Table of Contents
- 0.1 Cooperations in all directions
- 0.2 Kaspar& cultivates B2C and promotes B2B: the latter now with Liberty
- 0.3 The 3a app should be able to do much more in the future
- 0.4 Why does a FinTech become a BaaS provider?
- 0.5 A plea from Kaspar& for cooperation: FinTech for everyone – or how the hunted could become hunters
- 1 FinTechs?
This call comes from FinTech Kaspar&, which does not hide in its FinTech garden, but rather shares its technology with classic banks.
The FinTech Kaspar& is a mixture of investment app and neo-bank. The FinTech offers customers an account and card, but primarily relies on the change from card payments, which is continuously and directly invested in savings plans and securities. Kaspar& thus creates a low-threshold and “painless” introduction to the topic of investing for broad sections of the population.
Kaspar& also incorporated this approach of investing with small amounts into its own Pillar 3a solution, which the FinTech launched in mid-2023.
Cooperations in all directions
As an investment app and neo-bank, the FinTech Kaspar& has no reservations and cooperates with established players in the classic financial industry – in different directions.
For example, Kaspar& partners with Kreditarbank Lenzburg, which is the banking partner for accounts and deposits. And with the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank BLKB, which has a minority stake in the FinTech boat. Or with Avaloq, which led the last financing round for 2.5 million francs and is integrating the Kaspar& app into its core banking system in order to provide banks with easy access to FinTech technology.
Also in the game is Acrevis Bank, which, as a BaaS provider, has adopted the technology of investing with small amounts via digital change as an embedded finance solution from Kaspar&.
Kaspar& cultivates B2C and promotes B2B: the latter now with Liberty
Kaspar& maintains its own B2C business and also uses its own technology to promote B2B business, which involves other banks and financial service providers.
What FinTech did last year with Acrevis Bank for a new investment app is now coming in the next edition with the pension app for Liberty.
As an independent pension platform in Switzerland, Liberty already serves over 50,000 Swiss pension customers in the areas of pillar 3a, vested benefits, BVG and 1e. Now Liberty is taking a further step in the digitalization of its offering and is launching its new pension app MyLiberty using Kaspar& technology.
The focus of the solution is above all on simple, clear and intuitive operation, which opens up pension provision to all those who previously had no access to the topic – or who see the topic of pension provision as complicated and cumbersome. This is achieved through an additional special feature: In contrast to other purely digital pension apps, Liberty also offers personal advice.
This means that customers can access and control their pension product 3a fully digitally, but can also receive free advice and support in person at any time if they wish. This makes MyLiberty the first app solution that is not only easily and digitally controlled, but also includes a human advisory service.
The 3a app should be able to do much more in the future
The ambitions for the future are even greater; Kaspar& and Liberty want to significantly expand the app beyond the pure 3a offering:
In the medium term, Kaspar& would like to position the solution as a one-stop shop for all pension provision, which, in addition to 3a, also offers the option of controlling vested benefits and BVG pension plans. In addition, the FinTech also has the option of being able to seamlessly invest saved pension assets upon retirement
The current project is a good example of cooperation in two directions. Kaspar& has been cooperating with Liberty since 2023 on its own integrated 3a solution in the classic Kaspar& savings plan app. Kaspar& is now making technology and know-how available to the pension specialist Liberty for the digital pension app MyLiberty.
In both cases, one has what the other needs. Through meaningful collaborations, new doors open for everyone involved.
Why does a FinTech become a BaaS provider?
The question, “When is a technology too good for a single FinTech?”in addition to Kaspar&, other neo-banks, neo-brokers and FinTechs such as Yapeal, Wise, Bitpanda, Descartes and others have answered for themselves and for the entire financial industry.
With significant investments, these FinTechs have developed applications that can be used to perfectly organize their own and direct B2C business for end customers. Apparently so perfect that the same technology could be of great use to other companies and banks. And also for FinTech with existing software.
The benefits for everyone involved are obvious. As a BaaS provider, FinTech provides technology and thereby generates additional income or indirectly new customers. As an embedder, a bank or the respective financial service provider can provide its customers with the services or apps they want within a very short period of time, without having to cost-intensively develop technology and apps from scratch.
A plea from Kaspar& for cooperation:
FinTech for everyone – or how the hunted could become hunters
Kaspar&’s consideration goes beyond monetary and income-related aspects.
Kaspar&’s basic belief is that the interaction between established financial institutions and FinTechs can bring new and exciting solutions to the market. Solutions that not only significantly improve the service quality of existing institutions, but also make them more competitive compared to new players such as Revolut or other neo-banks.
The case with Acrevis is an example for banks. MyLiberty shows that this concept can also be transferred to other market participants.
Kaspar&’s belief: If the collaboration between FinTechs and renowned market participants continues to consolidate, this could be a real game changer. Because, according to FinTech, banks and pension providers will no longer just stand on the sidelines and watch as new players like Revolut permanently threaten their customer base.
Through these collaborations, traditional banks and financial service providers themselves build additional and strong customer loyalty, which will make it more difficult for new participants to establish themselves.
This is particularly strengthened, Kaspar& emphasizes, by the fact that the development of cooperation projects, in contrast to in-house developments, can be implemented in just a few months. Lengthy and expensive internal processes can be bypassed. As an example: the MyLiberty solution was completely redeveloped, tested and finally went live by Kaspar& in just 3 months.
FinTechs?
: As a website editor for world-today-news.com, I would be delighted to set up an interview with two guests about the article “This FinTech shares its technology with classic banks”. Our guests for the interview would be:
1. Patrick Stähelin, Co-Founder and CEO of Kaspar&
2. Lars Braendle, CEO of Liberty
Prepared questions for the interview are as follows:
Section 1: Cooperation Between FinTechs and Traditional Financial Institutions
1. How has the collaboration between FinTechs like Kaspar& and traditional financial institutions like Liberty been beneficial for both parties?
2. In what ways do you think such cooperations can revolutionize the financial industry?
3. What challenges did you face during the process of integrating Kaspar&’s technology into Liberty’s pension app? And how were they overcome?
Section 2: Future Plans for MyLiberty App
1. What are the long-term plans for the MyLiberty app? How do you envision it evolving into a one-stop-shop for all pension-related matters?
2. Do you foresee any other collaborations between Kaspar& and Liberty in the future?
3. How important is the human touch in the digital era of pension provision?
Section 3: BaaS Business Model and Its Benefits
1. What led Kaspar& to adopt the BaaS model as a service provider?
2. How is Kaspar&’s experience as a BaaS provider different from being a pure FinTech?
3. Can you share any other examples where Kaspar& has successfully provided its technology to other financial institutions?
Section 4: Competition and Customer Loyalty
1. How do you view the competition from other neobanks and FinTechs in the market?
2. Do you think the collaboration between FinTechs and traditional financial institutions can help retain customers better than standalone services?
3. What is the key to maintaining customer loyalty in the face of new competitors in the industry?
Section 5: Concluding Thoughts
1. What message does this collaboration send to other traditional financial institutions who might be hesitant to work with