Payment Industry Blog

Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mariia Lukash, Revolut’s Head of Growth for CEE - a true powerhouse in fintech with over six years of experience in digital strategy and growth. After an impressive five years at Google, where she managed portfolios for major global fintech clients, she now leads Revolut's expansion across the region.

The fintech industry can be a crowded place. As it continues to grow and evolve, staying updated on the latest trends and innovations becomes more important than ever. LinkedIn is a goldmine for discovering influential thought leaders who provide valuable insights, news, and ideas that shape the sector.

With technology slowly progressing, data is starting to be at the heart of every transaction, decision, and strategy within banking. Whether it’s recommending financial products to users or automating decision-making processes, banks rely on data to understand their customers and provide a seamless experience. But what happens when the data is inaccurate?

Digital banking has advanced considerably, but like in any other industry, many myths and misconceptions are floating around. These often cloud understanding and limit the adoption of new technologies and ways to level up digital banking.

Maintaining customer loyalty has always been and should always be a key priority for financial institutions. With many banks offering similar services and rates, it is imperative to differentiate yourself by creating a unique and satisfying experience tailored to your customers.

Today, the financial world is all about mobile-first convenience. Opening a new account has never been easier. Yet, while an efficient account-opening process gets your foot in the door, it doesn't guarantee a meaningful and, most importantly, long-lasting relationship. The real challenge lies in ensuring that new customers don’t just open an account and fade into inactivity but instead evolve into loyal, profitable clients.

Digital banking is more than just keeping up with technology—it's about understanding what customers need and delivering real value. Michal Plzák, Head of Digital Banking at Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic, has been doing just that for over 20 years.

I’m Ondřej Machač, a FinTech enthusiast with a passion for pushing the boundaries of financial technology. I currently manage over 15 bank accounts across the EU, constantly testing them to stay on top of the latest trends in banking and fintech. I regularly share my insights in Fintree, the largest FinTech magazine in the Czech Republic, which I founded. Additionally, I work at Roger, one of the largest Czech fintech companies, which closely collaborates with banks.

Personal Finance Management is designed to help consumers track their spending, set budgets, and achieve their financial goals, but in the past years, it has become much more than that. Digital banks like bunq or Tomorrow are starting to offer additional features to help customers see how their spending affects the environment around them. We are talking about checking your carbon footprint with a breakdown of spending categories, savings pockets or category restrictions for better control of your finances.

User experience (UX) in digital banking isn't merely about good aesthetics. It's deeply rooted in science and psychology, governed by established laws that guide user interactions and decision-making. Here are 11 key UX laws, explained with examples relevant to digital banking applications.

Today, convenience and instant access to information is what makes or breaks the service. Banking has transitioned from paper statements and bank tellers to seamless digital experiences. A bank's primary touchpoint with its customers is through transaction detail – a very core of financial transparency and personal finance management. But what makes transaction details insightful and why do they matter so much?

The total number of digital banking customers now stands at approximately 1.1 billion worldwide, and 20 neobanks now serve 10 million or more customers (and 39 with more than 5 million), placing several of them among the top 5 or 10 largest banks in their country. This article summarizes the best of "How to Build a Digital Bank", a detailed guide to building a digital bank, and insights from The Reality of Building a Digital Bank webinar. To complement this narrative and provide a real-world perspective, we present an article on the reality of building a digital bank.

For almost any app in the modern digital age, app store reviews are key to success. They serve as a public measure of your app’s quality and can significantly impact user acquisition and retention. Digital banking is no different. According to a survey by Alchemer, 77% of consumers read at least one review before downloading a free app, and 80% of users will not download an app if they see negative reviews about its performance. Furthermore, research indicates that users are more likely to write a review after a negative experience than a positive one.

Switching banks is more common than one might think. According to a satisfaction survey conducted by J.D. Power, nearly 13% of consumers are expected to switch their primary bank this year. The most common reasons for this shift include high fees, poor customer service, lack of convenient digital banking features, and better offers from competitors. Is there a way to be a part of the client's life journey indefinitely? Let's find out.

Travelling is becoming more popular and digital each year. According to a recent UNWTO survey, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 5% in 2023, reaching 1.4 billion travellers globally. As travel becomes more active, the role of digital banking is evolving accordingly to meet the needs of modern explorers. From seamless transactions to personalised financial services, digital banking is pushing the travel experience to a new level.

