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# How Procounter is Making Neobanks Useless: Embedded Banking at Scale with Juho Putkonen
- URL: https://www.embeddedfinancereview.com/podcasts/how-procounter-is-making-neobanks-useless-embedded-banking-at-scale-with-juho-putkonen-ac01a1a2a3c36/
- Published: 2025-08-07T06:04:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T20:15:42.000Z
- Description: Discover how Procounter is disrupting Finnish business banking by embedding €10/month accounts into accounting software, replacing €80/month traditional bank fees. Learn their embedded finance strategy serving 100K+ companies.
- Author: Lars Markull
- Tags: Podcast, Embedded Banking, Finland, Accounting, Procountor, Embedder, Alisa Bank

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Prefer to read? The full transcript of this episode is available [here](https://www.embeddedfinancereview.com/juho-putkonen-procountor-transcript/).

[Procounter](https://procountor.fi/en/?%5Fbhlid=6c5df92bfa58b3ad3ee57f275dc2b68160935ea8&ref=embeddedfinancereview.com), Finland's dominant accounting software provider, is quietly revolutionizing how small and medium businesses handle their banking. Serving over 100,000 Finnish companies and processing an estimated 13.5% of Finland's GDP through invoices, the company has identified a critical flaw in traditional business banking: excessive costs and poor integration. In this podcast episode, [Juho Putkonen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/juhoputkonen/?%5Fbhlid=a57fc95c26991aab802c1af263af3d7c3dfa64de&ref=embeddedfinancereview.com), Commercial Product Manager at Procountor, reveals how they're building banking services directly into accounting software, making standalone neobanks irrelevant for their customer base.

## The Finnish Banking Problem: €80 Monthly Data Transfer Fees

- Traditional Finnish banks charge approximately €80 per month for basic data transfers between business accounts and accounting software
- Account opening process takes 3+ weeks with extensive documentation and face-to-face meetings
- Data synchronisation is often limited to once a month due to high costs, preventing real-time accounting
- Large banks control 90% market share (Nordea and OP), with little incentive to reduce profitable data transfer fees

## Procounter's Embedded Banking Solution with Alisa Bank

- Partnership with challenger bank Alisa Bank to offer business accounts at €10 monthly fixed fee
- 10% of new Procounter customers adopted the banking product within 7 months of launch
- Instant data integration between bank transactions and accounting software
- Finnish IBAN requirement crucial for local market acceptance and customer comfort

## The Strategic Partnership: Why Local Banking Matters

- Alisa Bank's focus on banking-as-a-service made it an ideal embedded finance partner
- 90% of Finnish SMBs require FI-prefixed IBANs for credibility and customer acceptance
- Traditional banks approached but declined due to their profitable existing data transfer business
- Future credit card products may use international providers due to different customer perceptions

## Invoice Financing: Hidden Success with Visibility Problems

- The existing invoice financing service is automated and operationally excellent, but has only 1% customer adoption
- Over 10% of Procounter's customer base uses invoice financing elsewhere, unaware of the internal option
- Key lesson: embedded finance requires embedded sales and marketing, not just embedded functionality
- Upcoming UI overhaul to make financing options visible during invoice creation and cash flow review

## Future Roadmap: Cards, FX, and Real-Time Accounting

- Corporate debit/credit cards launching post-summer 2024 to serve 80% of the potential customer base
- Foreign exchange payments and international transfer capabilities in development
- Goal of transaction-level, real-time accounting integration
- October 2024 EU regulation mandating real-time B2B payments will accelerate the need

## Organizational Structure and Team Setup

- Embedded banking operates within the "Ecosystems" unit, managing 150+ software integrations
- Two-person team currently handling banking and finance services
- Ecosystems unit focuses on non-core features that enhance customer service
- Expected team expansion as banking services prove business impact and scale

## Key Lessons for Non-Financial Companies Building Financial Services

- Network extensively within FinTech and banking - crucial partnerships often emerge from personal connections
- Embedded finance is now considered the "sexiest area of Fintech" with high industry interest
- Don't hesitate to approach major players - timing and mutual benefit often align unexpectedly
- User experience and sales process are equally important as operational functionality