Challenger Banks Penta, Arro Debut Small Business Accounts

Two challenger banks in the European Union — U.K.-based Arro and Germany-based Penta — both announced Tuesday (Dec. 12) that their small- and medium-sized business (SMB) account services have launched.

Arro, which announced last month that it had raised Series A funding for its services for both consumers and SMBs, said its B2B platform is now live and enables small business customers to process transactions and on-board payroll. Its small business account is designed for entrepreneurs, contractors and startups, and the company also works with Mastercard to provide Arro cards to SMB customers.

“The new business account has been specifically created by Arro in the belief that all individuals and businesses — no matter their size — have a basic human right to a bank account,” Arro said. “Due to stringent rules from traditional banks, many entrepreneurs have been forced into using a personal bank account to operate a business — causing copious amounts of issues when it comes to managing taxes and managing the finances of a business efficiently.”

Penta similarly pointed to the challenge entrepreneurs face when forced to use personal account services for their businesses.

“Banks are stuck in the 20th century because of their outdated tech and bureaucracy — not to mention high fees,” said Penta CEO and co-founder Lav Odorovic in a statement announcing Penta’s emergence from private beta. “We believe that banking should be easy, it should be completely online and it should give startups access to the banking products and services they need to scale quicker, to save more time and money.”

Penta is targeting German small businesses with between two and 30 employees and which, Odorovic noted, “have been neglected by FinTech and the banking industry.”

The company provides SMBs with a fee-free bank account as well as debit cards for their employees to manage spending. Moving forward, the company said it wants to develop an app store to connect small business customers with third-party services.