NumberX: New Vienna-based fintech offers app-based Mastercard

There’s a new fintech company in Vienna: Claudio Wilhelmer, previously Country Manager DACH at London-based neobank Revolut, among others, and Matthias Seiderer, previously Chief Revenue Officer of Vienna-based AI company Anyline, unveiled their plans for their startup NumberX.

With their new company, they are preparing to launch an app-based Mastercard – which will be offered independently from the bank’s own account but can be linked to existing accounts of the house bank. An additional checking account is not necessary for use.

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Current account remains with house bank

“The current account of the users remains with the house bank, there the confidence is large. We are building on this foundation and see ourselves as an independent financial platform that connects existing checking accounts with innovative financial technologies via a single card,” said Seiderer.

That is made possible by the EU Payment Services Directive PSD2. This obliges banks to provide fintech companies with interfaces to customer accounts. “Our target group is not the customers of neobanks like N26 or Revolut,” Wilhelmer explained in an interview. Instead, he said, they are targeting people who want to stay with their local bank but still use a modern banking app. The smaller and more regional a bank is, the less likely it is to be able to offer a user-friendly app.

NumberX is to be available as both an iPhone and Android app. In addition to the virtual card on the smartphone, customers also receive a physical payment card.

App suggests monthly budget

But how does NumberX actually work? First, you connect your checking account at your bank to the app. The app then automatically suggests an amount for a monthly budget based on the data available there. You can either accept this suggestion or specify a different amount of your own choice. This amount is debited from the checking account and is available as a monthly budget for NumberX. All other payments made with NumberX no longer appear in the house bank – only in the app.

Spending control across multiple accounts

Multiple accounts can also be linked to NumberX – such as individual, joint and corporate accounts of self-employed people. Payments are automatically assigned to the correct accounts by the app. However, they can also be split or assigned to other accounts.

NumberX thus provides an overview of all expenses and protects against overspending. Optionally, unused budget from previous months can be automatically transferred to a savings account.

Flat rate model

There are no transaction fees. So how does NumberX earn money? With a flat rate model. NumberX can be used free of charge during a trial period – after that, a monthly flat rate is charged. At the same time, it should be possible to pause or cancel at any time – there is no commitment.

“For a monthly flat rate – just like you would get for videos from Netflix or music from Spotify – NumberX can be used worldwide at more than 70 million Mastercard acceptance points and cash machines without limits – that’s our central promise,” says Wilhelmer. How high the monthly amount will be has not yet been determined – however, according to Wilhelmer, it should be in the range of the services mentioned and in any case in the single-digit euro range. A Netflix subscription in Austria starts at around 7.99 euros.

Broad market launch in the second quarter

In addition to Mastercard, the payment service provider PPS is also on board as a partner. For the time being, the service is being launched in a beta phase, for which pre-registration is now possible. The broad market launch is scheduled for the end of the second quarter.

The company already has external investors on board. However, it is also currently working on a seed funding round. A closing is planned for the next few weeks. Names of the investors are also to be made public then.

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(Featured image by Julius_Silver via Pixabay)

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