In this episode of The Connector Podcast, host Koen Vanderhoydonk interviews Emmanuel, CEO of Nickel, a payment‑institution subsidiary of BNP Paribas that offers a low‑cost, universally accessible payment account. Emmanuel explains Nickel’s €20‑per‑year account that includes a Belgian IBAN, an international debit Mastercard and real‑time transaction tools, and highlights its rapid European expansion (France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Germany). The conversation delves into Nickel’s inclusive DNA – accepting over 190 passports, providing features for visually‑impaired and non‑binary customers, and serving a mixed customer base of financially vulnerable users and those seeking a cheap secondary account. Emmanuel describes the hybrid distribution model that combines digital onboarding with physical points of sale in press shops and Totem tablets, and how this network creates revenue for local merchants. The interview covers Nickel’s technological edge (first real‑time transactions in 2014, premium in‑app services) and its relationship with BNP Paribas, which supplies compliance, risk and regulatory expertise while preserving strategic autonomy. Data is used across three pillars: business growth, customer experience, and security/regulation (including AML/CTF algorithms). Looking ahead, Nickel plans to scale its Belgian point‑of‑sale network to 1,300 locations, acquire 300,000 customers, launch local services (e.g., in‑app Payconic), and eventually offer credit, savings and insurance through partner pilots, all aligned with its core values of universality and benevolence. The episode ends with a call‑to‑action for listeners to become Nickel customers via online or in‑store onboarding.
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Welcome to the Connector Podcast, an ongoing conversation connecting fintechs, banks, and regulators worldwide. Join CEO and founder Koen Vanderhoydonk as you learn more about the latest available trends and solutions in the markets.
Welcome to another podcast from the Connector and Belgium Fintech. Today I have with me Emmanuel, and Emmanuel has started a new bank in Belgium, Nickel. Please explain us.
Yeah, indeed. Thank you. So I'm Emmanuel. I'm the CEO of Nickel here in Belgium. So Nickel is a new player in Belgium. We are a payment institution subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group, and we offer a payment account accessible to everyone. The account can be opened in five minutes in a press shop or. Corner shop. And it's really, yeah, it's quite new here in Belgium, of course, but we exist since 10 years now in France where we started. And all this for only €20 a year. You get an international debit Mastercard, a nominative Belgian IBAN, and tools for managing your transactions in real time, like a real bank, I would say. So yeah, Nickel is now one of the biggest payment institutions in Europe with over 3.5 million customers.
Wow, impressive.
Yeah, thank you. And we are expanding the business across Europe. So we started in Spain in 2021. Last year we have launched Belgium and Portugal and we just started in Germany this year.
Wow. So that's literally a very fast expansion plan.
Yeah, indeed.
Nice.
We have strong ambitions.
A good strong ambition is always good. But I think you guys are unique in the DNA that you have because with you guys, it's a lot about inclusive banking. You mentioned like you open up your account in 5 minutes, but can you explain a little bit more what does that mean?
Yeah, indeed. From the very beginning, we have built a product on very strong values that lead to a differentiating value proposition. One of our core values is universality. So we offer the same service to everyone. We don't segment our customers according to income or assets, and we are accessible to everyone, definitely everyone. So for instance, for foreigners, we are accepting over 190 passports. So you can come to Belgium and with your passport you can directly open your account in 5 minutes with Nickel. And it's awesome. It's directly operational as well. And we have, yeah, of course, like several institutions. We have also innovated in several features and products. So we have, for instance, notches for visually impaired. We also have on our cards, of course, we have also designed our products for non-binary and transgender people. So accessibility and universality is definitely part of our DNA. Yeah.
I mean, it's impressive what you just said, but I can imagine it's also complex that you have this in your DNA because how would you actually ensure that whatever product you bring, it's literally tailor-made towards the end customer if you actually serve them all?
Yeah, you're perfectly right indeed. Our customer base is now quite broad, let's say, very large. So if financial inclusion is part of our DNA, like we said, One third of our customer base is are people facing many difficulties and issues with their financial situation in the bank and the banks. So, but it's it's right for one third of our customers. That means that two thirds of our customers are people who are looking for let's say a cheaper offer with more transparency and and maybe using Nickel as a secondary account for travel or online shopping, for instance. That means we have to, yeah, indeed to innovate in order to meet all their needs. So it's really important. And behind the appearance of a very simple service, there is an enormous amount of technology behind to meet the needs of all our customers and ensure the smoothest possible experience. So in addition to opening an account in 5 minutes while Performing all the customer identification, so the KYC.
You have to because it's still a bank.
Exactly, exactly. Nickel innovates every day to benefit of its customers. So for instance, we were the first to launch real-time transaction in the banking sector in 2014, and it was really a big innovation at the time because traditional banks, they are you know. Accumulating a lot of technology, et cetera. And so it's becoming very difficult for them to be able to bring this innovation. But Nickel succeeded to do this. We also have premium offers embedded in-app services and so on. So there is something for everyone at Nickel, and all customer feedback is studied and taken into account in order to enrich our offer.
Would you consider yourself as a neobank? And I'll ask you why I'm asking that question, because I think you're a fully digital bank, but then with a twist.
