An often used word to describe the present world of financial technology is “fast.” Whether it’s how quick transactions can be made, how new products and solutions continue to emerge and instantly make their predecessors obsolete, or how rapidly the needs and preferences of the market changes, fintech is indeed a fast moving industry.

The same can be said for many of the space’s leaders and innovators. As fintech has continued to evolve, those at the forefront of its movement have achieved unprecedented achievements and milestones of their own at what is also considerably an unprecedented pace.

One does not need to look further than Toronto-based global digital banking company, the Black Banx Group. Founded in 2014 by German billionaire Michael Gastauer, Black Banx has taken less than a decade to figure among the top fintechs in the world. As of 2024, the group has established itself in as many as 180 countries, earning the patronage of 45 million customers and a profit before tax of US$639 million for the first three months of this year.

Not surprisingly, the Black Banx CEO himself has many achievements tied to his company, as well as several milestones that came beforehand and served as the foundation of his current successes in finance and technology.

Early Successes

Gastauer’s financial career began at Gorilla Park, a start up incubator developing start up companies to IPO stage. He proved his mettle early, and the Munich based company tasked Gastauer to set up their office in Zurich, Switzerland. 

In 2001 Gastauer and three other partners founded a Zurich based asset management company. Within thirty six months, the new company was partly sold to a German Hedge fund manager and then  later sold for US$15 million (or CHF 16million) to a Swiss Investment firm. 

Two years later, Gastauer decided to create a payment solution for e-commerce and other internet based industries, by offering a global platform for accepting card payments. Being one of the first in Europe that also served fast growing high risk online industries such as gambling and adult entertainment, the business grew exponentially, extending its operations and opening offices in North America and Asia. It eventually achieved a valuation of US$ 480m before its assets were sold in 2008 to an Asian Banking Group. 

Following the two early successes, Gastauer founded his private family office GFO (Gastauer Family Office) in 2008 and continues to serve as its president today. 

Redefining Global Digital Banking

Throughout his early professional experiences, Gastauer had always noticed the flaws of cross-border banking. Whether it was the difficulties in opening accounts in different locales or the exorbitant fees that accompanied international wire transfers and made them less accessible, the eventual-Black Banx founder and CEO knew that digital banking could be much better even on a global scale.

So, he went about hiring a team of senior software experts in 2013, sharing his vision with them and taking them to building an online platform that could offer instant account opening for private and business clients worldwide and global real time fund transfers in multiple FIAT and crypto currencies as its core functionalities. The project was initially under the project name WB21.

After establishing a prototype and making constant adjustments and improvements, Gastauer officially founded Black Banx in 2014. A year later, the global digital banking platform was officially launched to the public, and was immediately taken to by a worldwide market that was evidently in need of better banking.

• In 2015, it earned the patronage of as many as 200,000 new customers within a twelve month span. 
• A year later in 2016, Black Banx began offering crypto currency as a deposit method and increased its customer base to 1 million customers.
• In 2017, the company continued its expansion with offices in Singapore, Brazil, India and Russia, as well as increased its customer base to 3 million.
• In 2018, Black Banx launched a fully fledged crypto currency trading with BTC and ETH as crypto currency. 

Black Banx’s rapid ascent to the upper echelon of fintech allowed the group to reach a US$9.8 billion valuation in 2018, making it one of Europe’s most valuable fintech companies. This was both a personal and professional triumph for Gastauer as, up to that point, he reportedly invested as much as US$380 million into Black Banx between 2014 and 2018 via his Gastauer Family Office.

Michael Gastauer and Black Banx Now, and Beyond

More markets and even more millions of new customers later, Black Banx continues to not only cement its place atop global digital banking, but continues to redefine the industry to the benefit of customers worldwide.

A key  advantage in the market is that it continues to offer a significantly easy sign up process, requiring just a photo ID, which ensures clients aren’t turned away based on paperwork, income, or location. Once their account is established, customers can immediately enjoy the following: 

• Accounts in 28 FIAT and 3 cryptocurrencies 
• Accepting Private and Business clients from 180 countries 
• International and inter-platform instant payments in multiple currencies 
• Multi-Currency Debit Card options (including plastic, metal, and virtual) 
• Real-time currency exchange and crypto trading services 
• Unrestricted payouts to third parties and crypto withdrawals to external wallets 
• Interest-bearing savings accounts in multiple major currencies 
• Solutions like batch upload or API for bulk payments for business customers

Previously, Black Banx only offered Bitcoin and Ethereum as the cryptocurrencies on its platform. Now, customers can also select USDT (Bitcoin) if they seek quick BTC transactions and quick USDT payments, like Solana, Lightning Network, and Tron/TRC20. Ever the innovator, Gastauer and Black Banx continue to monitor the market to determine which digital monies can be included for deposit and trading its platform.

Gastauer is also gearing up to bring Black Banx, which has spent the last few years dominating Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to the United States after releasing his ambition to buy a federal bank in California. Gastauer also continues to acknowledge the expanding opportunities in Africa, where 45% of adults do not have access to financial services. To further its focus on providing digital banking services in the West African market, Gastauer established a Monrovia, Liberia subsidiary.

Similar to how he recognized the need for massive improvements in global finance, Gastauer also recognizes how vital it continues to be to address environmental challenges. In line with many of his billionaire peers, Gastauer decided to allocate a sizable portion of his fortune to establish the Gastauer Nature Fund. Launched with a commitment of US$1.5 billion last January, the fund aims to prevent the extinction of one million species and the collapse of essential life support systems. The primary focus is on safeguarding intact wilderness and achieving the ambitious goal of protecting at least 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

Despite the substantial achievements in a little under a decade, It remains evident that Michael Gastauer and Black Banx is just getting started. As the fintech industry is projected to be worth trillions by decade’s end, it will be interesting to see how much of a hand Michael Gastauer and Black Banx will have in making that come to fruition, and what other endeavors the German billionaire will pursue and succeed in along the way.