Starting a Bank in 2025

Starting your own bank has never been easier. The aftermath of the FinTech revolution left us with a myriad of options for every single part of banking operations. Be it a payment module, an AML and Anti Fraud solution, a card issuing and processing capability or even a Core Banking  - you can assemble a bank in million of different ways.

Despite the fact that building a bank became rather easy in the last decade, the abundance of choice combined with difficulties of navigating the regulatory landscape requires a lot of effort to make the right choices. On top of that the lack of clear solution descriptions and pricing transparency make the whole process unclear and nerve-racking. 

Many new bankers underestimate the regulatory scrutiny a bank has to undergo for it to not be plagued by the fines and regulatory limitations. Freshly baked FinTech moguls attack the market head on pushing the problems farther away in hope to get big enough to hire the right people that can work the problems away. Some of the very successful Neobanks and FinTechs have to go though hire-and-fire cycle of former Security Officers from established banks before they acknowledge the fact that the regulatory aspects have to be baked into their products.

We’ve seen it more than once that a Neobank is fined by the regulator for not complying or misinterpreting the AML and CFT policies. It’s not only the high fines but sometimes complete bans to on-board new customers that are put on the FinTech unicorns. All that doesn’t contribute to the trust in new banks that they so desperately need for their customers to deposit large sums of their wealth into their bank accounts. Shiny metal cards and innovative products with cashbacks, rewards and above the market interest rates do not magically remove the trust issues. 

I’m all for innovation and the user experience but the companies dealing with money have to get their basics straight. Their main priority in the very beginning of their journey must be choosing the right building blocks for their product without compromising on the compliance and regulations and still being able to build a strong and future-proof backend that will adapt to the needs of the market and scale with their customer acquisition.

Making the right choices from the get go ensures the profitability and success in the future. You don’t have to be a non profitable unicorn when you can be a very well built small bank with strong financial indicators.