indó, an Icelandic Fintech focused on the consumer virtual banking space, has announced that it is emerging from stealth mode with $4.5 million in seed funding. indó is reportedly the first challenger bank to launch in Iceland.
The motivation behind indó was the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of the nation’s banking sector, which led to major economic challenges. The Icelandic financial crisis was also a serious political event that involved the defaulting of all three of the nation’s major privately-owned commercial banking institutions in 2008. Relative to the size of the country’s economy, Iceland´s systemic banking collapse was one of the largest experienced by any nation in history.
indó was established to restore confidence in the banking space via greater transparency and no seamless banking. indó is also the first banking challenger to target acquiring the clients’ primary salary-deposit account with a new-build and cost-effective model while encapsulating existing financial infrastructure.
Haukur Skúlason, CEO at indó, stated:
“Over the centuries, banking has evolved from ‘a place to store money’ into a vast, complex financial services industry – one that is steeped in the mystique of money, privilege, power and exclusivity, thriving on opacity and getting away with shoddy customer service, The financial services industry is one of the lowest-ranked worldwide when it comes to trust and is driven by bank failures, ongoing scandals, revelations of corruption and participation in money laundering. indó is going back to the roots of banking to restore trust, regain transparency and return tradition to a field that sorely needs a new approach.”
The indó experience will include:
- Ease of opening an account and a clear, intuitive experience purposefully built for financial health;
- A fair, transparent fee model demonstrating that the bank’s value incentives are aligned with their customers;
- Knowing what is being done with your money so you are compensated fairly for the risk you take.
