difference between services and technology?
These concepts are related to each other. However, I refer to services as the human factor and technology as the channels of communication with the bank and the level of digitalisation.
How is maib developing in terms of digitalisation in the Business Banking segment? I use the individuals app daily and it certainly gets used quickly. I also want to have a business banking app at my fingertips.
Soon, we plan to surprise you with new and exciting news on digitalising Business Banking at maib. Although the details are still behind the scenes, we are confident that future innovations will significantly impact the convenience and efficiency of business customers' interaction with the bank. Our team is actively working on these changes and looks forward to announcing them. Follow our updates to stay up to date with all the news.
It's undoubtedly good news, but we've deviated from the general criteria for choosing a bank for start-up businesses. Let's get back to it.
Returning to the subject, to support new businesses, we offer the package free for six months, and some of the services in the package are also free. Pay attention to the ecosystem a bank can offer a newly established business.
What do you mean by ecosystem?
I will talk about maib. Our ecosystem is the one I know best. Let's take, for example, the "Partner Accounting" service. We have selected several trusted companies that offer accounting services. And, the discounts these companies offer maib customers for their services. Attention to their problems, regardless of the size of their company, is paramount for a budding entrepreneur. Our partners provide that attention, so I'm talking about an ecosystem where we, as a bank, make that happen. I would also include the partnership programs we have initiated with the agri-food sector.
Can customers buy machinery, seeds and fertilizers in instalments without interest?
Yes. We are currently working on expanding the list of interest-free instalment purchase partnerships to other spheres of economic activity, such as electronics or website development services and business digitisation. We also regularly organise free training sessions on entrepreneurship.
This is not just for new businesses. At an e-commerce conference, I learned that it already applies to all businesses.
would also add about pre-approved loans. Open-source information analysis allows a bank to generate a business credit offer even BEFORE applying for a loan. No one is obliged to take out a loan, but a loan is always possible. If the business decides to use it for a loan, if the amount is within the pre-approved limit, it is granted in a much shorter time.
Do all banks offer pre-approved loans?
At maib, what defines us is that we consistently provide pre-approved offers. The software we have developed processes the information constantly, and we continuously update the pre-approved credit limits for maib customers and the whole market. Any company can contact us to find out what the limit of a pre-approved credit is for them.
Finally, what advice would you give entrepreneurs on the criteria for choosing a bank?
Look not only at the services the bank already offers but also at the dynamics with which the bank introduces new products on the market. Don't choose a bank for a day or a month. It is important that even a year later, it will be valuable and profitable for you to remain a customer of that bank and continue to form a trusting relationship with it.
