The start-up Pliant opens up new markets.

"We will soon be active in four other countries, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal and Finland," said Malte Rau, boss and co-founder of the Berlin-based company, in an interview with the FAZ

Archibald Preuschat

Editor in Business

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Founded in 2020, the company provides start-ups and small and medium-sized companies with corporate credit cards.

This is actually a banking service, but one that institutions provide only slowly or not at all.

“The best example was the corona pandemic.

From one day to the next, all employees had to work from home.

But a credit card is essential, especially in marketing,” says Rau.

Marketing campaigns, such as those on Google and Facebook, require credit card payments.

Inquiries at large banks revealed that they are indeed finding it difficult to issue corporate credit cards to start-ups in particular.

“It always depends on the individual company.

After all, every credit card issued is a credit line that has been granted," said a major bank when asked.

"In addition, our solution allows for real-time accounting of every payment made by employees," says Rau.

That could be one reason why, according to Pliant Rau, there has hardly been any misuse of company credit cards so far.

Rau sees another advantage of the Pliant solution in that the credit cards can also be linked to the house bank account.

“Very few of our customers have a bank account with a neobank, if only because financing is easier with traditional banks.

Our house bank is Commerzbank,” says Rau in an interview.

Pliant, which does not have its own banking license but works together with Varengold Bank, carefully selected the new markets: “The Netherlands and Portugal are very technology-oriented countries.

This also applies to Finland, which also has a fascinating industry.

Luxembourg is interesting because it is often overlooked,” explains Rau, who has also announced that he will soon be entering the market in two other countries, but has not yet given any details.

So far, Pliant has been active in Germany and Austria.

The largest investors are ALSTIN, a venture capitalist belonging to Carsten Maschmeyer's group with just over 10 percent, the Austrian family office Saber with just under 10 percent, Neosfer, formerly Main Incubator, the venture capitalist of Commerzbank, and Embedded Capital, behind the fintech investor Ramin Niroumand stands.