The Fintech world has been growing exponentially in recent years and a huge part of that growth has been dedicated to new financial technology businesses that focus on how consumers use their money. Big names to have emerged include Monzo, Nubank and finally, Lanistar. The company has been in and out of the headlines since its establishment, however, it is finally launching in both the UK and Brazil this November. The company plans to start with a bang and once they do so, the race for the fintech crown will be on. 

Who Are Lanistar Limited?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lanistar, they are a social media-focused fintech company that offers a new banking alternative. The company has created a polymorphic payment card that allows you to stack up to eight bank cards onto the one Lanistar card. The concept behind this unique feature is that instead of people having to carry around a bundle of cards, they can just carry around one. The branding is colourful, fun, and funky!

What Makes Lanistar Unique?

Since its inception, the fintech company’s pre-launch campaign has been backed and promoted by a well-known array of popular influencers. Examples of leading influencers supporting the brand campaign include model Georgina Rodríguez with 27 million followers, YouTube personality Camila Loures with 15 million and footballer David Luiz with 20 million followers. The brand uses a wide variety of influencers, presumably in the hope it will help the company to reach a wider demographic. 

The card features dynamic CVV2 for secure online transactions, it is Mastercard branded and is accepted at 38m outlets around the world.  Lanistar also aims to limit the personal information displayed on the card and adds another layer to protect customers.

Who Else Is In The Running? 

The race for the Fintech crown is going to be a close call and none of the competitors are to be scoffed at, with banking giants Monzo and Nubank in the running. Also in the running are Wirex and Curve. All competitors are well established, however, Lanistar do not seem to be worried about entering the game late, as the CEO, Gurhan Kiziloz, stated:

“Lanistar is not only planning to stand out but step over all the other start-ups in the fintech industry.”

While Lanistar has certainly started strong, the journey ahead for them will not be easy. They have set out high ambitions on their roadmap, but time will tell whether they can turn their dreams into reality.

What Do The Statistics Suggest?

To get the most accurate picture, we need to explore the stats. Below we have broken down some key figures to demonstrate where each of the banking platforms are ranking. 

First off, let’s go through the volume of social media followings for each fintech bank. As of October 2021, Lanistar is topping the charts with 259k followers, Monzo has 62.8k followers and Starling has 34.1k. There are two things worth noting here, firstly, it comes as no surprise that Lanistar finds itself on top when it comes to social media following as they produced a HUGE social media campaign, with influencers all over the world posting about their card. The second thing is that success for these banking platforms is not defined by how many followers they have. While having a good following is a bonus, ultimately, they need customers to excel.

Source: Information taken from Instagram

This brings us to our next set of statistics which focuses on the number of users each bank has. As Lanistar has just launched, we only have their pre-registration statistics (featured below). However, if we look at the number of customers per banking platform the results are as follows.

• As of 2021: Monzo have 5 million users
• As of 2021: Starling have 2 million users
• As of 2021: Lanistar have 1 million users.

These figures were taken from; https://www.statista.com/statistics/1089588/key-figures-for-monzo-bank-united-kingdom/ & https://www.starlingbank.com/about/

With Lanistar only just launching, it is worth looking at how many customers they were able to secure in their pre-registration process. Lanistar had an impressive 100,000 registrations in just 72 hours! To put this number into perspective Monzo gained 50,000 over the course of their first year. 

Valuation Comparison: Lanistar, Monzo And Starling

The valuation figures are also important to consider as they provide insight into the success of the company and a good indication of future success. Starling has a valuation of $1.9 billion which is just behind Monzo’s valuation of $2 billion. Despite Lanistar only just joining the game, they are potentially valued at a whopping $1 billion. 

When Will We Have a Winner?

There are many components to consider in the race for the Fintech crown, for example, social media following, number of customers, valuations and more. Consequently, it will not be a straightforward answer. However, the next 6 months will provide significant insight into how well each of the banking platforms are doing. Monzo seems to be sitting comfortably at the top right now, however, Lanistar have the potential to snatch that crown within the next year. This is going to be a close race and an interesting one at that. Watch this space!

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