Scaling SME Financing with Speed and Smarts: A Conversation with CapitalBox’s Julija Varneckienė
TL;DR
In this exclusive interview, Julija Varneckienė, COO at CapitalBox, reveals how they’re using real-time data and open banking for business accounts to transform SME lending. From reducing onboarding times from weeks to minutes to giving customers a smoother, more respectful experience, this is modern financing in action. Bonus: You’ll never guess what one customer sent instead of a bank statement.
Julija Varneckienė started as an Operations Coordinator at CapitalBox nearly a decade ago. Today, she’s the COO of the fast-moving fintech company helping small and medium-sized businesses get the financing they need to grow.
In this Q&A, Julija shares her journey, why fast and flexible finance matters more than ever, and how Open Banking (and Enable Banking!) is helping CapitalBox scale smarter.
Hi Julija, could you please tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! My name is Julija Varneckienė, and I’m the Chief Operations Officer at CapitalBox. I joined the company nine years ago as an Operations Coordinator, and now I oversee everything from systems and products to compliance and processes. My mission is to make sure our internal operations run smoothly so that we can support small businesses across Europe, ensure we meet industry requirements, and manage projects across departments efficiently focusing on growth and stability in a super dynamic FinTech environment.
What’s the most exciting part of working in SME financing?
There are a few things that really excite me about working at CapitalBox and in the SME financing space. First, it’s never routine; every day is different. The industry is highly dynamic and influenced by everything from microeconomic shifts to broader macroeconomic trends. There’s also a huge potential for innovation in the business financing space.
We’re not just ticking boxes at CapitalBox. What drives me is knowing that the work we do has a real, tangible impact. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching a small business we believe in grow into a thriving, successful company. We get to be part of that journey, and seeing our clients evolve and succeed is what makes this work so fulfilling. It’s not abstract; it’s real, and I get to be part of it. It’s gratifying.
You already touched on CapitalBox's offerings, but could you summarise them? What types of clients do you serve?
Absolutely! CapitalBox is a leading digital lender focused on small and medium-sized businesses, often those underserved by traditional banks. Our clients span from solo entrepreneurs, like independent consultants, to growing companies with up to 50 employees. What they all have in common is a need for flexible financing to help their businesses grow.
We currently operate in five European markets: Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Lithuania. And we’re growing fast. One fun fact: our very first Swedish customer is still with us after ten years, which really speaks to the long-term partnerships we build.
Our product suite is designed to match the unique needs of modern SMEs:
Business loans: Unsecured instalment loans of up to €500,000 for working capital or growth.
Secured loans: Up to €3 million for bigger investments like equipment or real estate.
Invoice financing: A factoring solution that turns unpaid invoices into immediate capital.
Purchase financing: Buy Now, Pay Later options that let businesses manage expenses more flexibly.
Credit lines: Revolving access to funds for managing seasonal or unexpected cash flow needs.
As a fully digital fintech, we make access to capital incredibly fast and convenient, with no paperwork, no long waits, just a simple online application and a decision typically within just a few hours. Behind that speed is a deep understanding of what SMEs really need: transparency, flexibility, and a financing partner that truly understands their challenges and ambitions.
Why is fast and flexible financing so crucial for SMEs, and how is CapitalBox making a difference?
Fast and flexible financing isn’t just a nice-to-have for SMEs, it’s essential. These businesses operate in fast-moving, often unpredictable environments. One day it’s a surprise opportunity; the next, it’s an unexpected challenge. Unlike larger companies, SMEs rarely have deep financial reserves or dedicated finance teams to buffer the impact. And they often lack access to alternative funding sources. That’s why speed and adaptability in financing can make the difference between seizing a moment or missing it entirely.
Whether it’s hiring staff to meet a surge in demand, increasing inventory before peak season, or investing in product development, SMEs need immediate access to capital to keep moving. Waiting weeks, or even months, for a traditional bank decision, simply isn’t viable in today’s competitive landscape.
Flexibility matters just as much. Many SMEs experience seasonal cycles, like a business that specialises in winter equipment and sees a sharp drop in demand during summer. A one-size-fits-all loan product won’t work for them. What they need is a financial partner that understands their rhythm and can adapt accordingly.
