Jenius Bank has surpassed $2 billion in deposits by focusing on “evolved banking” — providing personalized financial insights through account aggregation while eliminating fees to help customers gain financial confidence and make better decisions. John Rosenfeld, President of Jenius Bank, a division of SMBC MANUBANK said, “We developed two concepts within a paradigm, if you will, where there’s core banking, which is what every bank does, allows you to put money with them, allows you to go online, see how much you have, see how much you’re earning, allows you to move money in and out, review your statements, read your terms and conditions, all that stuff that every bank does. We call that core banking. We developed the concept of evolved banking, which encompasses everything beyond core features that not every bank offers. And we grouped all this into something we call the Jenius views. So, if you download our mobile app, you’ll find this tab at the bottom. And within this space, you’re able to link your accounts from other banks, other brokerages. You can view credit cards and your entire financial picture in one place. Again, this allows the consumer to give us access to their other information, enabling us to consolidate and provide them with valuable insights. While there are some banks that are doing this, what we call aggregation services, many of them are doing it to gain a view of the customer’s financial situation and then potentially use that information to try to figure out what else they can sell them. We took a different approach. We said, what if we used all that information to actually give customers insights and help them avoid fees, making smarter and more confident financial decisions? Now, why would a bank do such a thing that’s not necessarily going to bolster their profits? We thought about this and concluded that if we could establish a new level of trust with consumers, the next time they have a financial need, we hope they’ll come back to us first. The idea that money is such an emotional driver that it has nothing to do with how much you make or don’t make, but rather whether you are making good decisions. With the capabilities that are evolving in the data space and analytics and machine learning and AI, if a consumer gives someone full access to every penny that they have and not access to move the money, but access to the information, think of how much you can do with technology to identify those things that you may not have noticed. The lack of fees on our savings or a loan product was really driven by wanting to create something better and more compelling than what’s available in the industry. We created a bank that’s incredibly efficient because we don’t have buildings, we don’t have paper, we don’t mail things. So, we don’t spend any money on postage. The target was really what we call high-potential digital optimizers. And we call it that because high potential means they’re going somewhere and are ambitious. They want to progress in building a better lifestyle and achieving more.
Monzo to pitch proposition in U.S market to address anxiety and ignorance about personal finances and management
Monzo is still synonymous with its neon debit cards, extensive use of emojis, and free spending abroad. But it’s no longer just trying to be cool; it’s trying to become a major financial institution. That shift, from an upstart fintech beloved by millennials into a mature, sustainable business, is what makes this year a likely turning point. Despite signs that Monzo is preparing to go public – along with new reports that something is in the works – Monzo CEO TS Anil wouldn’t confirm that Monzo is listing this year. He suggested the building blocks are in place, though: profitability, product breadth, and just the right amount of AI. The numbers help tell the story. Monzo posted its first annual profit last year. In its 2024 annual report, it claimed 9.3 million personal account holders and more than 400,000 business customers. It’s also no longer reliant on interchange fees and overdrafts; lending, subscriptions, and business banking are now meaningful revenue streams. All this comes after a period marked by regulatory scrutiny and leadership turnover, developments that forced the company to grow up fast. It has also become more disciplined about its growing product lineup. Monzo’s customers can now invest in mutual funds powered by BlackRock, for example, and track their existing mortgages from other lenders in their Monzo app. When questioned about U.S. expansion and the competitive landscape, Anil downplayed the challenge. “I think there are a few universal truths that apply,” he said. “Most people feel anxiety about their money, and that anxiety is independent of affluence . . . The second thing that holds true is that the incumbent industry has been built off of arbitraging customers and leveraging, in some fashion, customers’ ignorance. Those are the insights that are helping us create the best features that would make sense in the U.S.; that’s the way we intend to double down.”
Slash is leveraging AI coding tools to create customized financial tools for niche industries such as marketing, construction, and cryptocurrency- virtual client accounts, gas-only employee cards, and integrations with popular accounting platforms
Slash is a fintech company that offers business banking accounts tailored to specific entrepreneurs’ needs. The company provides business checking accounts with funds held at FDIC-insured banks, detailed spending analytics dashboards, free or low-cost wire and ACH transfers, easy access to lending options, and unlimited virtual cards. These cards can be configured with specific spending limits, merchants, and merchant categories to prevent unauthorized or erroneous employee purchases. Slash also offers add-ons built for particular industries, such as an app store for banking, designed to address the unique pain points of different types of businesses. For example, marketing agencies can create virtual accounts for each client, allowing both parties to see the remaining balance and trigger automatic billing for more marketing funds. Slash also enables businesses to restrict cards to fuel purchases and ties each transaction to a specific driver or vehicle. The company also offers an API for custom dashboards, trigger payments through internal systems, or automatically transfer funds to vendors when goods are sold.