How fintechs are supporting Ukraine
Fintechs are known for being innovative and able to adapt to any situation, so it is no surprise to see so many fintech brands putting their skills to use to support Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
From work visas to donations to even proving shelter from military attacks, fintech lenders and service providers have wasted no time showing their support for the Ukrainian people.
The Kharkiv headquarters of fintech software company JustCoded were used as a shelter for more than 50 people last week, while Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s second largest city. JustCoded has since relocated to a satellite office in Lviv, while chief executive Konstantin Boyko has promised to make sure every member of his team still has a job when the war is over, and to “do whatever it takes to keep our company going and growing”.
Closer to home, Innovate Finance has been working on ways that members can work together to support those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and urged firms to support the implementation of government sanctions on Russia and screen customers to remain compliant.
Meanwhile, Zopa Bank has announced that it will support up to 50 work visas for eligible Ukrainian applicants already in the UK with backgrounds in engineering, technology, and data analytics or with experience in consumer financial services.
The bank has called on the wider fintech community to provide employment for Ukrainians in the UK and to help those fleeing the Russian invasion.
European peer-to-peer lending platform Twino has partnered with other fintech companies and Latvian businesses to financially support Ukraine, and has launched a fundraising campaign with the aim of raising at least €5m (£4.13m) to help the Ukrainian people.
Bondora’s founder and chief executive Pärtel Tomberg has outlined that his European P2P platform is donating to Mondo, a non-government organisation that is providing humanitarian relief in Ukraine to those who need it, while also helping employees’ families relocate.
Fintechs tend to be nimble enough to respond quickly to economic disruption, while fintech movements such as cryptocurrency are uncorrelated to the mainstream markets and able to hold their value pretty well.
Earlier this week it was reported that up to $50m (£37.8m) had been sent to Ukraine via cryptocurrency donations. Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said the country will soon introduce non-fungible tokens to support its armed forces.
Oliver Gajda, executive director of EuroCrowd, said crowdfunding has supported Ukraine in the short-term and over the long-term the sector can prove its ability as it did during the pandemic.
Read more: How European P2P lenders are protecting investors from war in Ukraine
“We have seen reward-based crowdfunding campaigns in support of free journalism in Ukraine and of course crypto based crowdfunding to support the Ukrainian government,” he said.
“In the long term, we don’t expect any additional impact from the conflict next to the economic fall out that Europe will have from this anyway.
“It will on the other hand also provide new opportunities for the market to show its ability to quickly engage and respond to new challenges, as we have seen in the beginning of the Covid crisis, too.”