DiPocket is the latest financial services startup launched by Fedele Di Maggio and Pavel Pokhylchenko, two tenured bankers who share a passion for innovation and are not shy of challenging projects. 

Recognising that – like it or not – consumers make payments and handle financial matters several times a day, DiPocket integrates seamlessly such activities in consumers’ most used device – the mobile phone:

We see ourselves like several other fintech businesses, offering a low cost, natively mobile experience. However, DiPocket is in a league of its own when compared to other startups as:

• It operates under its own licenses, being authorized by the FCA as an E-Money Institution and having secured a Principal Member license from MasterCard International. The vast majority of fintech companies operate under 3rd party licenses.
  
  
• It is built with its own full IT stack - not just an App. In other words, behind DiPocket's mobile App there is a full proprietary back-end.
  
  
• It is built using bank-grade security and reliability standards and has already secured PCI DSS certification. This is far from common in the fintech world and it is achieved thanks to Pavel’s in-depth experience building banking and other ‘mission critical’ systems. 

And DiPocket is not just a business plan: our App is available on both Apple and Google stores.

Our vision is to let people enjoy their money seamlessly, without stress, without dictating processes and rules like banks often do. We designed DiPocket as users and we have been using it day by day ourselves, relentlessly improving each and every aspect of user experience whilst complying with regulatory requirements and without compromising on security. 

At the moment, DiPocket is the perfect complement to a bank account:

• Opening a DiPocket account takes 3-5 minutes and it is all done on your mobile phone
  
  
• Login and App navigation are quick and pleasant
  
  
• DiPocket MasterCard cards are available in multiple currencies
  
  
• Instant and detailed notifications are provided for all transactions to know straight away how much money you have on the account, what exchange rates and fees you paid, etc.
  
  
• DiPocket Dashboard offers detailed transaction analytics, to help manage one’s budget
  
  
• Peer to peer instant payments can be made in a breeze using mobile phone numbers or QR codes – over and beyond normal bank transfers functionality
  
  
• Sub-accounts can be opened at the touch of a button and shared with other DiPocket users
  
  
• DiPocket is available to residents of any European country, from the age of 13.

Our main focus is people with an active social life – including teenagers and those who travel abroad or move abroad whom we see as best positioned to benefit from DiPocket’s rich functionality and low fees. From a customer perspective, a unique plus of DiPocket is that it packs together the best functionality individually available in several different Apps, so there is no need to register with and transfer money between many Apps.

The above reflects just the current development stage of DiPocket’s offer. The key to our strategy is a B2B leg – what we call a Financial Operating System offer. We are partnering with other innovative companies – from consumer lenders, to travel portals, etc. offering them private-label, customized versions of DiPocket to enrich their customer experience and improve retention.

This strategy aims at creating a broad DiPocket eco-system and to evolve it into a European financial marketplace – giving customers more options and better value. And this will only be possible because we own our technology and can evolve it rapidly and low-cost.

From a profitability standpoint, given our moderate cost base, we expect to achieve current break-even in Q4, 2017. Offering private label solutions to partner businesses, DiPocket will originate substantial retail revenues without the cost and risk of direct retail customer acquisition.

In terms of retail revenues, initial sources are predominantly currency conversion fees and card usage fees: these are areas where incumbents earn disproportionate margins and there is plenty of room for DiPocket to earn substantial fees while being highly competitive. Going forward, the majority of revenues and profits will come from commissions on 3rd party products sales (stemming from the financial marketplace strategy) and from behavioural marketing fees.

Having completed both the licensing and the IT development stages with funds provided by the founders themselves, DiPocket is now seeking to raise additional capital to support its retail marketing efforts. This round, offered at an ‘early stage’ valuation, will accelerate the reach of DiPocket’s current break-even and will enable us to start the application for a banking license, preparing the Company for a further, more substantial round to be realized at a higher, post break-even valuation.

After securing a banking license – with a 2018 time horizon, we envisage further capitalization rounds which will foresee secondary tranches to provide monetization options to early financial investors.