HOW TO BUILD

A NEOBANK
Your four-step
guide to success

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WHY BUILD A NEOBANK?
The opportunities are huge… if you have the right plan in place.

The neobanking market is predicted to continue growing

steadily throughout the 2020s.

And with an increasing number of incumbents, challenger

banks, investors and non-banking organizations getting Publicis Sapient, is helping businesses
fresh banking licenses every year, the market offers a huge design, build and launch neobanks and
opportunity for businesses to embrace new tech, create financial services in as little as
innovative customer experiences and increase market share. 6 to 9 months through our adaptable
methodologies, pre-built architectures,
But while it’s tempting to view building a neobank as a unique accelerators and ecosystem of
sure-fire route to business growth, the reality is that very few best-of-breed fintech partners.
neobanks are profitable. Too many banks dive in headfirst
without considering whether it’s the right thing for their
business. Without the right plan —and crucially — the right
experience, you be facing an uphill struggle to profitability.
Luckily, that’s where we come in.
THE NEOBANKING OPPORTUNITY
With sustained growth on the horizon, the time to plan your strategy is now.

$66.82 Billion
Neobanking transaction value (forecast)²
worldwide in trillion USD

The value of the neobank market in 2022¹. 

53.4% 
Predicted YoY growth between now and 2030¹. 

376 Million
The predicted number of neobank users worldwide by 2027². 

2.5% 4.8% 
Predicted growth in user penetration over the next five years². 
¹ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/neobanking-market 
² https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/fintech/neobanking/worldwide 
³ https://chart-na1.emarketer.com/259839/traditional-digital-bank-account-openings-vs-digital-only-bank-account-openings-
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HOW TO BUILD A NEOBANK
To succeed in a fast-evolving market, you need to build the right products and services, fast.

Inside, you’ll discover

This guide is your roadmap to building products and • How to launch new digital products and services
services that will delight your customers, transform your successfully
business and position you for success in a challenging market. • Why understanding the market is key to launching
successful products
Digital transformation takes time. And in a changing market,
this is time you don’t have. The Neobank Playbook helps • How to avoid the common pitfalls that cause new
you transform at speed—you could build a neobank from the businesses to fail
ground up in as little as 6 to 9 months, with smaller projects
• How to scale and grow your business beyond the
taking a fraction of that time.
initial transformation

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YOUR FOUR-STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESS To get you on the right track, we’ve broken down the process
into four clear steps.

We’ll guide you through each of these in turn, outlining what

you’ll achieve at each step, how we can help you get there
and the common pitfalls you’ll need to look out for.

So let’s get started!

Launching
Getting the Getting the & scaling it
right idea idea right Making it right Launch the new
Identify the growth Design out the value Rapidly build the bank into the
opportunity and proposition and capabilities required market and plan
define the bank’s operating model to launch the new bank continued iterations
unique proposition that underpins it to evolve & scale
the business

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The key to launching a successful neobank is to understand
the market and define a path to profitability before you start
building. This will provide early visibility of your OKRs and KPIs,
focus your teams and provide the north star direction for
your neobank.

GETTING THE Many ventures fail by jumping straight into building out an
idea before ensuring it’s the right one for their business. Great
RIGHT IDEA technology doesn’t always lead to a successful business and
neobanks are no exception to this rule. There are a wealth of
opportunities for digital-first banking but the perils of getting it
wrong are clear in the number of high-profile market exits.

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STEP 1: GETTING THE RIGHT IDEA 1
The purpose of this step is to ensure there is a profitable
market with unmet needs that your neobank will serve. GETTING THE
RIGHT IDEA

Successful completion looks like: Identification of Connection of those Shaping of a customer

• Identifying sufficient value to build a business for sizable and growing value pools to specific value proposition
unmet customer needs value pools to target. customer segments with and acquisition hooks
promising unmet needs. validated through
customer research.
• Understanding your ability to differentiate

• Building a feasible roadmap for alignment and

licence application
High-level product An understanding of A robust investment
• Creating an investment case and engaging investors roadmap and the license applications case including benefits,
capability requirements requirements. costs to achieve and
to sustain momentum sensitivity analyses to
through to launch. stress test returns.
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WHERE WE CAN HELP 1

Customer Testing
GETTING THE
RIGHT IDEA

• Value pool assessment methodologies

• Catalogue of commercial  models and investment returns
• Customer research panels
• Experience benchmarking 
• Catalogue of innovative organizational structures
• Cost and timing to deliver benchmarking
• Single accountable partner for entire outcome
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Once you’ve found the right idea, you need to “get the idea
right” by translating it into the right proposition, customer
experience and architectural and operational foundations for
your business. The focus shifts to how you can attract your first
customers while building the capabilities required for continued
growth and regulatory compliance. A successful proposition will
GETTING THE have the right products and features mix at launch to entice new
customers. 
IDEA RIGHT
It’s during this phase that you will build out your operating
model by creating a model that supports the business while also
managing costs through digital-first approaches. 

