iBAN Wallet

Market

Target market

We want to tap into the already large number of people in the UK, Europe and the US who are disillusioned with the traditional banking system and are waiting to embrace an alternative finance solution that gives them better control over their money.

Savers in the UK alone hold over £700bn in their bank accounts earning very little interest, as well as 13 million people who invest in an ISA (either Cash or Stocks and Shares) - many of these people are looking for a way to earn a larger return on their money, which iBAN Wallet can offer.

iBAN Wallet is for anyone who wants quick access to loans of any size. The traditional barrier to microloans is accessibility, and the time-consuming nature of applying for a loan - with this process in the palm of your hand, and the reception of the money potentially immediate, this barrier is removed.

Applying for loans is a process long requiring modernisation; it is manual and time consuming, due to its lack of automation. The iBAN Wallet brings speed and usability to a previously notoriously clumsy process. Using iBAN Wallet requires only a mobile phone - in 2014, 80% of adults in developing nations had mobile subscriptions. By 2020, it is projected that 90% of these adults will own a mobile phone. We believe this market is present in every country, and we want to gain their business by providing a quick, easy and reliable system that they can access from anywhere.

Characteristics of target market

Our target market has become known as the Crowdlending marketplace or "Sharing Economy". The concept of this Crowdlending model was launched by Zopa in the UK 11 years ago, who have now lent more than £1.8bn of consumers money, and have a valuation of £500m. A Morgan Stanley study estimates that the global marketplace for Crowdlending will reach $290Bn by 2020, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 51% from 2014-2020.

But we want to go further, accessing the massive global market of mobile phone users. A study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that digital finance can provide access to financial services for 1.6 billion people in emerging economies for the first time, a market that is not currently being tapped.

Marketing strategy

Our successful crowdfunding campaigns have built an initial customer base of iBAN investors in the UK, Germany and Spain. We will continue to use this strategy in each new country we enter.

Following this, some of those customers have become brand Ambassadors, increasing brand awareness and gaining commission for referrals. We are growing this sales network to include Financial Advisors, who will leverage their experience in locating new customers in each target country to find and advise lenders on the best investment option for them.

The core of a Sharing Economy is social interaction - we intend to focus the bulk of our marketing effort on social media platforms, driving custom to our business through the creation of high quality content, market-leading products and SEO optimisation; building our corporate identity.

We have gathered a committed team of talented individuals, with a wealth of expertise in finance and technology:

1) Web Developer - landing page, pop ups and website in English for UK investors.
2) Video Designer - to prepare informational videos on iBAN Wallet.
3) API Integrator - to integrate mailing, HootSuite, Zendesk and automations for the first communication with investors.
4) Investor Relationship Manager UK.
5) Investor Relationship Manager in Spain, France & Germany.
6) Four Community Managers - creating social media communities to attract the attention of investors.

Competition strategy

The iBAN Wallet is the first application to our knowledge to deliver this suite of financial Sharing Economy functionality.

By providing this functionality in a mobile phone application, we have a competitive advantage over other Crowdlending platforms, who do not offer the same level of comprehensive money management for lenders, and do not offer loans in many of our target countries.

Our other primary competitor is the traditional finance system (banks, co-operatives, etc.), who do not consistently match the rates of peer-to-peer lenders, on either investments or loans, due to their outdated business models.