Nationalized Sense Bank (Kyiv) and FUIB (Kyiv) note the demand for the buy now pay later (BNPL) service, which differs from traditional bank installment plans, and allow its introduction in Ukraine in the near future.
“We think that the client has a request for such a product as a purely European BNPL. (…) Therefore, we are now working with two fintechs, studying this model together with them and the possibility of joining them, because they have just implemented the European BNPL model,” said Inna Tiutiun, a member of the Sense board, at the Digital Lending 2024 conference initiated by the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies (UAFIC) in Kyiv.
FUIB’s Deputy Chairman of the Board Dmytro Polishchuk, for his part, noted that there is “definitely a demand for the service.”
“And the most important thing is that when we talk about BNPL or installment payments, etc., we forget that the key client of this story is the merchant. (…) There is a very high demand from large retailers for this model, so if there is demand, there will always be a supply,” the banker added.
“I think that this year either we or Sense (Bank – IF-U) or someone else … one of us will show something this year. Because there are a lot of ideas, research, experience and a desire to try, because no one in Ukraine has actually tried this (implementation of the BNPL service – IF-U),” suggested Polishchuk.
According to him, FUIB has already tested a large number of customer experiences with full-fledged BNPL models, in particular, the bank’s team has worked out the legal component, which raised certain questions.
“(…) because in fact, BNPL in its purest form is the provision of a short-term loan to a non-bank customer and without onboarding in Diia, BankID, identification, passports. That is, it is not actually a loan, but a payment method with a certain installment plan for several weeks,” explained FUIB’s Deputy Chairman of the Board.
“We are very positive about this story. I think that this year there will be surprises in Ukraine (in the financial services market – IF-U),” the banker summarized.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of February 1, 2024, Sens Bank ranked 8th (UAH 131.89 billion) among 63 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets, while FUIB ranked 6th (UAH 158.86 billion). Sense Bank was among the three leaders in terms of net profit for 2023, it amounted to UAH 5.04 billion, while FUIB’s net profit was UAH 3.96 billion.
The National Bank of Ukraine has approved the head of the board of the nationalized Sense Bank (Kiev), Oleksiy Stupak, selected earlier by the supervisory board of the financial institution for this position following a competition, the bank’s press service said on Monday.
“On February 15, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine has agreed Oleksiy Stupak as chairman of the board of Sense Bank,” the release said.
As reported, Stupak started his career in 2002 in Pravex Bank, where he was responsible for working with corporate and VIP clients. He then held senior positions at Credit Agricole Bank from 2008.
In June 2019, he joined the Sence Bank team, assuming the position of Corporate Business Director, after which he became the supervisor of Corporate and Investment, SME, which he has been doing until now.
Former Sense Bank CEO Dmitry Kuzmin, who was appointed to this position during the bank’s nationalization at the end of July 2023, resigned by mutual agreement for personal reasons a few weeks after his appointment. Kuzmin’s deputy Yelena Zubchenko, who worked in the Ministry of Finance before the bank’s nationalization, was appointed acting head of the board.
According to the NBU, as of January 1, 2024, Sense Bank ranked 8th among 63 operating banks in Ukraine in terms of assets (UAH 131.2 billion). It was nationalized at the end of July 2023 under a specially adopted law as a systemically important bank with majority shareholders from Russia’s Alfa Group caught up in sanctions. At the same time, the state appointed an entirely new management board and supervisory board.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Thursday, the penultimate day of trading, weakened the official hryvnia exchange rate by 0.96%, or 36 kopecks, to a new low of 37.98 UAH/$1. According to the NBU rules, this rate will be valid for the remaining days of the year – December 29-31.
The reference value of the hryvnia exchange rate set by the National Bank at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday also decreased by 1%, or 39 kopecks, to 37.9404 UAH/$1.
According to market participants, trading on Thursday was active from the very morning: in the first hour and a half their volume amounted to about $150 million, and transactions even before noon were concluded at the rate of 37.97-37.99 UAH/$1, with offers at the rate of 38.03 UAH/$1.
According to the calculations of the ex-head of the analytical department of Sense Bank Alexey Blinov, the average official rate at the end of 2023 was 36.57 UAH/$1, which is almost identical to the fixed rate, which was in effect for 14 months until October 3 of this year.
The expert specified that the official year-end closing rate for the euro is 42.21 UAH/EUR1.
On the cash market on Thursday, the dollar exchange rate rose even more – by about 45 kopecks, to 38.72 UAH/$1.
The weakening of the hryvnia in recent weeks, the National Bank attributes to the seasonal increase in demand for foreign currency.
As reported, the National Bank’s net sales in November fell to $2.46 bln from $3.34 bln in October and $2.69 bln in September. However, the reduction of external financing to $2.04 billion led to a decrease in international reserves for the fourth consecutive month – by 0.5%, or $187.8 million – to $38 billion 785.2 million.
The net profit of state-owned Sens Bank in January-September increased by UAH 188 million to UAH 5.626 billion, the press service of the state-owned bank reported on Monday.
“About UAH 11 billion. This is the amount for which Sens Bank’s clients opened term deposits 100 days after the bank’s transfer to state ownership, which is more than 100 thousand deposits. In addition, 80% of retail customers have re-placed their savings on the bank’s deposit accounts during this time, which is one of the best indicators during the martial law period,” the bank noted.
According to the data provided, the core capital adequacy ratio (N3) of the financial institution amounted to 16.77%, and the regulatory capital adequacy ratio (N2) – 16.82%, while in August they amounted to 17.62% and 17.66%, respectively.
In addition, as the state bank emphasized, the level of corporate clients’ confidence in Sens Bank has increased significantly after the change of ownership. This is evidenced by the increase in balances on the accounts of legal entities, in particular, since the nationalization, the state-owned bank has increased its liabilities to UAH 36.4 billion from UAH 18.8 billion.
“Thus, the growth of SME liabilities amounted to 29%, and the corporate business portfolio increased by 95%. In addition, the participation of public sector enterprises in the structure of the bank’s liabilities is about 23%,” the bank said.
The press service emphasized that Sens Bank has returned to the active mode of lending to enterprises and has resumed its participation in the state program to support micro and small businesses in Ukraine “Affordable Loans 5-7-9”.
“Currently, the corporate unit is considering more than 160 loan applications from existing and potential customers totaling more than UAH 18 billion,” the release says.
According to the press service of the financial institution, Sense Bank continues to create a long-term strategy for the development of the digital bank Sense SuperApp. A key element of the bank’s digital strategy is the absolute security of customer data and money in times of war. In particular, during the 100 days of state ownership, Sense SuperApp has been updated six times, improving familiar products and offering new ones.
“Some of the functions unique to Ukraine have already been developed and tested: their announcement is expected in the near future,” the state bank emphasized.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of September 1, 2023, Sens Bank ranked 11th among 64 operating banks in terms of total assets (UAH 63.02 billion). The financial institution is one of the systemically important banks in the country and has a network of about 130 branches throughout Ukraine, employing about 4 thousand employees. Sens Bank serves about 3 million individuals and 58 thousand legal entities, as well as 86 thousand individual entrepreneurs.
