This year has proven to possibly be the most eventful in financial technology’s considerably short but, pun intended, rich history. In only eight months in 2023, the fintech sector had seen the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the US’s push for stricter crypto currency regulations, the acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG by UBS Group AG, and the record-drop of Stripe and Klarna’s previous record-high valuations, to name a few.
The same can be said for London-based neobank Black Banx. The fully digital global banking platform founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer saw record increases in its total customers, with over six million new private accounts and half a million business accounts in only the first six months of 2023.
Earning the patronage of over seven million private customers in 2022, Black Banx has increased its onboarding rate by 33% since then. Currently onboarding more than 1.3 million new users per month, the company is on pace to have well over 30 million private customers by the end of the year.
The number of Black Banx’s SME clients has also increased by 16% overall and, notably, by as much as 28% in the Middle East and Africa region. The increase in business clients has been a positive growth indicator for Black Banx, and validates how its business offerings are proving to be extremely valuable, particularly with how it helps entrepreneurs avoid banking issues.
The unprecedented growth earned in only half a year has demonstrated Black Banx’s ability to continue an already rapid expansion into new territories.
“Especially with the recent launch of our West African branch in Liberia, we are seeing increased business growth in that region,” shares Regional Chief Executive Officer MEA, Jabari Walker.
Serving More by Offering More
Black Banx´s financial growth has already been very satisfying for its shareholders after the group announced its annual revenue for 2022 reaching US$1.1 billion. For the first half of 2023, its revenue grew by 47%, from US$680 million six months prior toUS$997 million as of this past June.
According to Group Chief Financial Officer Alexander Johnson, “Black Banx is well prepared to reach its annual revenue forecast for 2023 of US$1.9 billion and has a good chance to improve its profit margin even further.”
With record profit all but guaranteed, Michael Gastauer and Black Banx has begun setting its sights on expanding into offering credit and personal loans along with continuing its expansion efforts into more markets.
According to Reportlinker, The global personal loans market is forecasted to grow by US$476.25 billion during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 11.79% during the forecast period. Despite this, access to loan products may still not be all-encompassing.
Estimates from Experian and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggest, respectively, that nearly 10% of the population in the UK, and nearly 15% in the US, have thin files or no files (also described as “credit invisibles”) and lack access to affordable credit.
In developing economies, lack of access is even more substantial. According to the World Bank Global Financial Inclusion Index, more than 90% of people living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have little to no access to formal credit.
This is what Michael Gastauer sets out to change.
“Our aim has always been to achieve greater overall financial inclusion. When Black Banx was established, it first sought to increase the simplicity of online banking and dramatically reduce transaction times to achieve that. But as our success in doing so has grown, we feel compelled, if not responsible, to now do more.”
While Black Banx’s personal loan and credit products continue to be in development, what can be expected is how extensive the availability of these will be. The company offers private and business accounts in 28 FIAT currencies and two crypto currencies in 180 countries and counting, and any new innovations of financial offerings it launches can be expected to be made accessible in a similar manner.
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