GlobeOne thinks it has figured out millennial banking.
GlobeOne, a new transaction account expected to launch around the end of 2015, plans to amass customers in a unique way: rewards earned by customers will be shared among the global userbase. The exact amount that will be shared with the userbase is not public. Participating banks will also earn interest income from deposit funds.
The network effect of the account and the shared strength of its members is the driving force behind GlobeOne, which was created to serve millennials supposedly disillusioned by big banks, and to empower the underbanked around the world.
The cashback feature is called SocialBoost, because GlobeOne argues the funds will economically empower communities. (Distributing the funds sounds like an accounting nightmare to us.) The account will also offer free and near-realtime peer-to-peer transfers, including across international borders. The service is delivered via a mobile app customizable by country and institution.
Each account will cost $9.95 a month in the U.S. — other countries will be on a sliding scale — and, interestingly, will include a life insurance policy. The account will also offer secured, low-risk lines of credit backed by assets in the user’s savings account.
These benefits are considerable, but almost $10 a month may be enough to make fee-averse millennials look for cheaper options.
GlobeOne CEO Les Riedl described the company’s offering as a “unique combination of technology and a disruptive business model to serve the underbanked and millennial in a socially conscious way, delivered through the corporate infrastructure of global banks.” The startup has letters of intent from eight banks, and is looking to add more banks to its network.
GlobeOne, based in Santa Monica, Calif., will launch initially in the U.S., Mexico and Vietnam. The lure for banks is inexpensive customer acquisition. “We make it possible for banks to acquire customers they couldn’t otherwise serve profitably — we make those customers into profitable customers for the bank,” Riedl said. He said the cost of acquiring customers can be as much $400, and still the banks will see high attrition rates every year.
Down the road, GlobeOne expects to expand to other countries in Latin America, Canada, and South Asia. Riedl says the service has 120,000 pre-registrations and expects 200,000 by year’s end.
Riedl said the company has a large potential customer base — 50 million, to put it conservatively. That’s what you call truly global ambition.