Interview with Ignacio Javierre, Co-Founder at Financial Services Platform: HUBUC

HUBUC is a next-generation banking-as-a-service platform. We provide all the building blocks to enable businesses of all sizes, and from all industries – not just financial services brands – to integrate embedded financial services into their products. We help them issue cards, manage staff expenses, accept payments and move money around the world. For example, Uber customers can make payments through its app, but Uber is not a financial services provider.

We enable businesses to offer their customers financial services without them having to build their own capabilities from scratch – saving them time and money. We also remove the hassle and risk of navigating and managing regulatory compliance, as we manage all of it on their behalf. This opens up payment services for all kinds of businesses – we work with a range, from retailers to accountancy firms and fintechs.

We also try to make life easier for businesses by having just 1 API and 1 contract.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
The banking-as-a-service providers that were in existence were only good for building MVP products – meaning businesses were restricted with very basic banking capabilities and their customers (the end-users) still needed to use their current bank account.

The demand we experienced led to the creation of HUBUC. We wanted to give all these businesses access to more payment capabilities in an affordable and convenient way that helps them deliver for their customers while building their bottom line.
 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing all of us to make huge lifestyle changes, which has spurred unprecedented shifts in demand for online and digital services. In turn, this has forced businesses to respond, adapt and pivot to new ways of working – and at a pace not seen before. Many businesses have been forced to innovate or approach customer needs in new ways – ones which are likely to remain for the long term.

We too have had to adapt to the challenges of the pandemic, continuing our growth plan – while also meeting the surge in demand from companies wanting to integrate financial services into their products. It is a challenging time for all businesses – but we are optimistic about the learnings and opportunities that will come with it.
 

What can we hope to see from HUBUC in the future?

 
With the increase in demand for banking as a service, we aim to be the trusted client for more businesses across the globe. Enabling businesses to access a wide range of financial providers is one of our biggest points of difference, so we plan to continue growing our network and welcome new partners and collaborations to provide businesses more choice and the familiarity of working with well-known brands.

We know embedded finance is becoming increasingly sought after by traditionally non-financial brands – 11:FS estimates the embedded finance opportunity will be worth $3.6 trillion by 2030 – so we hope this sets a precedent for more businesses to follow and realise the benefits.

We are also incredibly proud to have been selected to join one of the world’s most prestigious start-up incubators, Y-Combinator (YC). It’s a huge accolade for us to join such a renowned incubator and we hope to follow in the footsteps of its successful alumni. As well as absorbing as much knowledge as possible, we plan to use the investment funds to build our compliance team, further product development, and expand the sales and marketing teams in preparation of international expansion.