SMEs often find themselves caught between managing daily operations and navigating new challenges, like cash flow issues or regulatory demands. Ivan Dovica, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Dateio, sat down with Olena Gryniuk, CEE Director of the SME Banking Club, to talk about the role of transaction data in addressing these challenges.
Olena Gryniuk: Ivan, it’s great to have you here. You’ve spoken a lot about personalisation in banking—how does this apply specifically to SMEs?
Ivan Dovica: Thanks, Olena. Personalisation is a priority for many industries, not just banking. The thing is SMEs often find themselves in a tough spot. They’re too complex for standard retail banking, but they don’t have the resources of larger corporations. This is where personalisation comes in – not as a bonus, but as something they genuinely need.
They need solutions that simplify operations and save time. Most of the payment features are largely standardized now, so the real differentiator is how banks use data to provide added value.
Olena Gryniuk: Can you give some examples of the tools banks are building for SMEs? What challenges do you see there?
Ivan Dovica: Currently, a lot of banks are working on tools for emission reporting. The challenge is that the early versions of these tools haven’t offered much value yet – they’re more educational than functional.
The key is to balance ease of use with real, added value. For example, even though banks have access to transaction data, current tools still require a lot of manual input. The real value comes when banks effectively utilize their data. Instead of focusing on the initial data input, SMEs should concentrate on verifying the results and making sure everything is accurate.
Olena Gryniuk: Why is this so hard to get right?
Ivan Dovica: The challenge is that banks often don’t fully understand the payment data they have. Without structured and accurate information, you end up with inaccurate results. For example, relying solely on MCC codes for categorisation in emission reporting can easily double the actual emission estimates.
If banks improve how they manage and interpret data, they can automate things like emission reporting more accurately and save businesses time on manual inputs.
Olena Gryniuk: That makes sense, and it seems like it would benefit both SMEs and the banks themselves. Earlier, you mentioned the importance of payment categorisation. How does that tie into the bigger picture?
Ivan Dovica: Payment categorisation plays a bigger role than many people think. It’s not just about sorting transactions but understanding the context behind them. For example, office supplies might be categorised differently depending on whether they’re for internal use or part of a client project.
When banks get this right, it can really streamline processes like invoicing, tax reporting, and overall financial management for SMEs. It’s about making the data work harder for the business without adding more complexity.
Olena Gryniuk: Do you think banks are starting to get the hang of these needs?
Ivan Dovica: They’re starting to move in the right direction. We’re seeing more tools emerge, like ad spend, recurring payments management, and balance prediction or using OCR technology for receipt scanning and expense categorisation. This helps SMEs keep a closer eye on their financial health, which is exactly what they need.
Olena Gryniuk: Before we wrap up, are there any other trends you think SMEs should be keeping an eye on?
Ivan Dovica: Sustainability is a key trend to watch, not just because of regulations but also for the business opportunities it brings.
Although it is nothing new, I think there’s a lot of potential in how we handle reporting and gather insights. We’ve had personal finance management tools (PFMs) for years – business finance management (BFM) in this case – but with better data, there are new opportunities to go deeper and provide insights that would otherwise need to be manually compiled from exported banking statements.
I believe we’ll see SMEs increasingly relying on their financial partners not just for traditional banking services, but as strategic advisors who help them navigate the complexities of modern banking.
Olena Gryniuk: Thanks for the great conversation, Ivan.
Ivan Dovica: Thank you, Olena. Always a pleasure.
Join the CEE24 SME Banking Conference to meet Olena Gryniuk and Ivan Dovica on November 15 in-person in Vienna or online.
