The neobank sector in Ukraine has been actively growing. The most promising projects tend to be those where young fintech entrepreneurs join forces with experienced bankers. One of these projects is the neobank called sportbank, whose shareholders are two young businessmen Nykyta Izmaylov and Denis Saprykin, as well as the master of Ukrainian banking Serhiy Tihipko. sportbank has been developed on the basis of his Tascombank.
As the shareholder of sportbank Nykyta Izmaylov notes, the project is the result of the combined efforts of Serhiy Tihipko’s Tascombank and N1, the first specialized fintech fund of Ukraine (the portfolio of the N1 fund, founded by Nykyta Izmaylov, includes Sportbank neobank, Asquad payment system, Transenix startup with Tap to phone technology and other fintech-projects).
The collaboration turned out to be fruitful. In two years of its operation, sportbank has achieved impressive results. More than 400 thousand clients and about UAH 1.3 billion of issued credit funds. The bank’s clients have received over UAH 23 million of cashback, and twenty-four million purchases have been paid for with sportbank cards. Cooperation with a new high-tech project has strengthened the position of classic banks – Tascombank and Oxi Bank, which acted as card issuers for sportbank.
The professional community has also recognized the success of the newcomer. Already in 2019, in the first year of operation, the sportbank was recognized as the best Fintech startup according to the annual Payspace Magazine Awards. And in 2021, it was recognized as the second best neobank according to the Ukrainian Fintech Awards.
The secret of sportbank’s success lies in the fact that the neobank has several features that customers like, explains Nykyta Izmaylov. The first one is an unconventional positioning of the bank. The project is aimed at successful, modern, progressive young people with an active life position, both figuratively and literally; namely, people for whom sports plays an important role in their life. A cool cashback for services in the “Sports” category, reaching up to 20%, has become a unique offer on the market, which has immediately attracted attention.
And this is not surprising. Gyms and swimming pools, sportswear, shoes, bicycles, balls, dumbbells and other equipment have long become an integral part of the lives of hundreds of thousands of active Ukrainians, states Nykyta Izmaylov. Therefore, the offer of a more than substantial cashback, combined with a 62-day grace loan period, could not but interest the audience and encourage them to try how it works in practice. In addition, the process of obtaining a sportbank card is as simple as possible, with minimal formalities during registration through “Diya” and with free delivery.
sportbank also offers its customers all advantages of a mobile bank – secure access to all banking services from the comfort of their home through just a few clicks. Of course, it also offers free card issuance and maintenance, payments and transfers, both domestic and international, installment plan for the purchase of goods at 0.001%, deposits and savings accounts, online card issuing / reissuing, instant virtual cards, credit limit, round-the-clock support and much more.
Serhiy Tihipko is considered one of the patriarchs of the Ukrainian banking market and enjoys unquestioned authority in the professional community. Nykyta Izmaylov and his partner Denis Saprykin are also well known to the professional community in the Fintech industry and the financial sector. Saprykin has experience as a top manager in Platinum, Mikhailovsky, Pravex Bank and Dongorbank banks. Izmaylov worked in one of the leading audit companies in the world, KPMG, and in the betting company Parimatch, where he became a managing partner. In addition, Izmaylov acted as an investor in the payment company Asquad.
The sportbank team has a mutually beneficial partnership with Serhiy Tihipko. According to Nykyta Izmaylov, Serhiy Leonidovich’s colossal experience and visionary skills are also the capital of the project. Tihipko regularly meets with the sportbank team to discuss current operational issues. The cooperation is mutually beneficial as seen by the fact that Izibank has also been developed on the platform of Tascombank, and it is another neobank managed by the eldest daughter of the banker Anna Tihipko. However, there are no “family privileges”, Nykyta Izmaylov notes, as both projects are beneficial for Tascombank.
Now sportbank’s loan portfolio is UAH 350 million. Thanks to the partnership with the neobank, Tihipko’s Tascombank has increased lending to individuals by 21% in two years, Nykyta Izmaylov notes. This winter, shareholders plan to increase the bank’s loan portfolio to 750 million, and increase the number of customers to at least 600,000 in the next six months, and to one million in 2022.
The key goal of sportbank, which is shared by all partners, including Serhiy Tihipko, is to become the country’s main bank in the sports ecosystem, explains Nykyta Izmaylov. That is, it will be a bank for the clients who lead an active lifestyle, for whom sport is an integral part of their lives, for e-sportsmen and fans, as well as for organizers of sports competitions. Thanks to the combination of Nykyta Izmaylov and Denis Saprykin’s youth and Serhiy Tihipko’s experience, the announced goals look quite feasible.
Original source: https://ukranews.com/en/news/813470-serhiy-tihipko-together-with-nykyta-izmaylov-are-developinf-neobank-called-sportbank