For many decades, credit scoring has built the foundation of financial risk assessment and provided banks and other financial institutions with a quantitative view of a borrower's creditworthiness. Traditionally, credit scores are derived from a combination of factors that include payment history, credit utilization, the length of credit history, types of credit used, and recent credit inquiries. These data points offer a very narrow window into the financial behavior of a borrower and often lead to misjudgments in lending decisions. A modern answer to this is smart data. Or, more precisely, enriched data.

Chargebacks are an important tool providing clients with the ability to dispute transactions and reclaim funds. These happen when a client contacts their bank to reverse a transaction, often because they believe the transaction was unauthorized, fraudulent, or incorrect. Chargebacks themselves also present significant challenges for merchants, banks, and fintech companies, often resulting in substantial financial losses. And the rise of digital banking has only magnified the importance of efficient chargeback management. With many automation tools available, banks need to understand that prevention is often the cheapest and smartest option available, making clear payment history more important than ever.

According to the German Mobile Banking App Review 2024, 60% of German consumers prefer using their banking app to manage their finances, with nearly one in three sending money via the app at least once a month. This shift towards digital solutions highlights the increasing trust and dependency on mobile banking, driven by both convenience and necessity. So, what are the most popular features that are available to users, and how is the digital market following trends?

Following the updates to the AI Act, it’s essential for banks to ensure their AI systems comply with these new regulations. This guide breaks down the process into manageable steps, making it straightforward for digital banking experts to follow and ensure compliance.

As banking gets more digital, the need for simplification and automation is becoming more apparent. A significant part of that leads to the adoption of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)in banking. While APIs have been here for a long time, the current surge in digital banking is driven by the demand for real-time payment solutions, advances in open banking regulations, and the necessity for enhanced customer engagement.

As digitalization progresses across markets, a new generation of banks is becoming increasingly popular. We are talking about digital banks, or neobanks, if you will. These banks operate entirely online, offering a suite of financial services without the need for physical branches. APIs, like those from the TapiX team, have been playing a major role in this shift, enabling seamless integration and functionality that enhance user experience and operational efficiency. Let's dive deeper into the process of building a digital bank in 2024.

Automated Teller Machines have evolved significantly since their introduction in the 1960s. Initially designed to dispense cash outside banking hours, ATMs now offer a range of services, from depositing checks to transferring money between accounts. Today, there are over 3.5 million ATMs worldwide that are visited by users on average at least 8-10 times a month. Even cryptocurrency ATMs are on the rise, with more than 39 000 used worldwide.

Developer experience (DX) is all about making tools and services easy to use, well-documented, and supportive of developers' needs. A positive developer experience leads to:

With the implementation of the EU AI Act providing a regulatory framework for ethical and responsible AI adoption, banks and financial institutions are starting to pay close attention. What exactly is AI used for in modern banking? Let's dive into different use cases and what it means for banks.

The way we handle financial transactions has evolved significantly. Despite the advancements in technology, many banks still struggle with proper categorisation – a stepping stone for almost all of digital banking. Most banks rely on Merchant Category Codes (MCCs), which often result in a large portion of transactions being basically "lost in translation". This lack of granularity can lead to missed insights and underwhelming customer experiences.

For the past several years, AI has captured the attention of many industries, including finance and banking, where it’s been helping institutions to automate many important services and solutions. In the meantime, the European Union has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of the EU AI Act.What exactly is the EU AI Act, and why does it matter? In this article, we'll introduce the basics to provide you with a comprehensive understanding before we explore its implications in more detail and check the AI readiness of the banking sector. According to Arizent survey, 56% of users would welcome the help ofAI in their financial recommendation services while 48% see it as a tool for evaluating credit or loan applications.

Learn why data play a crucial role in building a perfect PFM platform for banks

Swisscard partnered with Tapix to comply with Mastercard AN4569, seizing the opportunity to redefine the user experience while meeting industry standards. As a key player in the financial sector, Swisscard recognized the importance of adhering to the stringent requirements of Mastercard AN4569 and chose Tapix as their solution partner. This strategic decision ensured compliance but also transformed the way their customers engage with transaction data.

While digital banking is undergoing a rapid transformation and growth, a new phenomenon is emerging – Kids Banking. This concept not only represents a revolutionary way for today's children to learn about money but also offers a unique opportunity to develop financial literacy from a very young age. Fintechs such as Pocket, GoHenry and neobanks such as Revolut are jumping on the trend. In this in-depth analysis, we look at the key aspects of Kids Banking, its benefits, challenges and impact on future generations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) serve as crucial tools, allowing banks to measure how effective their digital banking apps are in engaging customers. In this guide, we'll explore seven essential customer success KPIs, complete with straightforward formulas, designed to help banks improve customer engagement, foster loyalty, and reduce churn rates.

