Digital banking solutions company Wamo expands to Helsinki

Wamo is a European fintech company offering digital banking solutions for small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), freelancers, and startups. In 2024, the company expanded to Helsinki as its regulatory and product innovation hub, building a team across compliance, product, and customer support. 

Why Wamo chooses to expand to Helsinki

Helsinki offers Wamo something bigger hubs can’t: clear regulations, fintech know-how, and a close-knit business ecosystem. 

Market maturity meets regulatory clarity

“Nordic markets are among the most digitally mature within Europe,” says Yanki Onen, Founder and CEO at Wamo.io . “The regulatory environment here is progressive and clear. Compared to London, Helsinki is more intimate, and compared to Southern Europe, it’s far more digital.”  

Clarity from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), strong digital adoption, and pro-business policies make Helsinki ideal for R&D. The corporate tax rate in Finland is 20% with an upcoming reduction to 18% by 2027, lower than many countries where Wamo operates. Tax incentives for relocating talent also make it easier to grow your business in Helsinki.

“Compared to London, Helsinki is more intimate, and compared to Southern Europe, it’s far more digital.”

Yanki Onen, Wamo.io

Finland’s structure, efficiency, and trust-based system offer what Yanki calls essential foundations for growth. “This gives you the backbone to be able to build and grow your business.”

 Access to talent and high quality of life

Despite Helsinki’s compact size, Yanki is impressed by the city’s talent density. “People here are skilled, collaborative, and experienced in fintech, exactly the kind of people you want when scaling a pan-European business.”

Helsinki doesn’t just offer access to tech-savvy talent, it also attracts international executives. Yanki himself is relocating to the city, along with key executives like the chief technology officer and head of operations. By the end of 2025, they’ll have 12 employees in Helsinki and expect to double that almost every year.

“Helsinki combines innovation with quality of life,” says Yanki. “It’s a place where you can build a global fintech and still enjoy balance—something we value deeply as a company.” 

“People here are skilled, collaborative, and experienced in fintech—exactly the kind of people you want when scaling a pan-European business.”

In this environment, meaningful connections happen regularly and networking feels natural. “The reason Finland will continue to lead and excel is all about the people,” adds Yanki.

Collaborative & innovation-friendly ecosystem

Wamo has already built relationships with key local players, including Enfuse for card processing and Vektori for business tools. “The ecosystem is extremely supportive, and we were able to build local partnerships quickly with help from Helsinki Partners,” says Yanki.

Yanki explains how the market itself sets high standards: “Finnish businesses have smaller teams, more efficient operations, and much higher expectations for product quality. That pushes us to raise the bar and explore new opportunities.”

Since the market is open to new solutions, Wamo can innovate and test products faster—essential when developing localised solutions for diverse European markets. 

“We transfer a lot of the learnings from the Nordic markets to other markets, like Southern Europe,” says Yanki. 

Bridging the gap left by traditional banks in Finland

Wamo solves a clear gap in digital banking for SMEs in Finland: the need for faster, more flexible digital banking tools.

Yanki explains: “SMEs here are digital but their banking isn’t. They need to find three or four partners to manage their financial services, which is time-consuming, expensive, and slows growth. Entrepreneurs should be focusing on their vision, not just running their bank.”

Wamo’s digital business banking platform consolidates banking, payment acceptance, credit, payroll, and financial management into one place. SMEs can open an account in 10 minutes and apply for credit in 15, with human support when needed.

Their first product launch in Finland was credit, addressing one of the biggest hurdles for small businesses: access to finance. “Cash flow varies in Finland, especially with seasonality, and credit helps smooth that out,” says Yanki.

Launching from Helsinki: Wamo’s next chapter

With Helsinki as their base for fintech innovation, Wamo plans to scale credit, payments, FX, and multi-currency accounts across the Nordics. “We’re proof that international fintechs can scale from here. Our presence reinforces Helsinki as a launchpad for Europe,” says Yanki. 

For other international executives considering expansion or setting up R&D operations, Yanki’s advice is clear: “Don’t underestimate Helsinki—it’s a smart place to scale from. As per President Stubb’s slogan: “Finland, even cooler than you think!’”