That’s where CapitalBox comes in. Our goal is to be that trusted partner, offering fast, reliable, and tailored financial solutions so business owners can focus on what matters: growth.
To achieve this, we knew we had to move beyond traditional methods. For larger deals, manual processes still work. But for speed and scale, we needed automation, something that could deliver decisions in real-time using tangible, high-quality data. That’s where Open Banking came in.
Enable Banking approached us at exactly the right moment. Together, we built a solution that integrates real-time customer data directly into our credit scoring process. Now, instead of emailing PDFs or screenshots of 30 pages of bank statements (which still happens more than you’d think!), customers simply log in, grant access, and we instantly analyse their financial activity.
This approach isn’t just faster, it’s smarter. It strengthens fraud prevention, streamlines compliance, and allows us to tailor our offer to each customer’s real financial situation. Some applicants are highly financially literate, others not so much. By removing unnecessary friction, we’re helping both thrive.
Ultimately, that’s the difference: fast, flexible, and intuitive solutions that meet SMEs where they are and help them get where they want to go.
Can you share a customer story that stuck with you?
One that’s really stayed with me is a photography studio in Lithuania. When they first came to us, they were just starting, full of ambition and creativity, but completely overlooked by traditional banks. Despite a strong business concept and a clear growth plan, they kept hitting dead ends. No one was willing to take a chance on them.
But we saw something different. Their passion, their plan, and the potential in their market stood out to us. So we stepped in and gave them the financial support they needed to get off the ground.
Fast forward a few years, and they’re now one of the most in-demand photo studios in the country, working with major clients and expanding their team. Watching their journey unfold has been incredibly rewarding.
Stories like this remind us why we do what we do. It’s not just about lending money, it’s about believing in the people behind the business and giving them the tools to succeed when others won’t.
So, where do Open Banking and Enable Banking come into play?
Speed. Simplicity. Better decisions.
We were looking for a faster, more data-driven way to make credit decisions and Enable Banking arrived at just the right time. Now, we run our credit scoring based on real-time customer data. The process is simple: customers log in and grant access to their bank data. We can instantly analyse real-time financial activity for scoring, fraud prevention, and compliance.
It’s a game-changer. Before this, we’d sometimes get 30-page screenshots of bank statements because customers didn’t know how to download them properly! That still happens, believe it or not.
Customers vary greatly; some are tech-savvy and know their financials inside and out, while others are less familiar with the process. Tailored, fast, and user-friendly solutions are what drive market growth and help customers more efficiently. With Enable Banking, the whole process is seamless for us and the customer.
What’s the best part about working with Enable Banking?
Besides solving key challenges, working with Enable Banking has been a great opportunity for growth, both in business and professionally. Collaborating with their team has provided valuable insights into how the open banking and open finance landscape is structured. We can also expand our own offerings by learning from our partners.
What I appreciate the most is Enable Banking’s professionalism and willingness to listen. It’s not just about revenue; it's about developing products together. They prioritise quality over quantity and provide clear, transparent communication. Having worked with them for a while now, I can confidently say it’s been a great partnership.
Is there anything else you can share about how Enable Banking has helped you?
The biggest impact has been reducing processing time. And it’s not just about speed for the customer, it’s about speed and efficiency for us too. In the past, retrieving financial statements could take five days, or even two weeks if the accountant was on vacation. Even worse, just getting those statements often meant chasing the customer with repeated emails and calls.
With digital solutions like Enable Banking, we can access this information in minutes or even seconds, even with huge transaction volumes, the overall process is dramatically faster and more reliable.
But beyond the operational benefits, it's improved the customer relationship. We’re no longer stuck in an awkward loop of reminders and follow-ups. Customers don’t need to make phone calls or manually upload files; they just log in, grant access, and they’re done. It's a more professional, more respectful experience that builds trust from the start.
Instead of chasing documents, we can now spend that time asking better questions, offering more tailored support, and ultimately delivering a much smoother financing journey.
Together with Enable Banking, we made the process flexible for customers; they no longer need to make additional phone calls or manually upload files received from accounting. Everything happens seamlessly.
