In our recent conversation with Armando Platero, Country Manager for Spain, we learned how the company pivoted to the B2B segment. They have a clear mission: to become the go-to financial partner for SMEs and the self-employed across Europe, offering digital solutions that combine fintech agility, banking solidity, and a truly unique user experience.
Armando Platero,“Accessing a loan or credit line can be much simpler with the right technology. Our clients now enjoy retail banking advantages.”
Country Manager for Spain at Vivid.
Early career and international journey of Armando Platero in fintech
Graduating in Business Administration from his hometown university in Oviedo, our guest began his career at Bankinter. He quickly took the leap abroad, joining DeGiro – an online broker that would become a true European giant.
In Bulgaria, he grew from being part of the founding team to leading the local market. After the company was acquired by Flatex AG, he returned to his entrepreneurial roots, launching projects in energy, cashback, savings, and PSD2.
His career later took him to the Netherlands, Spain, and a period at Rankia, until a former colleague recruited him to Vivid Money. There, he was responsible for launching the local IBAN, and nearly a year later, he continues to shape the company’s strategy in Spain. That is a clear, forward-looking vision!
A fast-moving neobank: Vivid shifts from B2C to B2B
Armando made it also clear that the shift towards small businesses and the self-employed was no accident. “The real potential for us lies in providing solutions tailored to a segment that urgently needs greater agility and financial specialization,” he explained.
Juanjo took the opportunity to ask how this change translates into the day-to-day experience of clients and what exactly Vivid Money’s proposition is.
“This shift answers the need for tools that save time and resources – two key factors for any small business,” said the Country Manager. And this is where Vivid has set its course: combining the speed of a fintech with the reliability demanded by the European regulatory framework.
The new Spanish IBAN: more than just a number
During the interview, Juanjo highlighted the practical importance of having a local IBAN and asked Armando about the needs of their target audience. “For the self-employed or SMEs managing recurring payments or direct debit taxes, having a Spanish IBAN removes friction and builds trust between suppliers and clients,” he responded.
This technical detail translates into a smoother experience, greater convenience, and stronger security. As our guest put it: “We invest in infrastructure, innovation, and compliance.” Business banking in Europe still faces the challenge of IBAN discrimination, prohibited by law, yet still present in many cases.
Vivid Money is committed to helping Spanish businesses overcome this barrier, and it’s paying off: the platform added 50,000 new business customers across Europe in 2025 and aims to reach 75,000 before year-end.
A clear and client-focused value proposition for SMEs and the self-employed
Armando and Juanjo then explored the neobank’s process for obtaining the local IBAN. They touched on interesting aspects of dealing with local regulators, national financial bodies, and compliance requirements.
The discussion turned to a key question: what is Vivid’s value proposition for the self-employed and SMEs? In the end, the Country Manager summed up the uniqueness of their offer in five points:
- All-in-one financial tools within a single app, making management easier and enhancing the user experience.
- Transparent pricing with no hidden fees, a decisive factor in building customer trust.
- Seamless integration with accounting software, ensuring workflows remain uninterrupted.
- Advanced security and regulatory compliance, crucial for instilling confidence.
- Dedicated, specialized, and fast customer support, speaking the same language as its users.
Fintech expertise and vision serving SMEs
One of the highlights of this The Fintech Podcast episode was the discussion on how Vivid Money turns innovation into tangible actions. Juanjo asked which technologies and trends the company is adopting to stand out in such a competitive business banking landscape.
Armando stressed the importance of truly digitizing all processes. Traditionally, many require in-person procedures at a bank branch, notary, and so on. “Accessing a loan or credit line can be much simpler with the right technology. Our clients now enjoy retail banking advantages within their SMEs.”
Specifically, their clients benefit from key business financial management (BFM) features: flight and hotel bookings with up to 30% cashback, the ability to open a cryptocurrency account, and simplified payment and collection processes – even for international transactions.
💡 Armando said…
“The biggest advantage over competitors is the incredible speed at which Vivid develops features. Even coming from the fintech world, I’ve never seen such strong development capacity.”
The importance of partnering with the right technology providers
At Vivid Money, in-house development is combined with strategic partnerships to deliver products faster and more efficiently. “If it’s something small or with long-term revenue potential, we build it ourselves. But when we’re not the best in a specific product, we prefer outsourcing to keep costs competitive,” he explained.
As an example, he cited the recent launch of their acquiring area – online card payments – and the development of POS terminals in partnership with a Dutch provider, whose infrastructure he described as “impeccable.” The same applies to travel booking features, which they integrate but do not operate directly.
Their philosophy is clear: focus resources where they add the most value and delegate the rest to direct their efforts toward where they really add the most value.
Vivid Money: a success story that inspires
The neobank aims to integrate as many widely used business tools as possible. From their app, the self-employed and SMEs can issue invoices, generate payment links, and manage collections, adapting to diverse liquidity needs.
When deciding on new products or integrations, the process begins with proposals from each country manager. Then, they are assessed for revenue potential, client acquisition impact, or user experience improvements.
The neobank’s future and medium-term goals
Vivid’s ambition is to become the primary account for SMEs and the self-employed, a goal they plan to achieve by “working with an agile mindset and continually improving our service,” Armando assured. In the medium term, they aim to enable direct payments to Social Security and Tax authorities.
To close the interview, Juanjo remarked that this closeness and simplicity are the real revolution behind technology – allowing banks and businesses to connect on a much more human level. Finally, he then thanked our guest for his time and the audience for joining us.
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