1. Who are you?

My name is Benjamin Manz and I am the founder and CEO of moneyland.com – the Swiss online financial centre.

 

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

We are the Swiss next-generation online and mobile financial comparison service, with high quality, intelligent cost- and performance- algorithms. Interested consumers can find here free and without effort appropriate financial products such as credit cards, trading services, private accounts, and more.

Financial providers such as banks can win new customers cost efficiently and with little effort, thanks to moneyland.com. We differentiate ourselves from conventional comparison services through our streamlined processes and refined algorithms that can compare even the most complex financial products correctly the first time.

 

3. How did you get your start-up idea and how did you finance your startup?

We were on the search for appropriate financial services and could find own right suppliers with great effort. There is a great need for more transparency, especially in the financial sector – and that applies not only to Switzerland. Also in several other countries, we see a need for a similar new generation platform besides the traditional comparison services.

Our startup Moneyland.com is self-financed by our founders. We would reach out to external investors for our international expansion.

 

4. What were the biggest challenges in starting?

Apart from the technical complexities, it was getting our platform noticed in the market- a good product is not enough! Thanks to the positive media mentions and users’ word of mouth in Switzerland, we area already doing well two months after the launch.

 

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

In principle, all financial areas will eventually undergo striking changes due to new online and mobile technologies. Disruptive technologies in payment or financing will be here sooner than new online offerings for traditional consultation-intensive services such as wealth and asset management.

In general, online and mobile platforms which bring together customers and financial providers using novel technologies are particularly interesting to us.

 

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech startups in the DACH region, and how can we help to accelerate it?

In general, the European market is characterized by the strong national peculiarities concerning languages, cultures and legal systems.

Investors’ expectations of rapid international scaling are much more difficult to fulfil in the beginning here than in the U.S. On the other hand, this also discourages rapid market penetration by foreign internet giants.

Assistance in bridging the initial hurdles are certainly useful.

 

7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

We have just established our startup, so we are not quite ready to provide tips 😉