Business doesn't stop at the national border - an interview with Hans Leybaert, President of the Unifiedpost Group

A few days ago, the Polish branch of Banqup hosted the President of Unifiedpost Group (Euronext: UPG) Hans Leybaert. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the company's experience in implementing systems analogous to the Polish KSeF in other European countries. Here are the most important issues Hans Leybaert raised.

‍

As a reminder, Unifiedpost acquired the Polish company Banqware in 2020, and then, decided to use the name "Banqup" created by Banqware for its own solution, dedicated to SMEs, already available in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, among others. Thus, Banqup has become part of a pan-European platform of services related to workflow, authentication and payments. In Poland, Krzysztof Pulkiewicz's team, which has been developing fintech solutions for years, is responsible for the tool.

‍

KSeF, as a remedy for the tax gap

‍

Currently, the National e-Invoicing System is voluntary in Poland - it will not be mandatory until January 2024. While the option of electronic billing has been available to consumers for a long time, this area has so far been little used in B2B relations.

• There has been a real change in mentality over the past 24 months, and you can see a lot of willingness and commitment in all European countries to move toward electronic invoicing in the B2B segment, Hans Leybaert notes. 

Some European countries already have a good track record - such as Italy, which has been required to move to e-invoicing in 2019. 

• It turned out that already in the first year several billion euros were recovered through the use of electronic invoicing. The VAT gap has been reduced ," says Hans Leybaert. 

The digital system has proved extremely helpful, which has encouraged other countries to increase momentum for the entire implementation process.

KSeF, as a way to exchange documents between companies.

Currently, two models of systems are emerging in Europe. The first is the government-regulated, so-called Italian model, which can also include the Polish KSeF. In this case, the invoice is sent to a government institution and forwarded to the customer. The second is the French model, which some countries are pursuing. According to it, it is still possible to send invoices directly from the supplier to the customer, but there is also real-time transaction reporting, so-called continuous transaction control. Notifications of any tax activity are sent to the government system.

The challenge in this area remains the full digitization of business relationships - so that not only the sending of an invoice, but the entire purchase process, including, for example, delivery reminders, takes place online. Only then, according to Hans Leybaert, can we talk about full information exchange between companies.

‍

• Banqup-like solutions optimize processes between entities, that is, between companies , he explains. - Hence, it is of utmost importance to create a digital version of all documents, not only invoices, and indeed carry out all processes online.

‍

Game changer - payments

Integrating multiple business services into a single tool is becoming a standard in building solutions for SMEs. Banqup goes a step further, providing the ability to fully handle the process from invoice to settlement - within a single platform. This is made possible by the use of open banking solutions.

• This is today's reality," notes Hans Leybaert. - Thanks to European regulations, institutions other than banks can also have access to data and account information and even initiate payments. These are important elements that foster competition and innovation in the payment solutions segment, and we provide several types of these, he adds. 

UPG has been a payment institute for several years and handles online payments for its customers. As a result, in addition to providing bank accounts and initiating payments from them, it also allows online payments using cards or digital wallets. These processes are carried out in accordance with the laws of the country. Users of the Banqup platform are thus assured of having a business account on Polish terms, combined with full workflow, invoicing and local and foreign payment options.

New role for accountants

The introduction of KSeF means changing the habits of all participants in business processes, not only entrepreneurs, but also accountants. For the latter, it means taking on the role of the most trusted person for the client.

• Access to the client's digital data allows accountants to be not only executors of day-to-day billing activities, but more importantly advisors on how to run the business, Hans Leybaert explains. 

Banqup does not replace the accountant - on the contrary, it provides data that gives a bird's eye view of the client's business. It makes it easier to draw conclusions, interpret and advise, if only on the implementation of KSeF and its subsequent correct operation.

‍

Perspective and options for structured invoices

According to Hans Leybaert, Europe is well suited to both models of e-invoicing systems - Italian and French. The participation of government solutions is indispensable - if only because of the costs required for digital development, which cannot be ceded only to market participants, namely companies. 

• We see that in France, for example, free platforms are supported by the government, but at the same time private solutions offer users more options, Hans Leybaert notes. - I think it will be similar in other countries.

The EPA president expects the European Commission to make systems analogous to Poland's KSeF mandatory for implementation in every European country by a certain date - both at the state and international levels. In this situation, the use of a pan-European platform with access to the three main pillars - documents, payments and identity proofing - seems necessary.

Business does not stop at the border, Hans Leybaert notes. - The tools that entrepreneurs operate should be able to connect with other platforms, in other countries - precisely so that this business can be conducted in an efficient manner. In fact, the closer we bring companies together, the more interactive the relationship will be.