SMEs are the lifeblood of the Maltese economy. But in the last year, these businesses have been particularly exposed to inflation, low economic growth and higher wage costs. With the Budget expected on October 30, many local businesses will be watching tentatively to see what impact this has for them.

At wamo, we’ve spent the last few years trying to make life easier for small business owners in Malta as they navigate a challenging macroeconomic climate. We’ve been providing the tools to help them manage their finances and grow their business. To support the SME community further, we’ve just launched a new campaign which enables our customers to earn one per cent cashback when they pay their taxes to the Maltese government using a wamo debit card.

Whether it be paying VAT, income tax, corporate tax or social security contributions for employees, local businesses have multiple financial interactions with the government. With our new campaign, SMEs can get rewarded for meeting all of these tax obligations. This also includes payments to the government beyond taxes, such as paying for fines or various other fees.

We’re really excited because it’s going to help put money right back into the pockets of Maltese small business owners. For instance, if your business makes substantial tax payments totaling €550,000 in October, wamo will credit your account with €5,500 by the end of November. And there’s no maximum limit.

The focus at wamo right from the start has been to remove the obstacles in the way of SMEs so that they can thrive.

What businesses decide to do with the cashback is up to them. Whether they choose to channel it into operational enhancements, strategic investments or bolstering liquidity, the cashback acts as a versatile and vital tool to strengthen their financial position.

The campaign runs until August 31, 2024 and is open to both our existing and new customers who apply for a wamo digital business account, which can be done in as little as 24 hours. Businesses can create a virtual Visa debit card in the app and then opt to make all of their government payments by debit card to start earning. It’s really that simple.

Our focus at wamo right from the start has been to remove the obstacles in the way of SMEs so that they can thrive. With potential new tax rules for corporations expected to form part of the upcoming Budget proposals, we hope this new campaign can help offset any costs like this for small businesses.

Beyond this campaign, we’ve been working tirelessly this year to open more doors for SMEs to fuel their success. We’ve built our marketplace, wamo Connect, which provides instant access to a network of partners. We’re connecting our customers with accountancy platforms and domain hosts to marketing agencies and CRM systems at discounted rates, while also giving them the option to list their own services on the marketplace. It’s a unique system and it’s designed to give SMEs everything they need to get started and run their business effectively.

What we’ve got our sights on next is a credit offering for SMEs to complement our digital business account services. More and more, what we are seeing is that the traditional banks are pulling back from lending to these businesses. We are in dire need of a new approach to short term credit that is fast and flexible to see small businesses through this period of economic uncertainty.

We’re always evolving in line with the needs of our customers and our ambition is to be the growth partner of choice for SMEs. We’re going to be laser focused on fixing some of the big problems small businesses in Malta face in the next 12 months. This new cashback campaign is one step in that journey.