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STEP 2: GETTING THE IDEA RIGHT 2
The purpose of this step is to create customer journeys and an organization
structure that deliver a successful neobank value proposition. GETTING THE
IDEA RIGHT

Shape and test the Create the go-to-market Explore vendor

Successful completion looks like: customer journeys strategy, including and fintech
• Proposition and journeys are stress tested with that will deliver on a brand strategy ecosystem potential.
customers using prototypes the propositions. and design.

• Architecture and vendors are selected

• Roadmap with detailed plan is agreed to begin build

Update the product A solution architecture The investment case
roadmap with MVP(s) designed with major has been refined
• Investors are bought into commercial strategy vendors selected into a more detailed
for delivery including
the regulatory and tested. commercial strategy.
application milestones
and team mobilization.
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WHERE WE CAN HELP 2

GETTING THE
• Journey maps IDEA RIGHT
• Architecture
• Branding/go-to-market

• Foundational customer journey catalogue

• Ecosystem of alliances and partners
• Fintech selection framework
• Coreless architecture blueprint playbook
• Customer research labs
• Commercial strategy
• Access to Publicis Groupe branding, media
and communications expertise
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Now you have your idea and a plan of action, the next step
is to build it. The build phase presents many challenges to
be managed carefully such as scope creep, making timely
and confident decisions, retaining the voice of the customer
in designs and not underestimating the complexities of an
ambitious recruitment plan. This is the nerve-racking part and it’s
MAKING where many banks stumble when trying to launch a new venture
without blowing their budgets.
IT RIGHT
Building it right requires creating the critical capabilities for your
new banking proposition, testing it and getting your business
and product ready for launch.

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STEP 3: MAKING IT RIGHT 3
The purpose of this step is to create customer journeys and an organization
structure that deliver a successful neobank value proposition. MAKING
IT RIGHT

Cross-functional teams MVP built and tested Business and marketing

Successful completion looks like: in place delivering including customer strategy in place to take
• A completed first release (MVP) compliant with and testing value usability testing, with the MVP to market and
licensing requirements  incrementally. prioritization underway gain the right traction
for subsequent releases. and adoption.
• Launch and expansion strategies are defined

• Operational teams are trained and drilled

Regulatory requirements Robust engineering, Operational and
• Funding and commercial strategies are aligned met, ready for unrestricted data capabilities business readiness
licence audits. and vendor partners with the right team,
to launch
deployed in a compliant operating procedures
cloud with security audit and training completed.
completed.
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WHERE WE CAN HELP 3
Modern Engineering
MAKING
IT RIGHT

• Domain modelling
• Business capability model Data Foundation
• Data toolkits
• API compliance suite
• Framework-agnostic frontend accelerator
• Feature backlogs
• Microservice development toolkits
• Quality assurance toolkits
• Programme management dashboard
• Best-in-class user experiences and
user interfaces
 So now you’ve built your new proposition, tested it, prepared
your organization and developed a market strategy that will

4 have new customers pouring in. The next step is the big one—
launching and scaling. It’s critical that a successful launch
proposition meets commercial and customer targets and that all
the hard work from the build phase is presented to the market in
the most effective way. The operating model must be efficiently
LAUNCHING defined and embedded with all regulated capabilities in place
and the go-to-market strategy must be yielding results against
& SCALING IT OKRs to satisfy the commercial and growth strategy. 

While launching is half the battle, you must now accelerate and
start to capture further wallet share by launching and iterating
the product set based on customer feedback. 

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STEP 4: LAUNCHING & SCALING IT 4
The purpose of this step is to execute a successful launch
and prepare for customer onboarding. LAUNCHING
& SCALING IT

Fully agile organization Vigilant financial conduct Go-to-market comms

ready respond to and crime teams ready underway with apps
changes and roll out and trained for any published to marketplaces.
Successful completion looks like:
products and features incidents after launch.
• The organization meets regulatory compliance
at pace.

