Disruptive Banking

Today we speak with Sergio Cerro, CEO of Rebellion and Gin Gindre, Chief Operating Officer. Founded in 2017 by Alex Sagrado and Sergio Cerro, Rebellion has been a pioneer in the Spanish neobank space. It was the first Spanish neo-bank to get an e-money license, to offer Google and Apple Pay, and more recently to offer a personal Spanish IBAN to each user, which is an important step in its first objective to be the main account for Gen Zs in Spain. In addition, Rebellion users can also order a physical Mastercard and receive it in a few days, with which they can buy in any shop on and offline. Finally, users also enjoy instant transfers (P2P) within the Rebellion community. Mainly funded by Gala Capital, they have gone through 2 rounds of investments to raise close to 4 million euros. What was the idea that  led to  the creation of Rebellion ? We identified an opportunity to enter the market by focusing on generation Z (14-24 years old). It is a par...

It is because challenger banks and neo banks are bypassing traditional banking infrastructures that they experience an exponential growth. By offering financial service with no physical presence, where everything is digital, they disrupt the current status quo and offer differentiating products. However, as mentioned in our previous article “ Who are NeoBanks consumers? Weasked for you!” , 70% responded feeling secure with these banks, meaning that still a big proportion of people are still doubtful. Moreover, only 1/5 people said they were using their bank account to deposit their salary, and that they rather used it for immediate international transfers or crypto-currency trading. Most virtual banks do not possess regular banking licenses which means that they cannot offer credits, savings account or insurances as they do not have the same guarantees as traditional banks. As a result, strict banking regulations have arisen partly as a response to the customers’ new needs and thus ...

As a followup to our recent article "Bye bye bank manager"  we'll explore more of the new trend involving the world's largest banks that are focusing every day more in digitalizing their operations and key characteristics. They are investing large sums in innovation and online services. OCBC Bank Singapore is currently undergoing a $20 million program for human resources digital transformation, JP Morgan and Deutsche bank have their own Innovation labs with partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and other fintech startups. Many employees are being converted to a digital-centric role, new professional figures such as live chat agents or voice biometric specialists are arising. The main objective is to keep up with Neobanks that are disrupting the market at the moment by making use of a larger userbase for digital and online services. Traditional banks on their side have the advantage of many partnerships with major players in the consumer industry and also have a mu...

Declining physical branches and I ncreasing Machine Learning data software: NeoBanks lay the foundation of where customers want to become the better version of themselves when using financial services.  Challenger Banks like Starling , N26 , Monzo and Revolut are regarded as 'the' Fintech Unicorns . With Co Founders like Anne Boden (Starling) and Nikolay Storonsky (Revolut) both having experience working at banks, Nikolay as a trader at Lehman Brothers and Anne over 30 years in the financial industry in banking. They jumped in the niche of the market of where trust in incumbent banks was not sufficient enough in terms of prioritising customer needs through a high cost network, these unicorn platforms arose where their only priority is to focus on what the customer desires.  Credit: 11 Years - The Rise of UK Fintech, 2019 “ For many banks, it’s not like turning an aircraft. It’s turning around a floatation of aircraft. Legacy issues are hard. As new p...

Since 2005, the global financial service system has seen a changing landscape-the altered composition: a large proportion of the banking industry is now made up of players that did not exist a decade ago, especially in places like the UK. In Accenture ’ s 2017 report Start shifting: rapid evolution required , a survey shows that 63% of the British market was occupied by “ new players ” , a trend also seen in Canada (47%), Australia (38%) and the USA (19%). Benefiting from the wrecked reputation of high-street banks and the regulator ’ s favored treatment, neo banks have flourished in Britain. Now 9% of British adults and 15% of 18-to 23-year-olds now have a neo-bank account, according to a survey conducted by finder.com. A.T. Kearney also estimated in its European Retail Banking Radar 2019 that by 2023, Europe ’ s neo banks could have up to 85 million customers — about 20 percent of the population over the age of 14. On the opposite side of those brilliant new play...