Zak, a Swiss mobile bank, has introduced a new functionality which allows customers to use their phones to pay in shops. An option that is attractive especially for a younger clientele.
Zak, a smartphone bank based in Basel, has activated a new payment solution, it said in a statement on Tuesday (statement in German). Customers can register a prepaid Visa credit card in their Apple, Samsung or Google wallets and use their mobile phones to pay for their groceries.
Bank Cler, which owns Zak, said the new feature developed with Cornèrcard responded to customer demand. The possibility to pay using the smartphone was a top priority for Zak since its inception.
Young Client Target
The card used for the service is a prepaid version of Visa’s credit card, which makes it possible that clients as young as 16 can use the mobile payment solution. Clients replenish the card via the Zak application.
Cler itself is owned by Basler Kantonalbank (BKB), one of Switzerland’s largest cantonal banks. CEO Basil Heeb earlier this month said that Zak was a major driver of growth for the company. The bank added 4,000 new clients in the first half of 2019 and now has a total of more than 18,000 clients.
More Services in the Pipeline
Guy Lachappelle, Heeb’s predecessor at the helm of BKB, had once set the target of 200,000 users for Zak, to be reached 2021. Nine out of ten Zak clients are new customers. What’s more, they have an average age of only 34 years.
The company is currently working to develop sustainable investment plans for the so-called third pillar of the Swiss pension system, which comprises tax-exempt voluntary savings. The clients of Zak will be able to choose from a range of three different risk profiles.
