The Berlin-based FinTech incubator FinLeap today welcomed a new venture into the market. Their latest startup Valendo is in essence a ” luxury online pawn shop”, providing their customers with quick, no-fuss access to capital, with no need for external credit checks.
Andreas von Buttlar, Valendo’s Managing Director, explained the advantage their service provides. “Valendo is helping SMEs and individuals by fulfilling the need for alternative financing in a fast, professional and reliable way which banks are often unable to provide,” he told FinTech Journal.
In a nutshell, Valendo aim to provide their clients with a quick and easy method to create liquidity, without having to sell your assets upfront and without external credit checks. They’re currently accepting jewellery, precious metals, luxury goods and “extraordinary assets”, with loans starting at €1,500.
Applications for loans are reviewed in 24 hours, offering rapid capital to their clientele. As well as the classic pawn loan, Valendo offers loans on professionally-stored goods, and “sale loans” on items that you ultimately want to sell, but might not be able to secure a good price for in the short term.
The “pawn shop” model is of course well-established, but the online market is still in its infancy. For small businesses and individuals who need access to liquid assets fast, this nascent market provides a highly valuable service. The golden advantage of any online enterprise is of course that users can engage with the service without ever leaving their desk chair- and adding convenience and discretion has certainly proved successful for many FinTech ventures thus far. Valendo is currently largely focused on the German market, but is able to cater to an international client base.
Valendo is FinLeap’s third startup to become public since the incubator’s inception last December, joining interest brokers Savedo and revenue accelerators BillFront. With three public ventures launched in as many months, we doubt this will be the last we hear from FinLeap.
(image credit: Valendo)
