Satchel at the Lithuania-US Business Forum in Miami: Opening the EU gateway for US companies
For US companies looking to Europe, the opportunity is significant. So is the complexity of getting there.
The European Union offers access to more than 450 million consumers and some of the world’s largest economies. But entering the market means navigating a different financial ecosystem: new payment rails, multiple currencies, regulatory requirements, and the practical challenge of building financial operations that can work across borders.
Lithuania has emerged as one of the places helping international businesses bridge that gap. Over the past decade, the country has built a strong fintech ecosystem and established itself as a base for companies looking to operate across the EU.
That opportunity was at the center of Satchel’s recent visit to Miami, where we represented Lithuania as part of the country’s business delegation at the Lithuania-US Business Forum.
Our ambition is clear: to build stronger relationships with US companies and help those looking toward Europe access the payment infrastructure they need to operate and grow here.
Satchel joins Lithuania’s business delegation in Miami
The Lithuania-US Business Forum brought together companies, policymakers, and business organizations with a shared objective of strengthening economic ties between the two countries and creating new opportunities for cooperation.
We joined the Lithuanian delegation as part of the country’s fintech community, meeting US businesses and partners to discuss opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.
For Lithuania, building stronger commercial relationships with the US is an important part of its international growth story. For Satchel, there is an equally important opportunity in the other direction.
US businesses increasingly operate internationally from an early stage. Customers, suppliers, teams, and partners rarely sit neatly within one market. When Europe becomes part of that picture, companies need more than market access. They need the financial infrastructure to support it. Satchel was built to deliver exactly that.
From market entry to actually operating in Europe
One of the most valuable conversations during the visit took place at a dedicated fintech side event organized by the Lithuanian Fintech Association and Innovation Agency Lithuania together with Miami Fintech Club.
Satchel joined Ria Money Transfer, INFOBALT, Invest Lithuania, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, Technology.lt, and other members of the US and Lithuanian fintech communities to discuss licensing, passporting, embedded finance, and opportunities for closer cooperation. These may sound like distinct topics, but they all point to the same challenge: building the infrastructure to enable companies to operate effectively across European markets.
Every day, businesses navigate a web of complexity when operating internationally. They might be receiving payments from customers in one country, paying suppliers in another, managing several currencies, or integrating European payment capabilities into their own product. As operations become more global, relying on infrastructure designed primarily for a domestic setup can quickly create unnecessary complexity.
For US companies considering an expansion into Europe, thinking about that financial infrastructure early can help significantly streamline operational processes.
Lithuania’s strategic advantage for companies looking toward Europe
Lithuania has become an important part of Europe’s fintech landscape by building an ecosystem designed around international financial services. Its position within the European Union is central to that story. Companies operating from Lithuania are part of the wider European economic and payments environment, with connections to markets well beyond the country itself.
For an international business, this makes Lithuania much more than a market of three million people – it can be a practical point of entry into a much larger European opportunity.
The country has also developed deep expertise around payments and fintech, supported by an ecosystem spanning private companies, government entities, industry, and investors.
For US companies designing their approach to the European market, having partners already embedded in that environment matters. Expansion becomes less about piecing together the regulatory and operational puzzle market by market and more about establishing a straightforward foundation that can support the business as it grows – faster.
Satchel’s ambition: connecting US businesses to Europe
Satchel was built in Lithuania, with an international outlook and expansion-oriented mindset from day one.
We provide payment infrastructure for companies operating across borders, helping businesses make complicated and layered transactions simple. That puts us in a natural position to support US companies as they establish and grow their European operations.
The exact requirements will depend on the business. For some, the priority might be accessing European payment rails, while for others, it could mean managing multiple currencies, issuing cards, or integrating payment capabilities into an existing product through embedded finance.
What matters is building the right infrastructure for the way the company actually operates.
And this is where we see a significant opportunity
We want Satchel to be a European payments partner for ambitious US businesses: combining our position within Lithuania’s advanced fintech ecosystem with the infrastructure and expertise companies need to operate across the EU.
Our participation in the Lithuania-US Business Forum was another step toward building those relationships – not only representing Lithuania’s fintech sector abroad, but making it clear that Satchel is open for business with companies on the other side of the Atlantic.
Building stronger connections
Thank you to the Lithuanian Fintech Association, Innovation Agency Lithuania, and Miami Fintech Club for bringing the two business communities together, and to everyone who joined the conversations in Miami.
The forum reinforced something we see increasingly clearly: there is a real opportunity to build stronger commercial connections between the US and Lithuania and, through Lithuania, between US businesses and the wider European market.
We intend to be part of building that bridge.
Planning your European expansion?
If Europe is on your roadmap, the right payments infrastructure can give you a stronger foundation from day one.
Talk to Satchel about how we can support your business as you enter and grow across the European market.
