Saturday, 20 April 2024
NEON launches a new approach to banking with no fees
São Paulo -- NEON, an online bank with no monthly or annual fees, will break new ground in the banking sector by promising to help customers better manage their financial lives. The bank launched throughout Brazil on July 11th.
Under the stewardship of 24-year-old entrepreneur Pedro Conrade, NEON was founded on a promise to leave behind the frustrations that have plagued the traditional brick-andmortar banking industry, including long lines, bureaucracy, and hidden fees. The company is an evolution of Contro.ly, a FinTech company founded in 2014 with approximately 10,000 customers. NEON’s goal is to reach 100,000 active customers in its first year of operation.
“My distaste with the traditional banking model started after a disastrous experience during international travel where my bank didn’t bother to help me through a tough situation. It was then that I realized I was just another number to them,” says Pedro.
This new online, mobile bank will target millennials. Accounts can only be accessed through a smartphone application. Instead of authenticating with a username and password, customers will take a selfie to use facial biometrics, ensuring greater convenience and security. After opening an account, customers will be issued two Visabranded debit cards — both a physical and a virtual card. The physical card will be used for point-of-sale purchases at retail locations while the virtual card will be used for online purchases. NEON will not offer lines of credit, acting as an ally in their customer’s financial management and unburdening them from a life of debt. “Most people who get into debt with credit cards are just a month late paying their bills. They just need to better organize themselves financially. At NEON, we want to help our customers save money and live within their means by making purchases with money they already have in the bank rather than amassing additional debt and paying off cards in monthly installments,” says Pedro.
NEON plans to be fully transparent with their rates and will not impose fixed monthly fees. A customer’s first withdrawal and interbank transfer will be free of charge. Starting with the second interbank transfer, transactions will have a flat fee of R$3.50 ($1.05 USD), far below charges incurred by traditional banks that can reach up to R$15.50 ($4.67 USD). After opening their digital account customers will be able to check their balance, make transfers, pay bills, receive payments, categorize their spending habits, and create financial goals to analyze investment performance with higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts.
As a way to position themselves more concretely, NEON launched an online survey named: “How Much Does Your Bank Cost?” By means of a questionnaire with simple questions such as ‘What is your monthly income?’, ‘How old are you?’, ‘For how long have you been a bank customer?’, among others, the results show that as time goes by, money spent on banking fees would be sufficient to travel abroad, pay university tuition, or buy other goods and services.
“We are a bank founded by young people conceived for a new generation of banking customer. Our focus is to encourage sound financial planning and education to ensure that the youth of this country will not start their lives in debt,” explains Pedro.
NEON will be the first bank in Brazil to use biometric authentication for transactions within the application. Customers will use facial recognition to access their account and to perform additional transactions, such as transfers and payments. When the customers sign up they will enroll in biometric authentication with their mobile device by taking a selfie that will be used for future registration and authentications.
Biometrics were implemented to improve the customer experience and also provide a greater level of security. NEON enlisted the help of American company Daon and incorporated their IdentityX® Platform for biometric authentication. Daon uses this same technology to secure nations and borders in locations such as airports.
“Daon works with some of the most innovative brands in the financial services industry and we’re excited to be working with NEON to provide their customers with a superior user experience through the use of biometrics,” said Tom Grissen, CEO at Daon. “Convenient and secure authentication has become critical in today’s digital economy as customers embrace their smartphone as the preferred device to do business online.”
“NEON is like a bank, only different. We offer all of the services that people expect from a bank only conducted through our mobile application. Our goal is to simplify the financial lives of our customers, concludes Pedro Conrade.
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
