Brexit was a shock for the European Union but, for many member states, it was also an opportunity. Lithuania was among them: as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam vied to lure financial businesses away from London, Vilnius made a play for the world’s fintechs.
Its strategy — based on streamlining regulation to entice fintechs to set up their “EU shop” in Lithuania — appears to be paying off. In 2014, there were just 55 fintechs based in Lithuania. Now, there are 265. Forty per cent of these have headquarters in other countries.
It has not all been plain sailing. The involvement of a local fintech — UAB Finolita Unio — in the Wirecard scandal rattled regulators, and investors acknowledge that it will take more than well-crafted rules for Lithuania to catch up with the UK.