German billionaire Michael Gastauer has made a name for himself in the world of fintech. The successful entrepreneur launched his latest company, digital banking provider, Black Banx, in 2015. The London-headquartered service has 20 million customers out of 180 countries, operating on a completely remote basis with customers at the heart of its approach. Gastauer has used his years of studying and decades of experience to create the perfect borderless bank. Today, we spoke with Gastauer to learn more about what spurs him on, and what has made him a successful leader for two decades.
In a conversation prior to the interview, Gastauer commented on competitor Revolut. “Regulators aren’t playing along with their [Revolut’s] bid to claim a UK banking licence. It’s one of the reasons why I’m not worried about our customer bases crossing, Black Banx is in a stronger position when it comes to future outlook.”
Revolut, the UKs largest neobank has spent the last two years fighting for a bank licence. In the year that the company achieved profitability for the first time, Revolut unfortunately garnered criticism when a report unveiled three quarters of the firm’s revenue could not be verified with total satisfaction. The Bank of England, although not commenting on the proposed licence decline, are basically pushing for Revolut to act like a real bank before providing them the capabilities of a traditional bank.
As mentioned, Gastauer remains confident in his approach to business, ensuring that he will not fall into the same trap as Revolut. Michael, what is it about the way you lead Black Banx that makes you feel confident the company won’t fall at the hands of the media?
“A lot of it is to do with professionalism. Black Banx and I have been criticised in the past for being too mysterious with revenue and banking practices. I think this should be looked at as a positive rather than a negative – all of our financial statements are available on the website for transparency. Black Banx is run with a standard of practices that I hold in high regard, business documents are sent off to relevant authorities in the proposed time frame, any extra information is handed over and I’m always willing to provide information on myself and Black Banx to anyone that asks. Revolut fell short when their financial account reports were overdue for months.”
Have you always been interested in finance and technology?
“I’ve been interested in finance, especially gaining and understanding of money and revenue since an early age. When I was around 12, I had a discussion with my father about what I wanted to be when I grew up. We talked about a lot of different career prospects, but my heart was set on creating my own business, and I’m privileged to have accomplished that a few times over.”
We’ve explained that Black Banx is a digital bank with a large number of customers, but what exactly do you offer?
“Going into the creation process of Black Banx I was focused on making a bank that anyone can sign up to, whether they be lower income, wealthy individuals or businesses. We want to provide a financial service platform that helps to grow global markets by connecting people and businesses around the world with optimal ease, via SmartPhones and online, and this is something we have achieved. Black Banx currently offers a range of features, including the likes of budget tracking, easy sign up, and a debit card that can be used worldwide.”
Are you hopeful for the future of Black Banx?
“I am. We’ve got over 3,000 employees that work consistently to make Black Banx something to be proud of. We’ve already made consistent games in the saturated fintech market, so I suspect we’re only going to continue to grow.”
Full list of services offered by Black Banx:
- Private and business Group accounts in 28 FIAT and 2 crypto currencies
- International payments in 28 FIAT and 2 crypto currencies using local instant settlement systems where possible (e.g. FPS, SEPA instant credit, etc.)
- Inter platform instant payments in 28 FIAT and 2 crypto currencies
- Multi Currency Mastercard Debit Card (plastic and metal) + virtual cards
- Real time 24/7 currency exchange services
- Real time 24/7 crypto trading services
- Interest bearing savings accounts in EURO, USD, GBP, JPY
- Batch upload or API to execute large number of payments for business customers
You can sign up to Black Banx via www.blackbanx.com.