Yeah, exactly. We are exactly at the middle of the neobank, like we say, so purely pure digital banks and the traditional banks. Sorry. So we are exactly at the middle because we offer the best of the digital services in terms of payment services, but we Combine this with a strong distribution and physical distribution network.
So that's the twist.
Exactly, exactly. So yeah, our distribution network is definitely the key to our success now. Who would have thought, you know, when our founders launched Nickel ten years ago, that offering the possibility to open an account directly in a press shop? Would meet such a great success, let's say. So marketing studies at the time predicted failure, but in fact it's hit with more than 3 million customers now. So faced— we consider that faced with disembodied banks, banking institutions and digital banks, local shops represent proximity, accessibility, and real life. And they can provide the additional confidence our customers customers need. So it's important for us. And they also provide a unique and human, let's say, contact point. They allow customers to easily manage their account, their cash with free withdrawals, with cash deposit, and so on. And of course, for these distributors, Nickel represents a new revenue stream for them because they get commissions for all transactions they perform for the customers. So Let's say it's a win-win partnership.
Okay. No, interesting. Now, earlier you said that you're part of the BNP Paribas Group. They're probably the biggest European banking group. So how does that actually have an impact on your business model?
Indeed, we were bought in 2017 by BNP Paribas Group, and now we are a complete subsidiary of the group. And I would say that It's quite unique for a fintech company to be a subsidiary of one of the world's largest banking groups. Given Nickel's rapid popular success, let's say 7 years ago, our founders felt the need to rely on experts to meet all the regulatory requirements of the banking world. So if we keep our autonomy in terms of strategy and business development. BNP Paribas provides us real expertise in terms of compliance, risk management, legal, regulatory controls, reporting. So this expertise allows us to secure our development, and especially now in Europe. And so in the end, to secure our customers' funds and accounts.
Well, it makes sense. Sounds again like a win-win situation.
Exactly.
Talking about, I mean, you're a bank, so a lot of the banks today, they claim data is gold. So how do you guys deal with data?
Yeah, as many institutions now, of course, data is important for Nickel. So we are using data on a daily basis like everyone, and we have organized our team accordingly. But to keep it simple, we can divide the use of data at Nickel in 3 areas. The first one could be data for business that helps us to offer the best prospect experience as possible during the subscription process, to target and generate as well high-quality leads, and to perform with the implementation of digital branding campaigns, for instance, so in order to grow the business. The second area could be data for customer experience.
Mm-hmm.
Data at Nickel is also and mainly used for enhancing the customer experience, increasing and analyzing the use of service in order to offer the best services that can answer our customers' needs. For instance, following a certain level of use, we can advise customers to go for another offer. So for instance, for a premium offer, only using data in order for them to save money, for instance. And it could seem not really logical in terms of business, but we just want to make customer experience at our core value. So it's really important for us.
It fits your DNA.
Exactly. And the third area, the last one, could be data for security and regulation. Finally, data at Nickel is also used to secure the business and our customers and to meet all the regulatory requirements. And thanks to the use of data, we create specific algorithms to fight money laundering, financing terrorism, of course, or to generate automated regulatory reports, for instance, for the regulator.
Makes sense. What a journey. And I almost don't dare to ask my last question because you have done so many innovations in the market. But is there anything else what we can expect going forward? What's in shop?
Yeah, of course, we are always wondering what we can do next for the business and for our customers. So here in Belgium, we are just at the beginning of the story, of course. So we just launched a year ago. And of course, growing our customer base is important. But the top priority so far is implement our distribution network.
Mm-hmm.
Both are linked, obviously, but it's important to very quickly offer the most extensive network so that each prospect and each customer finds a Nikkel Point at every corner. So our ambition is to reach 1,300 points of sale in 5 years and then to acquire 300,000 customers. And in terms of Services, we will focus on payment services for a while and continue to innovate to offer the best experience as possible. But I think in Belgium, we will be the first country where Nickel will innovate with partners in order to offer local services. So for instance, we will implement in-app Payconic for our customers, and we are working and we are thinking to partner with several. Belgian actors as well. So normally we should be the first country at Nickel to offer a local-specific service. And after democratizing the access to a payment account, we aim now to democratize access to other financial services such as credits, savings, insurances, for instance. But always in line with our core value and our DNA, so with universality, benevolence, et cetera. And it's not always easy, especially when you are talking about credit, for instance. How could you meet universality with credit? So we have to innovate in this and to find a way to offer this service to our customers. So we are doing this in a pilot way by partnering with players who have the expertise. And we move forward, but step by step.
Step by step. And I think you can help the audience maybe to, or maybe help yourself to get more audience to become a member or customer. So how would they do that?
So to become a Nikkel customer, it's very simple. You can just subscribe online on your smartphone directly. If you don't have a smartphone or a laptop, you can go directly in a press shop. And use our Totem. So it's a tablet, let's say, where you can open your account in 5 minutes. Then you go directly to the desk of the PrestShop owner, you pay €20, and you can get your card directly operational.
Oh, it sounds like a charm. Emmanuel, thank you very much for having you in this podcast. And we look forward to have you also at the DFS in December. Thank you so much. Thank you also to the audience. And please stay tuned. More news from the fintech world. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
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