EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
One of the best examples for me is Synch Payments in Ireland . This was a combined effort by traditional banks AIB , Bank of Ireland , Permanent TSB and KBC ( who have since exited the market ) that started in 2020 to take on neo banks , namely Revolut .
The traditional banks were found out to be laggards in the tech space by customers . Banks were slow to integrate modern functionality and support mobile payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay . In what was apparently all banks moving slowly to keep each other happy , the door was left wide open for a disrupter to enter the market ; enter Revolut ( and to a lesser extent N26 ). Revolut made getting set up easy . They support modern payment methods and super quick transfers . The introduction of split bills made paying for dinner with friends simple , but combined with referral rewards , their base here in Ireland exploded to one of the biggest penetrations they have globally .
The traditional banks were left extremely worried about this neo-bank ’ s potential and they came together in an unprecedented effort to build a modern solution that customers would love and steer them back away from Revolut . transfers between friends simple and to make online checkout a single click .
Alas – late in 2023 , Synch folded owning to “ A combination of factors has contributed to an elongated time frame to launch which makes the original Synch proposition no longer viable ”.
Knowing the Irish FinTech space , it ’ s clear what happened here . Irish banks , BOI and PTSB in particular have never handled technology well . To expect these banks to now suddenly deliver a best-in-class solution to the Irish market while working with their competition was always going to be a bridge too far . Sure enough , KBC leaving the market didn ’ t help , but this project was simply never going to happen .
For me , it ’ s the perfect example of why neobanks like Revolut are thriving in the Irish market while the traditional banks refuse to deliver what their customers need or invest in overhauling ageing infrastructure .
Meanwhile , neo-banks are growing from strength to strength . Revolut continues to deliver functionality that is considered best in class . Though customers are still reluctant to use them as a primary bank , they are very common for day-to-day spending and have a massive base in Ireland , ending 2023 with over 2.7 million customers ( over 50 % of the population ). �
The goal for Synch was to launch a payment app called ‘ Yippay ’ to make
MARTY MEANY , FOUNDER OF GOOSED
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