Ma French Bank: “with the Ideal Account, we are targeting young people with multiple bank accounts”

By fashionlifeshopping 09/05/2022 1401 Views

With more than 400,000 customers to its credit in just 2 years of existence, Ma French Bank is a model of success in fintech. The neo-bank capitalizes on a simple digital offer that is close to the values of its parent company, the La Banque Postale group, while opening up to a younger audience.

At the end of September, it supplemented its historic offer with a new, more premium formula, the Ideal Account. We took stock with Alice Holzman, Managing Director of Ma French Bank, to find out about the bank's latest projects.

Lemon squeezer: My French Bank has just celebrated its second anniversary. Can you come back to the origin of the project and the path taken?

Alice Holzman: At Ma French Bank, we started in 2019 with a simplified bank account based on two specific features. The first is that you could subscribe to it in a few minutes on the internet or from a post office. The second is that we have worked on a deliberately very simple offer with a language worked out to be accessible and understandable by all, and thus remain faithful to the DNA of La Banque Postale.

Of course, we knew we weren't the first to enter the market. On the other hand, we wanted to integrate everyday services with this digital bank, built on a simple model and transparent pricing with the principle of “all inclusive”. The latter is a direct response to criticism from bank customers who often do not understand what service they are being charged for.

This offer has since evolved with the launch of the WeStart teen account late last year. It was also the first suggestion that customers brought to us in post offices. We have therefore set up a double mobile application (with a mirror version so that parents can follow their children's expenses, editor's note) which allows young people to take their first steps in the bank – with ease.

Today, after 2 years of existence, we have reached the threshold of 400,000 customers. We decided to go even further. This is why we have set up a new offer, the Ideal Account, which allows customers to move upmarket and use Ma French Bank for their main uses. We don't talk about “master account” because that's not our language. On the other hand, we are referring to a bank that you will use on a daily basis for your purchases – and which will allow you to save money.

Lemon squeezer: How does the Ideal Account differ from Ma French Bank's historical offer? What are the advantages ?

Ma French Bank : “avec le Compte Idéal, nous visons les jeunes multi-bancarisés”

Alice Holzman: Like the Original Account, this Ideal Account is combined with an international Visa Classic card with contactless payment; it still does not allow you to have an overdraft, but its ceilings are extended up to €5,000 in payments over 30 rolling days. Another big difference, the card benefits from insurance that corresponds to that of a Visa Premier – with an additional advantage which is the logic of the tribe: “I am covered for all those who will travel with me” (on the same reservation, note).

As a bonus, this new account allows you to be in a smart purchase logic with a cashback service and a voucher service. For the cashback part, the customer has nothing to do: he consumes at the partners (Burger King, Freenow, Veepee…) and automatically receives a small credit visible on his application. The voucher has a different principle. For example, you will be able to buy on the application a voucher for 250 euros at Fnac which will only cost you 242.11 euros via this service.

Finally, the last axis of this Ideal Account concerns civic engagement. We worked with two foundations – Break Poverty and Good Planet – to develop two limited-edition bank cards. To take advantage of it, customers will have to pay 5 euros at the time of ordering; an amount that will be donated directly to the association. For our part, we also donate 30,000 euros per year to each of these organisations.

In terms of pricing, it takes 6.90 euros per month for the Ideal Account (2.90 euros for the Original Account, editor’s note). With this formula, we are mainly targeting 25-35 year olds, 44% of whom are multi-banked. They will thus distribute their uses according to the bank and the service which is the most advantageous for them.

Lemon squeezer: How does Ma French Bank manage the relationship with La Banque Postale? Will the new premium offer cannibalize the group's offers?

Alice Holzman: We are part of a global strategy with La Banque Postale. Ma French Bank responded to the group's need to seek out younger customers to further expand the volume of conquest. We have therefore built this 100% digital and mobile offer, while remaining very close to the values of La Banque Postale. By bringing this younger and fresher tone with more freedom, Ma French Bank can afford to be avant-garde on certain subjects.

Today, only 25% of Ma French Bank customers also have an account at La Banque Postale. To date, we have seen the creation of value on the latter: we have customers who are bi-equipped and who have uses on both banks. Overall, we did not have a wave of account closures – and we had a real enrichment of value for the group.

The more we go upmarket, the more we will attract customers who might ask themselves the question of choosing one to the detriment of the other. That said, with the Ideal Account, we are targeting customers who are used to having multiple accounts. For existing La Banque Postale customers, this is an advantage for us: they will remain in our ecosystem. For customers of other banks, they will be able to set foot with us with a simple and uninviting formula.

Lemon squeezer: Historically, Ma French Bank has capitalized on its large network of post offices to facilitate account openings. Is this still the case today?

Alice Holzman: Today, we still have 65% of openings initiated at post offices – this remains a major factor in our customer acquisition strategy. It is clear that the period we experienced was not easy: the pace of conquest was penalized during the first confinement with the application of the curfew of certain post offices and limited travel.

Since then, we are back on a rate of 18,000 account openings per month – which is a very good rate for a digital bank on the French market.

Lemon squeezer: Nickel and Ma French Bank capitalize on their physical distribution network to democratize their offer. Is this the key to success?

Alice Holzman: At Nickel and Ma French Bank, there is an obvious logic of proximity and trust – on very different criteria, of course. However, we can clearly see that we are both actors who are part of the daily life of the French. This is an essential point to attract and reassure our audience.

In a post office, the customer will be able to open an account in a few minutes. An adviser is there to accompany him and speed up the procedure, which is a real asset compared to a process that would have been initiated individually. Everything is done in a simple and fluid way. On the web, although the journey of neo-banks is fast, it only takes one step too long in the connection to lose the customer for good.

We are fortunate to have a dense network of 3,000 post offices spread throughout France. We are not only targeting CSP+ and ultra-digital city dwellers. We have a more general public approach with visibility at all points of sale. Today, Ma French Bank is 20% notoriety among all French people with very limited advertising budgets. This is a sine qua non condition for achieving economic balance, keeping in mind this objective for 2025.

Lemon squeezer: Will the price increase on the Original Account and the introduction of the premium formula make it possible to reach the break-even point before the date initially set?

Alice Holzman: When we announced these ambitions at the time, we already intended to be on a portfolio made up of several offers. We just follow our plan with this Ideal Account. By the end of 2022, we estimate that 20% of the Ma French Bank customer base will be equipped with the Ideal Account. This seems realistic to us when we see what is happening in the market.

Lemon squeezer: It was a question of further expanding the product range. Where are you ?

Alice Holzman: We are not looking for complexity, we always follow a logic of simple and accessible services, which correspond to the expectations of our customers. We currently have two dimensions on which we are working: one around consumer credit to support our customers in their projects – and which goes beyond our revolving credit. We also have a project on simple, unconstrained savings that can be managed from a mobile.

On the other hand, we no longer have a medium-term objective on a possible offer for professionals. It may happen one day, but it is not in our immediate roadmap. We prefer to focus on the general public target.

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