Fintiba removes bureaucratic and organisational hurdles for students from non-EU countries by digitising.
Press release, Hamburg, 17.1.2017
Sutor Bank supports Fintech Fintiba: Fully digital account opening for international students
- Fintiba removes bureaucratic and organisational hurdles for students from non-EU countries by digitisation
- Sutor Bank and Fintiba develop fully digital account opening and payment process
- Comprehensive web application with financial functions and support
The Hamburg Sutor Bank supports Fintech Fintiba with a fully digital opening process of blocked accounts for international students. Fintiba positions itself as a specialist for this target group in order to support them digitally in various situations in life – from visa applications to opening bank accounts to finding accommodation. The German Foreign Office has checked the Fintiba blocked account and approved it for the visa process.
Digital blocked account makes it easier to apply for a visa
In a first step, the two partners Fintiba and Sutor Bank have jointly developed a digital blocked account on which students can deposit the amount of money required to obtain a visa.
Previously, visa applicants had to go to German bank branches in their country to open an account for this purpose. This involved considerable travel expenses in some cases. The necessary account can now be set up fully digitally from the student’s current place of residence at Sutor Bank. In the next step, Fintiba will also offer a payment account including a cash card via Sutor Bank. In the future, Fintiba customers will have access to the entire investment universe of Sutor Bank. Thanks to the cooperation with various Fintech partners, Sutor Bank can already offer a wide range of services.
Sutor Bank interface enables fully automatic processing
“We are pleased to have found in Fintiba the first partner to embed accounts in the life context of its clients via an interface,” explains Robert Freitag, Managing Partner of Sutor Bank. “Sutor Bank was able to respond flexibly to our needs in terms of organisation and process design – and was above all in a position to implement our digital processes thanks to the bank’s own system interface,” adds Bastian Krieghoff, founder and managing director of Fintiba.
Technically, account opening is initiated directly from the Fintiba systems via the bank’s own system interface (Core Banking API) of Sutor Bank. After the opening, the Fintiba systems check the accounts via API and automatically generate a blocking confirmation for the student upon receipt of the money, which the student can present directly to the German foreign authorities when applying for the visa. This can significantly speed up the visa process. The payment account will also be operated later via the Fintiba app interface.
Increasing the attractiveness for international students
The financial offer is only a part of Fintiba’s comprehensive information and product platform for international students. It also supports them in dealing with bureaucracy and topics of daily life such as the selection and conclusion of mobile phone, insurance or health insurance contracts or also in the search for a suitable apartment.
With its platform, Fintiba addresses both the personal needs of international students and Germany’s need for highly qualified foreign specialists. Germany is considered a country with very good and inexpensive universities, but students are deterred by language and bureaucracy. “The drop-out rates of foreign students are relatively high, which is probably to a large extent also due to the high bureaucratic requirements,” says Bastian Krieghoff of Fintiba. “Digital services simplify the bureaucratic and organisational side of student life in Germany.”
The company founder Bastian Krieghoff has already convinced public authorities of Fintiba’s potential for Germany as a business and science location: “The business model is supported right from the start by both universities and the German Federal Foreign Office, which examined the blocked account and approved it for the visa process.
About Fintiba
Fintiba supports international students in mastering the various challenges on their way to and in Germany. As Germany’s first digital platform for international students, Fintiba offers a tailor-made range of products and services with support for topics such as visa, residence permits, insurance, housing and finance. Fintiba was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2016 as the first “hybrid” Fintech of its kind in Germany. The specially developed app helps international students to master key challenges around their stay with just a few mouse clicks.
About Sutor Bank
Sutor Bank, founded in 1921, is one of the few independent private banks in Germany. With its “asset management for all”, it offers an uncomplicated entry into the capital market, provides individual investment advice and manages numerous foundations. Sutor Bank develops financial products for financial service providers and handles technical and administrative custody account management. The company works with Fintechs as part of the Sutor Startup platform. The Sutor Startup Platform provides young technology-driven financial institutions with the systems, processes and services they need from a licensed bank to implement their business models.
Sutor Bank currently serves 250,000 of its own and partner-bound customers.
