Developing an online banking platform and mobile apps for Knab

A groundbreaking idea for the ancient world

Nowadays, online banking is a given. Checking your account balance online, making money transfers, applying for loans and even enlisting the help of digital assistants and self-service, few banks are managing without features like these. Back in 2012, times were different. The thought of a brand-new bank, without offices in the ‘real’ world, was new and exciting – almost unbelievably so. Yet that’s what the people behind Knab had set before themselves. Disrupting traditional – almost ancient-like – processes, fit to serve the digital generation. In iO, Knab found a partner ready to challenge the financial industry with – a valuable partner.

Knab would solely offer its services and products via an online banking platform and (later) the mobile Knab app. This online-only approach disrupted the traditional client model of the finance industry. Knowing how crucial it is to be the first to innovate in a market, founder René Frijters initially wanted to launch the new online banking platform in under 2 years. This did not stop us, joined by experts like Five Degrees, Figlo, Sopra Banking Software and Cegeka who provided cloud technology, calculation motors and APIs, open banking software and CRM.

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Challenge

To revolutionise banking in the digital age, through a mobile-first strategy and top-notch UX, all while staying ahead of a rapidly innovating market

Solution

A stable, profitable partnership in the long run revolving around a fully-fledged digital banking system, native iOS and Android apps and innovative development

About Knab

Knab is a Dutch bank operating under the licence of Aegon Bank N.V. Founded in 2012 by René Frijters as the first ever all-online bank, it aims to offer its private and business clients easy and transparent internet banking, backed up by excellent customer service. For a fixed amount per month, customers receive an affordable banking package with financial products such as payment options, savings and investment accounts and a personal financial plan as well as smart tools to save them money.

Introducing Knab, banking-as-a-service by means of a two-phased approach

To release some of the crucial banking services on the platform sooner, we separated the front-end from the back-end. Building an integration layer in between allowed us to gain a head start with the development of the front-end, while our partners continued their work on the more complex and less flexible core banking solution.

Our team focused on:

Designing and developing the user interface
Translating data and client data
Ensuring every user interaction could be traced and logged in the back-end system, for the platform to be legally compliant
Designing and developing the security of the mobile app

Knab & iO: cross-channel experiences – scalable, flexible, and safe - throughout the years

Today, Knab's scalable, flexible and secure digital ecosystem includes a chat function and a complete digital archive. The innovative user interface is designed for intuitive and visually discerning online and mobile banking. A clear dashboard with illustrative graphics gives the customer a complete and quick insight into their financial status.

We have been working closely with the Knab teams and partners ever since. We developed a dedicated banking section for entrepreneurs on the Knab banking platform, designed a secure My-environment and the smartphone and tablet apps.

“When you have the right people in the room, you can achieve the impossible. In the space of two years, we constructed an online bank that has turned the financial world upside down. Together, we have since only achieved more and more.”

René Frijters, founder Knab

Make room for Apple & Google (Pay)

As time goes on, emerging trends and technologies often become part of the banking mainstay. This proved the case for digital mammoths Google and Apple and their own digital payment services.

Over the past two years, the iO-Knab team decided to bring the potential of Google Pay and Apple Pay to Knab users. Through Google Pay & Apple Pay, we allow Knab clients to pay in shops using their Android & Apple smartphones. It works the same as contactless payment with the Knab Debit Card. In the form of an efficient Knab integration, both services are secure means of handling transactions – in line with the Knab DNA that embraces the potential of the digital age.

Also supported: the ability to pay online faster and in apps using Google Pay and Apple Pay. Apple Watch functionalities are also included, not limited to checking your account balance and transactions. The same goes for Knab widgets to be installed on both Apple and Android smartphones, allowing you to access the app and view key information immediately – straight from the home screen.

Scammers, be warned

As (online-only) digital banking is slowly becoming part of our daily lives, malicious practices often come with it. Take scamming, for example: a myriad of digital crimes ranging from phishing to malware, identity fraud and skimming. Criminals prey on users who put their trust in the security and robustness of mobile banking apps. Trust that’s well-deserved and – in turn – is entitled to top-notch digital security, for Knab users.

Naturally, we can’t disclose details of the security measures implemented but rest assured they’re substantial. It’s a complex set of solutions set in place to prevent unwanted eyes from seeing what you wouldn’t want anyone to see.

Solid security begins at registration. Once your Knab journey is set to begin, its biometric welcoming ceremony is the first, essential step of the process. To register the app, the user’s passport is required and its valuable data – personal information and photo – scanned. From that point on, verification is done by requiring a selfie from the user. Right now, its use is limited to verifying one’s identity ahead of initial set-up or when performing major transactions but expect onboarding application to come soon.

Why did we ever go with biometric identification? It’s secure, cost-efficient, and especially user-friendly. State-of-the-art technology Knab is among the first to put to use.

2023: the year of the first Knab online visual revamp

With the Knab-iO story going as far back as 2012, it came to no surprise a website and app renewal was due sooner or later. The original environments were written using AngularJS, which was being discontinued and needed replacing from a technical point of view. Instead of considering it a setback, our team went to work to build it anew, from scratch and from one line of code to another. The team of experts quickly made the UX lab their new home, determined to translate this next chapter into a convenient, user-friendly experience.

Nowadays, the Knab app rating is at an all-time high – drawing close to perfection. At the same time, it’s never wise to stay in one place. After all, sooner or later even the slickest of visuals might have room for improvement to prevent becoming dated. With over 350.000 Knab users, the team had an abundance of stakeholders to consider. This meant updating the visual style in a way that would be to everyone’s liking.

So, a new design was decided on, in close collaboration with website users most of all, and coupled to a new look and feel for the brand. A total visual package that will soon make its mark on the Knab app as well. Right now, we’re busy working on additional designs and a design system to make that a reality.

The figures behind the partnership

125.000

new customers in five years

300.000+

customers serviced

NPS score

A tale of two teams, acting as one

Acting as a trusted partner of Knab, our teams merged over the years. iO’s professionals have been working side by side, right along the Knab teams, in this collaboration and that seems to work like a charm. It’s a way of working marked by trust on both sides, maintaining close bonds – both in the real world, as well as through staying in touch using digital means.

A clear example of this unity? Daily collaboration on the floor. Both teams work at their respective offices, as well as those of their client counterparts. Knab specialists regularly travel to our Sofia campus, where our colleagues develop an important part of the software. The iO developers are Knab-ified: the client considers them colleagues and, as one team, we continue to take the next step forward.

As of today, we have managed an impressive set of milestones for Knab, with much more on the horizon. In any case, we’re not done yet.