Building a digital bank from scratch might seem like a daunting multi-year project, but Romania's Salt Bank shows it can be done successfully in just 12 months. Here's how to approach building a digital bank quickly and effectively.
Start with Clear Strategic Vision
Before diving into technology decisions, you need crystal-clear answers to fundamental questions:
- What market need are you addressing?
- How will you differentiate from existing neobanks and traditional banks?
- What's your target customer segment?
- What's your path to profitability?
Salt Bank's parent company, Banca Transilvania Group, recognized they needed to compete with fintech companies capturing their market. They had a clear vision: build a full digital bank that was scalable, cloud-native, and mobile-first.
Assemble the Right Team Early
The people component is crucial. Salt Bank's success started with bringing in experienced leadership - they recruited a CEO with deep retail banking expertise and built a team that combined:
- Banking industry veterans
- Digital technology experts
- Startup mindset professionals
Rather than pulling talent from their parent bank, they acquired a small bank with an existing license and team, accelerating their timeline significantly.
Choose Technology Partners Strategically
Speed requires making smart build-vs-buy decisions. Key considerations should include:
- Cloud-native architecture from day one
- Open technology standards
- Turnkey solutions from modern vendors
- Scalability and resilience
- Easy contract termination options
Salt Bank partnered with Engine by Starling for core banking and GFT for integration and development. These partnerships allowed them to leverage proven technology rather than building everything from scratch.
Run a Disciplined but Agile Project
Salt Bank succeeded by:
- Breaking development into focused squads (onboarding, cards, payments, etc.)
- Maintaining strict project management discipline
- Staying agile within each sub-project
- Coordinating 30+ vendors and 150+ people through a central PMO
- Making swift decisions while keeping sight of the big picture
Focus on What Matters Most
Don't try to build everything at once. Salt Bank prioritized:
- Core banking functionality
- Great mobile experience
- Automated back office
- Essential customer journeys
They avoided the common trap of an endless feature wish list that could delay launch.
Results Show It Works
Salt Bank's approach proved successful. They launched in April 2024 and:
- Signed up 80,000 "founding" customers before launch
- Exceeded 100,000 customers in first 10 days
- Reached 250,000 customers shortly after
- Are targeting 1 million customers within three years
The key takeaway? Building a digital bank quickly is possible with the right strategy, team, partners, and execution discipline. Salt Bank's success shows that a focused 12-month timeline can work when you combine clear vision with swift, coordinated action.
The future of banking is digital, and the ability to build and launch quickly could be the difference between success and failure in this rapidly evolving market.
Have you been involved in building a digital bank? What challenges did you face? Share your experiences in the comments below.
Source: Building a digital bank fast and with impact - Kearney