The past decade has seen a tremendous rise in the number of Freelancers in Belgium. In 2020, Belgium identified more than 1 million Self-Employed workers, or more than 20% of the total Belgian workforce. It is hard to estimate the precise number of Freelancers in Belgium, but according to the data that has been collected by i-Lance, at least 350,000 of the Belgian Self-Employed align with the definition of Freelancers. These independent, entrepreneurial and driven men and women are silently building the future of work in Belgium and are reshaping our economy.
Nevertheless, until recently, Freelance clients have been completely disregarded and underserved by traditional businesses. The banking sector is no exception. Despite working very closely with Freelancers for numerous decades, banks have had a lot of difficulties in identifying Freelancers as clients. They couldn’t see the potential of the freelancing market, assess the precise wants and needs of Freelancers and effectively target this group of customers. Even when traditional banks tried to serve the Freelance audience, they didn’t succeed. Large traditional banks are simply not agile enough and are too disconnected from their customer base to succeed with such a unique community as Freelancers.
A trustworthy partner
That’s where the tech sector took the lead. In our previous article we explained to you everything Freelancers in Belgium need to know in order to choose their bank for their professional activity. Today i-Lance is extremely pleased to present you to Aion Bank, a new fully digital bank for Freelancers in Belgium. It is perfectly adapted for Freelancers and has many tools and features to help Freelancers take control of their finances, save time, find a better work-life balance and refocus on their core business. Moreover, thanks to our exclusive partnership, all our users can benefit from free Business Premium Membership. Click HERE to take advantage of this offer:
Now let’s walk through all the features that made us so excited about this newcomer and discover why you should be excited too.
Local as it should be
A digital bank for Freelancers isn’t a new idea and there are many similar initiatives popping up worldwide. However, the fact that it’s the very first digital bank that is based in Belgium is something rather unique. Whereas most digital banks are basing their headquarters in tax havens and countries with lax financial regulatory frameworks, Aion Bank is based in Belgium. This means Aion Bank is affiliated to the FSMA and has all the necessary banking authorisations to conduct its legal banking activity. Moreover, something that we, at i-Lance find particularly handy, is that when you open your private or business bank account at Aion Bank, your account is actually based in Belgium. Thus, you won’t need to declare any foreign accounts to the tax administration in your tax returns. It’s something that a lot of Freelancers were usually forgetting to declare in the past and thus were facing problems with the tax administration. Furthermore, many large clients in Belgium have extremely strict procurement processes and they systematically request their Freelancers to have a business bank account in Belgium. With Aion Bank you can combine a fully digital experience with a domestically located bank account.
A 100% digital bank
Today, most traditional banks in Belgium already work on digital tools for their clients. However, it is rather a unique experience when you use a banking app that has been developed by a native digital bank. Unlike traditional banks trying to become digital, Aion Bank’s whole business model and processes are 100% digital. The client onboarding only takes a few minutes and the interface is so intuitive that you can manage all your banking requirements directly on your phone. Moreover, you can benefit from 24/7 personal financial assistance with the feature called “AdviseME”. With this service you can receive guidance on how to make the most out of your money and discuss business loans, international payments or any other financial concerns. Until now, this type of service was reserved only to private banking clients with large accounts. However, Aion Bank makes this exclusive service available to all its Premium members as part of their monthly membership.
100% digital, yet physically present
Something that we, at i-Lance really appreciated about Aion Bank is that even though it is fully digital, unlike other digital banks, it has an actual physical presence. Not all Freelancersare digital natives and sometimes, even if you are a digital native, you still want to have a real person in front of you to ask questions, receive advice or ask for help. Aion Bank understands this and that’s why they opened a physical branch in Brussels. It’s an incredible mix between a tech hub with a purified and ecological design and a co-working space for Freelancers and Start-Ups. Furthermore, while traditional banks close their branches and try to limit their client interactions as much as possible, Aion Bank goes in the opposite direction with an outstanding client-centred approach. Aion Bank doesn’t only offer you 24/7 financial assistance, it is also physically present for its clients.
Cost-Efficient
Currently, Aion Bank is the most economical banking solution on the market. Even the services on which traditional banks make the highest margins are already included in the Premium Membership so you benefit from all-inclusive services. For example, as a Freelancer, it often occurs that you have clients in foreign countries, who pay you in foreign currencies. With Aion Bank, Freelancers can open multi-currency accounts in EUR, USD, GBP and CHF with unlimited currency exchanges at the interbank rate, as part of the membership. On top of that, if you travel a lot to see your clients abroad, you have access to unlimited and free worldwide ATM withdrawals as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Smart business management tools for Freelancers
With Aion Bank you don’t only save money on the traditional banking services, but also on administrative and accounting apps too. Until now, Freelancers had to subscribe to various accounting apps and link these apps to their bank accounts to do the budgeting, accounting, invoicing and taxes. However, wouldn’t it be much simpler to do the opposite and centralise everything within your bank account? That’s where you really realise that Aion Bank is specifically designed for Freelancers. Aion Bank’s BusinessMax suite makes the life of Freelancers easier and already includes invoicing, expense tracking, VAT estimations, and easy file downloads compatible with your accountant’s digital software. This means that you can centralize all your financial admin work in one single app and can save money on other app subscriptions. All these features are already included in your Premium Membership. Furthermore, Aion Bank goes even further with its partnership with BDO, the leading international accountancy and business advisory firm. For a small extra monthly fee direct to BDO, you get access to a BDO accountant who will take care of your end-to-end business bookkeeping, all in the app.
Business loans for Freelancers
As a Freelancer, you certainly know how challenging it can be to get access to credit in Belgium. Traditional banks fail to accurately assess your credit risk. However, that belongs to the past. Aion Bank acts as a real banking partner for Freelancers. And their business. As long as your business is at least 2 years old, you can easily apply for an unsecured business loan up to €100,000 directly through their app. The process is fully digital and simple and you’ll receive a decision within 1 business day. On top of that, if you don’t manage to secure your business loan, you can always talk to an SME advisor to discuss your eligibility for your loan in more detail.
A free 6 months subscription
As we already said in the beginning of this article, thanks to our exclusive partnership with Aion Bank, you can benefit from 6 months free Business Premium Membership. Click HERE to redeem your offer:
