Introducing Avuba
Yes, we’re building a bank. Crazy, huh?
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At Avuba our mission is to fix banking. For many, this is somewhat vague. I personally think that given their vast resources, banks haven’t spend enough time building great products for customers lately. Especially in Germany, I am missing mobile apps that are on par with what one can expect from the Facebooks and Googles of this world. I am determined to change that.
Looking back at the last twelve months I can’t believe how far we have come. We’ve not only built a product that our team is using almost every day. We also have a whole lot of people that are eager to get what we’ve built. Everyday someone is coming to the office to signup even though we haven’t yet launched. Mainstream media loves what we are doing and I am proud of our investors who believe in us.
But we are also fighting challenges every day. Like every other FinTech Startup, we have to deal with old banking infrastructure and bureaucracy quite a lot. Crazy processes, regulations and partners we would have never dreamed of. Sometimes we even have to deal with our own stupidity. ;)
You know what keeps me going? Even though processes, regulation and bureaucracy are huge obstacles, building a bank and issuing bank accounts is being done every day. So why shouldn’t we be able to do it, too?
A friend of mine puts it this way:
“Regulation is like a huge elephant. It’s too big to swallow, but if you keep eating relentlessly, one day you are done.”
Many people told me that we can’t build a bank. I would say building a great product is more difficult than building a bank. After all, there is a clear path to building a bank where there is no clear path to building a great product.
The same goes for acquiring bank customers: Banks pay hundreds of Euros to get customers. But since people value simplicity, transparency and mobility it is a no-brainer what makes people switch banks: Simplicity, transparency and mobility.
It’s not about what can’t be done — it’s about finding a way while remaining realistic.
So, what are we building? First, we make sending money to friends super easy. Out with your friends and your wallet is empty? Ask someone else to pay and send the money back straight away. No ATM within reach? Send 20 bucks to your friends and get the cash from them on the spot. Remembered you owe someone money? No need to write it down and wait until you’re at your PC. Super easy payments will be pushed out to a broader audience in a couple of weeks. We are testing it internally and we are surprised by how often we actually use it.
But sending money to your friends easily is only a taste. We already have selected test users using the fully functional bank account with credit & debits cards. It won’t be long before everyone gets one. ;)
It is a super long way to actually fix banking. I am super excited and determined to follow through. If banks don’t do it, we have to do it!
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Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your feedback via email or twitter.
Jonas
Co-Founder & CEO
