Kaching’s European scale-up boosted by regulatory knowledge
The continued evolution of consumer and retail interaction is paving the way for Swedish FinTech start-up Kaching and their mobile point of sale solution. Starting at home in the Swedish market and expanding with their client’s European retail branches is proving to be a successful organic growth model.
The digital online shopping boom has changed customers shopping habits and expectations. Retailers are seeing that when consumers do shop in-store, they increasingly expect superior customer service, with shortened queue times, informed sales staff and access to products even if they aren’t in the physical store. Kaching is helping Swedish retailers meet these needs with mobile point of sale software. The software is designed to be used with a handheld device, which means sales staff are free to move around the physical store, providing direct service with product information and ultimately making a sale. All in one interaction.
CHALLENGES
Kaching have an organic growth model, supporting their Swedish retail customers in their European and international operations. When entering new markets, Kaching’s solution must comply with the local tax and regulations and finding out how each tax authority applies their rules is not always straightforward.
SOLUTION
Kaching used Business Sweden’s local presence and market analysis expertise to undertake an analysis of their key European markets of the Netherlands and Belgium, to prepare for future growth plans. Business Sweden analysed the regulatory landscape, identified and mapped the compliance procedures for regulatory approval for Kaching’s solution in each market, and used its local contact network to analyse VAT and tax compliance in both markets.
RESULT
Business Sweden’s comprehensive report gave the company a roadmap outlining the steps, timeline, and cost to certify their products and ensure regulatory compliance. The company is now poised to launch their solution in their customer stores across Belgium and the Netherlands
CONTACT
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Many of Kaching’s clients are Swedish companies with a global presence or aspirations. But while supporting Swedish companies in Sweden is one aspect of Kaching’s offering, being a global partner is the cornerstone of their success. Once a retailer sees the approach has been successful in Sweden, they are inspired to extend this across their entire European and global operations.
Kaching’s CFO Johan Robertson explains: “Once our customers see the positive impact to sales, and customer and employee satisfaction, they want to use it across all of their stores. Kaching is a Swedish product that works globally. With a few modifications, our clients can be up and running in a new market relatively quickly. Our ability to support them globally is crucial.”
While Kaching have low-entry to market on their operational side, their solution should adhere to tax and regulatory obligations in new markets which are not always straightforward. When they first expanded into the Nordics markets, the need to ensure they were meeting their tax obligations was relatively simple and easy to understand. However, when Kaching’s client, Hästens, wanted to extend their use of the platform to stores across Europe, it was necessary to understand the tax implications of operating in other markets.
Business Sweden provided a very useful and helpful service, working with them has been productive for our business. FinTech companies can really benefit from their accurate and credible insights... when expanding into new markets.
Business Sweden were able to identify the regulatory requirements for Kaching’s mobile point of sales solution via an in-depth analysis of the regulatory landscape. This analysis identified and mapped the compliance procedures for regulatory approval for Kaching’s solution. This analysis also revealed that while in Sweden there are strict rules applicable to Kaching’s solution, in the Netherlands and Belgium, there were no specific regulatory requirements. This revelation prompted an investigation into the tax implications for Kaching’s solution and their customer which revealed that the regulatory situation across European markets is not always clear and can differ.
When Johan Robertson encountered Business Sweden at a financial breakfast seminar, he knew Kaching could benefit from the wide network and local knowledge in international markets. Robertson explained: “When we go into new markets we need to know what tax and regulation applies to us. It is not always crystal clear how tax laws are interpreted or applied. We knew the insights from Business Sweden would be reliable and the responses would be credible.”
Kaching’s approach to supporting their customer’s needs in European and global markets means they need the relevant tax and regulatory information in an accurate and timely manner. While sales cycles can be long, once agreements are made, swift action is needed. Working with a reliable partner to provide this information is one less burden for FinTech start-ups to manage.
As Johan Robertson concludes: “Business Sweden provided a very useful and helpful service, working with them has been productive for our business. FinTech companies can really benefit from their accurate and credible insights, particularly any tax obligations that apply to the solution they are providing and need to be considered when expanding into new markets.”
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Team Leader Customer Group ICT
Hanna Leffler
Project Manager
Copenhagen
hanna.leffler@business-sweden.se
+45 20 563 110
Business Sweden’s purpose is to help Swedish companies grow global sales and international companies invest and expand in Sweden.