• The launch proposition is successful and meets

commercial and customer targets
Launch planning and Set up security and Measure performance
• A scaled operating model is defined and execution including network operations centre against OKRs and KPIs,
capabilities are in place all regulatory audits for proactive monitoring including continuous
and pre-launch license with hypercare support customer feedback
activities with payments team in place to manage informing future releases
connected and beta live incidents. including the use of A/B
testing passed. testing to trial new features.
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WHERE WE CAN HELP 4

LAUNCHING
& SCALING IT
iOS/Android App
Usage Metrics

• Client team capability building programme

• Publicis Groupe access to leading marketeers 
• Catalogue of runtime KPIs to measure customers
• Business readiness and launch checklists
• Go-to-market launch with Publicis Sapient media
COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID

1. Getting the right idea 2. Getting the idea right 3. Making it right 4. Launching & scaling it
Spending too much time and Shaping a first release (MVP) Bringing legacy approaches into the Client team capability building
money detailing the numbers that is too broad or not compelling new operating model design. programme Publicis Groupe
on the business case rather than enough to gain share. access to leading marketeers. 
validating which value pools are Taking too long to get to market
accessible via customer research. Not testing adequately with with an initial MVP. It is better to Catalogue of runtime KPIs to
potential customers to meet or launch quickly and refine based on real measure customers.
Lacking ambition. Aiming for exceed their expectations. customer and operational feedback.
a proposition that is already Business readiness and launch
available in the market and failing Failing to secure the right set of Failing to mobilize the acquisition checklists.
to explore alternative models. partners. strategy effectively. Customer interest
should be generated even before the
Not engaging early with the Not mobilizing the go-to-market launch.
regulatory requirements to strategy early enough.
confirm how they will impact the Missing major launch milestones
route to market. Focusing just on building the new and not prioritizing fixed milestones
proposition, rather than on how (e.g. for cards, payments, licensing
you will generate early traction approvals).
and adoption.
Not performing enough dry runs
to ensure customer servicing and
operational team members are ready. 18
SO NOW YOU’RE SET
We at Publicis Sapient wish you well on your bank building journey. While the opportunity to create a new bank is rare and
exciting, it is crucial to make every effort to ensure it is a success. 

Although there are many challenges along the way, it’s important to stay You will never regret investing in your engineering capability. The ability
focused on the big picture and retain enthusiasm and excitement in the to build innovative and automated solutions for complex activities that
team as this will sustain you through the hard days of the build phase. attract traditional operation risks will be vital in maintaining your speed to
This culture is critical for your bank and will set the foundations for how market and reducing your overall maintenance costs. A strong engineering
you will operate after launch and will help you attract the top talent capability will help you harness the creativity on which the global tech
you will need. giants rely and help you realize the full benefits of being digital native.

Getting the right team will make all the difference. Experience creating We’re ready to help you redefine customer expectations by building
digital banking services will help your team navigate the journey with a unique neobank with experienced professionals, stress tested
confident decision making and a real appreciation for the opportunity that methodologies and accelerator toolkits that will position you for success
digital thinking brings to transform tired and inefficient banking models. in a challenging market.
Don’t underestimate the search for your team, particularly the regulated
roles, as getting the right candidates in place will pay dividends with
regulatory confidence and a more efficient delivery engine to launch
and beyond.

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GET IN TOUCH

David Murphy
Head of Financial Services, EMEA & APAC
[email protected] Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation company. We partner with global
organizations to help them create and sustain competitive advantage in a world that
is increasingly digital. We operate through our expert SPEED capabilities: Strategy
Abhishek Bhattacharya and Consulting, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data, which combined with our
Vice President Technology, Financial Services culture of curiosity and deep industry knowledge, enables us to deliver meaningful
[email protected] impact to our clients’ businesses through reimagining the products and experiences
their customers truly value. Our agile, data-driven approach equips our clients’
businesses for change, making digital the core of how they think and what they do.
Zachary Scott Publicis Sapient is the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe with
Managing Director, Consulting 20,000 people and over 50 offices worldwide.
[email protected]
For more information visit xbank.publicissapient.com.
James Filmer
Senior Director Customer Experience
& Innovation Consulting © 2022 Publicis Sapient Corporation.
[email protected]

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