Look out Revolut! Moneybase is Malta’s first home-grown banking disruptor

Digital payment services are considered disruptors in the traditional banking system and now Malta has its own home-grown product – Moneybase. Kurt Sansone sits down with Alan Cuschieri, co-CEO at Calamatta Cuschieri

Alan Cuschieri is not fazed about digital banking player Revolut, insisting that Moneybase has a distinct advantage over the British financial technology company. “We are a Maltese company with a customer care department based here and clients seeking assistance can speak to a human not a bot.”
Alan Cuschieri is not fazed about digital banking player Revolut, insisting that Moneybase has a distinct advantage over the British financial technology company. “We are a Maltese company with a customer care department based here and clients seeking assistance can speak to a human not a bot.”

Alan Cuschieri taps his fingers on the table, looks at me and asks: “So, where do I start?”

He is the prime mover behind Malta’s first home-grown digital payment service, Moneybase, which started off as an idea back in 2015.

Moneybase is a subsidiary of the CC Finance Group, or as most market investors would know it - Calamatta Cuschieri, a financial services firm with deep roots.

The digital platform provides a seamless experience through an app that can be downloaded on Android and Apple smartphones. Moneybase allows users to transfer funds to their phone contacts or third parties, top up and receive funds or even have their salary credited to their account.

Registering is done electronically and account holders will also receive a physical card for withdrawals from ATMs. The app also offers the possibility of virtual cards.

“I started thinking of developing a digital payments platform in 2015. As a company, we already had CC Trader, which is our bespoke online investor platform that had been operating since 2011 and it only seemed natural to develop a digital payment service to create a better ecosystem for clients,” Cuschieri tells me from behind the boardroom table inside the company’s headquarters along the Birkirkara bypass.

Three years after those first thoughts, Moneybase received a financial institution licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority. The regulatory process took a year to complete.

“We set out to develop a core payments system and eventually hooked up to Mastercard and various other correspondents in a development process that came at an investment of €10 million,” Cuschieri says.

The company’s aim was to develop a fully digitalised finance platform that made it easy for clients to use. Cuschieri explains that part of the on-boarding process is done through a face verification system whereby a selfie is matched to a photo of the individual’s ID card or passport.

“Within minutes, an individual will have an account and be able to start using it to make transfers for goods and services, or send money to friends and family. We went to great lengths to ensure the user experience is fully automated, which is why it took us time to develop,” he says.

The app and all the digital infrastructure behind it was developed in-house, giving the company flexibility to develop new services without having the limitations that could come with off the shelf software.

Satisfying AML rules in a friendly way

And with banks expected to be vigilant on financial crime, I ask about anti-money laundering procedures adopted by Moneybase.

Cuschieri says that developing simple systems for clients that allow for effective anti-money laundering checks, while being compliant with regulatory demands took its time.

“We could have launched a year ago had we not invested in digital anti-money laundering systems that enhance the customer journey,” he says. 

“Being a fintech company, it did not make sense for us to still require customers to physically provide documentation, which is why we dedicated time and money to digitalise everything.”

AML is a sore point for many commercial bank customers who are asked to provide physical documentation to justify certain deposits or payments, making the banking experience cumbersome and frustrating.

Cuschieri says Moneybase does away with this hassle. “We do what we have to do to satisfy AML regulations but we do so in a friendly and practical way, living up to our mission of making money simple.”

Speaking to a human not a bot

Neobanks are considered disruptors in the traditional banking system but the real competition for them comes from similar digital setups like Revolut.

Cuschieri is not fazed when I bring up Revolut, insisting that Moneybase has a distinct advantage over the British financial technology company.

“We are a Maltese company with a customer care department based here and clients seeking assistance can speak to a human not a bot,” he starts off. “Our clients will not face the black screen of death and have their account frozen without warning because we offer a more personalised service and our attitude is completely different.”

Cuschieri says that Moneybase clients will also have a much bigger array of investment options because they will benefit from the CC Trader platform, now renamed Moneybase Invest.

He adds that the in-house development of the software enables Moneybase to be more amenable to local demands.

“This is an important milestone for Malta not just for Calamatta Cuschieri because it will improve domestic payment services without having to rely on foreign entities,” Cuschieri says.

He says the basic Moneybase offering will be free and includes an account with an IBAN for SEPA payments, physical and virtual cards, instant payments, access to more than 20,000 investments and competitive currency rates.

“Apart from the FX rates themselves, the system is designed in a way that if you make a purchase in the UK and you have a Sterling account, the money is automatically deducted from the same currency account thus saving on the exchange rate costs,” Cuschieri explains.

Going overseas 

Moneybase will be adding more features in the future such as joint accounts, business accounts and credit facilities. It will also add two premium services with enhanced features.

Cuschieri says the company intends tapping the overseas market with the first stop being Ireland. “Malta is a very important base for us and we believe we can surpass the 100,000 client-mark. But we will also be looking abroad and the first country of interest to us is Ireland because it is a reputable jurisdiction and English-speaking.”

Flicking through the Moneybase app on his phone, Cuschieri insists the company is offering “a great product and a great service”.

As we leave the boardroom, I can feel the buzz inside the building at the upcoming launch of Moneybase – this interview was conducted before Friday’s launch. Years of toil, development and testing have finally come to fruition for Moneybase employees.

As I walk away, I cannot help but think to myself that what has happened here does not just benefit the CC Finance Group but also the Maltese economy as it looks towards a more dynamic and digital future