Banks are at a crossroads between conservative survival or gradual implementation of new technologies and adaptation to their customers' requirements. Although they have considerable resources and a solid client base, they do not always manage to adapt in time. In this article, we will explore the key reasons for this and highlight the importance of building a spirit of innovation, engaging in technology development and partnering with fintech firms.

Learn how Tapix's new ATM Nearby ™ solution can help you improve the user experience and overall client satisfaction with your application.

Industry leaders, banking professionals, and fintech enthusiasts are eagerly seeking opportunities to explore emerging trends, exchange ideas, and create connections that will shape the future of finance. The year 2024 is on the way and so are the best fintech conferences and events, promising partnerships, ideas and new projects.

Learn why an enriched data foundation is necessary for good AI chatbots and financial advisors.

Discover how are banks becoming a strategic partner in every stage of your life with contextual and marketplace banking.

Learn about gamification and how it's affecting user engagement and satisfaction levels in banking apps.

Why hyper-personalization in banking matter? Learn the key insights to your customer’s heart.

Discover how Tapix revolutionizes SME banking with innovative features like GPS transaction limits, EcoTrack for environmental responsibility, or automated approvals.

Learn about all the vital aspects of perfect PoC and how to set the right expectations.

Learn about the importance of data quality as you enrich transactional information and discover how to turn it into actionable insights

Discover the strategic importance of allocating a budget for Mastercard AN 4569 compliance. Enhance user trust, mitigate risks, and gain a competitive edge in digital finance.

Explore the pros and cons of in-house development vs. third-party solutions for Mastercard AN4569 compliance. Make the right choice for your business's payment data enrichment journey.

Twisto is a FinTech that enables their clients to shop now and pay later when it suits them. Thanks to the implementation of Tapix, Twisto users can additionally review their expenses and check where the purchase was made.

Stay ahead in 2025 with these 7 digital banking trends reshaping finance. From hyper-personalization to crypto integration, discover the future of banking.

Contextual banking is when banks leverage modern technology to enhance the customer experience. Learn how to use it to your advantage.

Born into a digital age, Gen Z demands more from their banking experience than ever before. Read about the most used and demanded features.

Enhance your user experience by meeting Mastercard AN4569 requirements. Elevate UI design, showcase visual data, and meet revised standards for enriched payment data

Explore 5 use cases for Mastercard AN4569 compliance that go beyond minimum requirements. Unlock key insights for enhanced analytics, and customer-centric financial services.

bunq - the Dutch challenger bank was struggling to achieve a high coverage of merchant reconciliation. Learn more about how Tapix helped them through payment data enhancement.

We decided to provide our insights into the power of strictly MCC-based categorization and its limits. Categorization is important for credit risk scoring and it is the basis for Personal Finance Management tools. When we analyzed our categorization with MCCs, we saw that only 53% of transactions could be easily and reliably categorized based on their MCC code. Let's have a look at the most frequent problems we identified that make MCC usage more difficult than it may seem at the first glance.

As we at SME Banking Club discuss topics connected with the digitalization of SME banking on an everyday basis – during our webinars, publications on the websites, and interviews, in this article, I summarized the main subjects leading banks in the CEE region are thinking about right now.

Discover essential strategies for banks to meet Mastercard mandate AN4569. Optimize compliance and get the most out of this requirement.

Discover the strategic importance of payment data and how it can provide valuable insights into daily customer behavior and needs.

Data is the most valuable commodity of the 21st century, and its importance is growing daily across industries. Finance and payments are good examples of this. Find out what the new Mastercard Mandate means for banks and fintechs.

Everly and TapiX joined forces to organize a panel on the topic of Future of Banking: Gen Z. Join us for an exciting online discussion with speakers from W1tty, MyMonii, Gimi & Lunar on the 7th of December at 4PM CET. In this article we provide highlights regarding the Gen Z Banking landscape

The topic of global warming, long-term sustainability and overall respect for planet Earth has been discussed for decades, across human activities and industries. Today, there is little doubt that climate change poses a real and significant political and economic risk to humanity.

Have you ever hesitated to go into a car dealership for fear of being mobbed by hungry salesmen? Bank account holders feel the same way about banks that are too aggressive with cross-selling efforts. Rather than taking a scatter-shot approach that catches customers in the crossfire, banks should target those customers who might buy the product.

Dateio, Czech pioneer in payment data enrichment, has partnered with YAP, the leading fintech revolutionizing the digital banking experience in MENASA, to provide YAP’s client with clarity around their spending.

