QNB eFinans
Digitalising the Business

To say that digitalisation is the need of the hour might be an understatement. Today, the adoption of technological advancements and the growth of a business sector go hand-in-hand. Take the financial operations of businesses, for example Digital technologies are adding new meaning to the words speed and efficiency in the business landscape by streamlining their payment processes online. However, most of these digital makeovers are consumer-focused at present that aim to transform the customer experience journey. For instance, adding innovative online payment options or cardless credit systems to online portals for seamlessly purchasing a product or service. Although it would be wrong to state that such digital tools are not necessary, but by concentrating on certain ones alone, most companies are ignoring a potentially bigger opportunity that they have right in their backyard – the digitalisation of their back-office operations.

This is where QNB eFinans, the fintech subsidiary of QNB Finansbank Financial Services Group, is creating a world of difference for an end-consumer focused digitalisation solutions market. QNB eFinans provides creative, innovative, and highly-secure e-transformation products, such as e-Invoice, e-Ledger, e-Archive, e-Waybill, export and tax-free e-Invoice applications, registered e-mail along with value-added services to streamline the back-office workflow of its clients, ranging from the small SME to the large corporate enterprises.

The Journey to QNB eFinans’ Growth

In its initial days, the company’s focus was on digitalising the documents needed by businesses. Notably, QNB eFinans was also the first Turkish member of EESPA (European e-Invoicing Service Providers Association). Through this collaboration, QNB eFinans was a pioneering e-Invoice service provider in Turkey to provide integrations in foreign trade for clients in Turkey and their European counterparties through business partnerships with European leaders such as Basware, Tesisquare, Global Blue and Pagero.

“However, with the constantly developing technological and business landscape, coupled with an increasing use of electronic applications for such, we have become a significant and integral part of the daily commercial life for businesses spanning numerous sectors,” states Okay Yildirim, General Manager of QNB eFinans.

To this extent, today, QNB eFinans’ products and services hold a strong prominence for firms across trading to manufacturing industries. And, while offering solutions for simplifying their business’ daily processes, QNB eFinans muscles up the fintech capabilities of its clients as well—by drawing upon the expertise of its parent company. “We are also a pivotal player in the digitalisation of SMEs via our role in the Digital Bridge project that we have initiated with QNB Finansbank recently,” informs Yildirim.

Backing Up the Digital Front

Since its inception in 2013, QNB eFinans’ efforts have continually been in providing automation of credit processes for e-Books. “We believe that increase in e-book users will contribute to significant growth for businesses,” mentions Yildirim.

To cite an example, QNB eFinans has integrated the accounting processes for the Turkish entity of an Italy-based hygiene product manufacturer. In addition to issuing e-documents in Turkey that are triggered from the IT systems housed at its headquarters in Italy, QNB eFinans seamlessly helps the client relay all the shipment e-documents—from the Turkish plant to its other affiliates in Balkan countries— and simultaneously to the Turkish export customs, instantaneously. Furthermore, all e-documents produced are tax-compliant and are shared with the company’s local audit firm of French origin for the creation of tax-compliant e-books. Thus, all the tasks from production to shipment and auditing systems of a wide geographical area of a multinational network are managed seamlessly end-to-end by QNB eFinans.

Recently, the company has also launched Neovade Platform—which is an alternative financing method—in close collaboration with QNB Finansbank.

This platform was received very positively by the initial target group, and subsequently, upon the permission of regulatory authorities, the platform is now open for use for all e-invoice users.

And that’s not all! Riding on the great developments in the e-commerce and payments technology area, the company has finalised cooperative agreements with many Android POS device makers and softPOS software developers in Turkey, and the cooperated product will be available for launch soon. Furthermore, the company is all set to offer more simple-to-use and cost-effective e-invoicing solutions to B2C firms. Yildirim believes that although B2B e-invoicing was in the leading position a year ago, nowadays B2C e-invoices is outstepping other types of invoices by two times. “Thus, B2C invoicing needs attention to operate online and faster, and we are poised to make that happen,” says Yildirim.

At the same time, by partnering with payment device providers, QNB eFinans is also providing courier companies with innovative e-payment solutions upon delivery. The solution is continually going through periodic upgrades to offer more features relating to warehousing and expedition processes in e-commerce.

“We have also developed QNB eFinans Connector, which can easily integrate a client’s accounting program with QNB eFinans’ systems,” informs Yildirim. In addition to covering 90 percent of the widely-used and specialised accounting programs with our product, it also works with more than 300 accounting/ERP programs, with ready-to-install integration modules in QNB eFinans’ systems.

A Proven Process

Many business processes, ranging from manufacturing to sales, are being shaped in line today with QNB eFinans’ capabilities. “For instance, a client of ours, an e-commerce firm, has improved its packing and invoicing processes, while another one has transformed its cash on delivery processes with our solutions. And this makes QNB eFinans more indispensable for our clients. However, I believe, this couldn’t have been possible without the trust that our clients have bestowed on us,” says Yildirim. To that end, the company’s market share in the corporate segment is increasing daily, where a high priority is given to the needs of SMEs with mobile and web-based solutions. Today, QNB eFinans serves approximately 38,000 clients, without compromising the quality of service or security level. Boasting this vast popularity, Yildirim notes, “Up until now, we have achieved many firsts in the industry, and in the coming years also, will continue to do so.”