You’re also involved in mentoring. Can you tell us more?
Yes! I’ve been mentoring for the past five years through Women Go Tech, Big Brother and iDialogue. My focus is on personal development, leadership, product ownership, and business analysis. At Women Go Tech, we empower women to transition from various fields into IT-focused careers, including product ownership. I lead masterclasses, one-on-one mentoring, and confidence-building sessions. I strongly believe that with the right support and encouragement, people can achieve so much more than they initially thought possible.
If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about the global finance industry, what would it be?
I’d use it to erase legacy systems. Poof, gone! Imagine a world where all financial institutions, old and new, speak the same data language. Right now, the quality and structure of financial data vary wildly, especially between newer digital banks and more traditional institutions. It’s like trying to run a modern app on a dial-up connection.
With my magic wand, we’d clear away decades of technical debt and finally have standardised, high-quality data across the board. That would mean better decisions, less bureaucracy, and smoother collaboration across borders, industries and institutions.
Oh, and I’d also wish for more open conversations with regulators. Less paperwork - more real dialogue. Let’s solve actual problems, not create new ones. Magic wand = fewer forms, more progress.
How do you see financial technology evolving for SMEs in the next five years?
Currently, there isn’t a distinct category of SME-specific financial technology, most fintech solutions cater to both businesses and consumers. So, we are only scratching the surface of what’s possible.
We’ve been incorporating AI-driven credit scoring for years, even before generative AI models like ChatGPT became widely used. The next five years will likely see advancements in conversational AI, automation, and decision-making processes. More structured, modular technology solutions will emerge, allowing businesses to be more agile and scalable.
Previously, companies built everything in-house, but the future will involve more specialised partners collaborating to enhance different aspects of financial services. This shift will give businesses more flexibility to test and adopt solutions as needed, rather than being locked into a single provider. The financial landscape is evolving rapidly, and adaptability will be key.
If your company were a superhero, what would its superpower be?
Time travel. Hands down.
We’d be the Timekeeper, able to leap forward to spot risk before it happens, or rewind to help customers course-correct when things go sideways. Sometimes we meet companies too late, when their financial options are already limited. Imagine if we could show up earlier, help them make better decisions, and support them before things get critical.
On the flip side, we could fast-forward to see how a customer might evolve over the next ten years, helping us tailor solutions with confidence. And let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want a few extra hours in the day?
Ultimately, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time to help businesses grow, stay resilient, and unlock opportunities without wasting time.
What advice would you give to small business owners considering financing?
One of the main pieces of advice I would give is: don’t wait until the last moment to secure financing. Many businesses assume they can get funding whenever they need it, but by the time they realise they require it, it may already be too late.
Think ahead, seek support, and educate yourself on financing options. Market conditions change constantly; what may be easy to access today could be significantly more difficult in a few months. Having a strategy and maintaining working capital can make all the difference in ensuring financial stability and growth.
Finally, how can businesses interested in CapitalBox’s SME financing options get in touch?
We’ve always been a digital-first company, so the easiest way to reach us is online at capitalbox.com. From there, businesses in any of our active markets can apply directly or find the right local contact.
If you would prefer to speak with someone? Then it's no problem, just give us a call, and one of our loan officers or credit experts will get back to you. We’re tech-driven, yes, but we’re also real people who care about your business.
Even with all the smart tools we use, we still believe in having real conversations. We want to understand where you are today and how we can support your growth. Whether it’s finding the right product or tailoring it to your needs, we’re here to make financing flexible, human, and accessible whenever you need it.
CapitalBox is redefining SME lending with faster, smarter, and more human financing. By combining cutting-edge technology with a deep understanding of entrepreneurs’ real-world needs, they make it easier for small businesses to access capital.
Through our partnership with CapitalBox, Enable Banking provides secure access to real-time financial data from business accounts across Europe. This open banking integration has helped CapitalBox reduce onboarding times from days or even weeks to just minutes, while improving fraud detection, compliance, and customer experience.
If you’re ready to start building a better lending journey with open banking, we’re ready to support you.