Innovative REST API service, Tapix, announces a partnership with Bitpanda, a leading cryptocurrency and investment platform, to fuel their transaction history with enriched payment data.

Rising inflation, economic recession, rising prices of absolutely everything... The times are not exactly conducive to splurging, quite the contrary.

We all use enhanced data every day, often without realising it. Google's autocomplete feature, for instance, relies on data enhancement to provide users with a more intelligent search experience.

Data is the key to understanding the customer and the long-term success of any business, so it's no wonder it's a sought-after commodity. Accurate and detailed data not only unlocks the door to further business growth, but also increases customer satisfaction.

Recently, Simon Koci, the Head of International Partnerships at Tapix by Dateio, was featured in a report, where he discusses his views on the future of fintech. In this article, we highlighted the findings of a recent survey of 100 fintech product specialists and provided insights into latest banking product trends.

Cleaning data from payment transactions was initially an painstaking manual task. Seven years ago, we were learning to understand data, googling and searching the web for data. We started with a few thousand enriched transactions a month, but gradually we algorithmized the manual work and built our data engine. Today, we process thousands of times more transactions with a huge degree of automation.

SME Banking club sat down with Šimon Kočí, Head of International Partnerships for Tapix by Dateio, who will be moderating a panel discussion on the topic of Cooperation between banks and fintechs the upcoming CEE SME Banking Conference in Prague.

Our data team leader Adam highlighted 6 reasons to work at Dateio.

This gathering of experts and professionals not only provided a valuable opportunity for us to learn about the latest trends and developments within the industry but most importantly, our Head of Partnerships, Simon Koci, had a chance to host and moderate a panel discussion on the topic of Cooperation Between Banks and Fintechs.

Today, Tapix is excited to announce its partnership with Reflect, the first neobank in Jordan. This partnership will bring Tapix's enriched payment data to Reflect's App users, providing a better customer experience and better control of their money. Enriched payment data brings valuable insights into customer behavior, which can help banks like Reflect offer better services to their users.

Tracking financial flows is one of the key elements of banking, and payment data enrichment is becoming an increasingly important tool for banks to improve their services and minimise risk. In this article, we look at why it is so important in banking and how to get started.

Banks today have many modern tools and technologies at their disposal that allow them to create a superior user experience for their customers and become their main mobile app. However, many banks are not yet harnessing the full potential of new technologies to keep users active and motivated to use the banking app more often. If you want to retain active and loyal customers, there's no better way than to offer them personalised and modern banking services that are accessible anytime, anywhere.

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly key issue in digital banking, both from the perspective of consumers and from the standpoint of banks reflecting their interests as well as their ESG strategy. The interest also reflects a growing awareness of the climate change we are facing. In this article, we take a detailed look at why green direction and green thinking in banks and their banking applications are coming to the foreground now. We will reflect on the main differences between truly sustainable banking and greenwashing. We will also look at current initiatives that are working in the market to promote sustainability in banking.

Tapix, the leading Czech fintech company renowned for its innovative payment data enrichment solution, is thrilled to announce its expansion into the LATAM region fulfilled in record time of 6 weeks from first chat to launch. This strategic move comes on the heels of remarkable success in other markets, and it further strengthens Dateio's commitment to enhancing user experiences and driving data-driven insights in the banking and fintech industry.

How do you improve your digital banking app? Data is a key resource in this regard. Through data enrichment and subsequent analytics, banks can gain a deeper understanding of their customers, optimize their operations and come up with new opportunities for their customers. In this article, we will focus on leveraging the underlying data from MCC codes and enriching it. This knowledge is one of the pillars of the success of neobanks like bunq or Revolut, so don’t be left behind.

In an exciting move towards promoting sustainable practices and empowering users to make eco-conscious decisions, bunq has successfully integrated Dateio's latest product, Tapix EcoTrack, into its banking app. This integration marks a significant step forward in fostering collaboration between two industry leaders and revolutionizing the way consumers engage with their carbon footprint.

In today’s fintech era, it’s crucial to understand how we can use our customers’ data to make better decisions and understand their needs more deeply. But how exactly can we use this data, what types of data do we have and what can we get out of it?

The market for digital lending from non-bank lenders and fintech firms is becoming increasingly popular among consumers. It is a modern and innovative form of financing that provides a faster and more accessible alternative to traditional methods. The long queues at bank branches have come to an end. Customers want a loan in a few clicks and they want a card full of benefits to go with it. The BNPL trend with players like Klarna, Zip and Twisto shows this.