How Michael Gastauer created a Financial Service with a Human Touch

Michael Gastauer

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends 7.6 hours sleeping and 8.6 hours working per day. As a result of people spending more time at work than anyplace else, this leaves only 7.8 hours per day for self-care, socialising, and running errands. Thus, it is essential to consider workplace happiness. Although these numbers are from the United States, the same pattern applies to the remainder of the Western world. It is more important to prioritise people than revenues since successful businesses depend on loyal, dependable, and content workers to thrive, and digital banking platform Black Banx is a key indicator of this.

Black Banx, founded in 2015 by German billionaire Michael Gastauer, offers digital banking services to over 20 million customers in 180 countries to create a borderless financial institution. Black Banx, which is self-funded by Gastauer, provides a variety of services to private persons and enterprises, including worldwide payments in 28 FIAT and two cryptocurrencies utilising a local instant settlement system when possible, inter-platform instant payments, multi-currency debit card (physical or virtual), real-time 24/7 currency exchange, 24/7 crypto trading services, interest-bearing savings accounts in EUR, GBP, USD, and JPY, and batch upload or API to perform vast business transaction numbers. Last year, the company reported a revenue of $1.1bn.

Black Banx values innovation, equal opportunity and operation excellence. The company values people first, understanding the data and statistics that show the happiest employees are the most productive. Black Banx believes that its success is a result of its people and culture and that great people operating in a vibrant culture will produce optimal results. Encouraging teamwork amongst its workforce, the company is focused on coaching, excellence and retention.

Expanding this to a customer-focused approach, Black Banx uses its unique expertise, capabilities, breadth, and perspectives to open new kinds of client opportunities. They intend to bring people together to nurture ideas and grow capital, aiming to create a better world for customers, employees, shareholders and communities.

Gastauer said, “We believe that the best people, working together in a dynamic culture, are important to delivering excellent services and products for our customers. We earn the trust of our clients, regulators and shareholders and each other by always acting with integrity and holding ourselves to high standards. As a Group, we have a responsibility to our clients, shareholders, communities and employees; earning and maintaining these shareholders’ trust is fundamental to success. This is what all businesses, especially within the financial technology sector, should strive for. Underpinning my mission is a simple but basic principle that people should come first and that we should always do what is proper in business practices.”

Black Banx prioritises diversity and inclusion, equal opportunity, non-discrimination, and developing trust in the workplace. Mutual respect is the foundation for building trust and collaborating. The organisation thinks employee diversity enriches relationships with clients, work life, and the communities in which they live and work because of their diverse perspectives, abilities, and contributions. Black Banx values its employees’ skills and aspires to be a preferred employer by adhering to all applicable regulations and providing equal opportunity and progression possibilities for all persons. At the same time, Black Banx strives to settle employment-related issues as promptly and privately as possible while remaining respectful to staff. This cooperative and friendly working environment has given the fintech company high employee satisfaction ratings.

The digital bank believes that optimal customer service is provided by teams that understand local market dynamics, so they employ from a wide range of countries that they operate from, ensuring this aim is met. With a global workforce of over 3,000, the company is well-diversified and hopes to increase to 8,000 employees in two years by continuing to exceed expectations, growing faster than any other fintech service.

Black Banx continues to put people at the forefront of the company’s mission. With a work-from-anywhere, entirely remote policy based on trust and understanding, Black Banx is a company many people enjoy working for and dealing with. Gastauer has ingrained the best of humanity into his business approach, providing employees with a wide range of relevant perks that allow them to prosper regardless of role and retain a wage that makes them feel valued, as well as ensuring consumers’ demands are met.