Business

Avi Ben Ezra explains How to Increase Business Confidence in the Digital World

Published

6 years ago

July 5, 2019

The CTO of SnatchBot, Avi Ben Ezra, recently provided guidance to hundreds of bot developers and tech professionals on practices that increase business confidence. Below are some extracts published with his authorization.

Security first: Overcoming the damage done by hackers

Despite high-level encryption, hackers constantly find new ways to exploit some of the most trustworthy enterprises and organizations such as Google, Facebook, British Airways and T-Mobile. This is resulting in a situation where consumers simply no longer have any confidence in businesses. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of people who are willing to share their personal data with those companies whom they deem to be reliable and trustworthy. This also includes those businesses who are constantly providing people with excellent value. Based on these facts what can business owners and CEOs do? The obvious answer is that every business owner and CEO of an organization should consider trust between the business and the consumer as a very vital priority.

In fact, it should take precedence over everything else such as quality services or superior products and even delivery services. It must be remembered that people and businesses are part of a digital environment which is resulting in a situation where businesses are more visible than ever before. Although transparency can be a good thing it is also raising the stakes considerably. Even the slightest mistake instantly becomes public knowledge and this can have a serious impact on consumer confidence and trust.

Understanding the importance of trust

There are many professionals now who are able to analyze businesses and organizations and who can then proceed to formulate a strategy which will allow that business to earn the trust of the consumer. The best strategy will always be to have a long-term and proactive approach when it comes to the important issue of creating trust with consumers. Managing and steering that process can be one of the most important things which a CEO or business owner will ever do. Everything has to be done according to a carefully formulated plan.

The first step will be to analyze the business or organization since you need to know exactly what is happening in that business or organization. You need to determine how much the business or organization is currently trusted by the consumer. You need to take a careful look at exactly what the consumer is expecting and you need to determine how successful you are in providing in those needs. You also need to ask some probing questions from the consumer in order to determine whether they are comfortable to share their personal information with your organization or business. If there is any resistance it is important to determine what it would take to gain the confidence of the consumer.

It can be difficult for startup businesses

You might be running a business which is making use of relatively new technology. You may be in the situation where you’re trying to attract interest in that product. Many things have to be overcome such as the initial skepticism of your target audience. It can be an uncertain time before they will eventually gain trust in your business. It will be important to consider these issues and to determine the best approach in order to ensure some measure of success. One tool which is often used when it comes to things such as trust is known as a trust roadmap. This can be implemented as soon as the analyses of your business have been completed and those results can then be used to determine the areas in which your company might be lacking. There are five areas which have to be considered when it comes to issues of trust and they are privacy, transparency, security, reliability, and fairness. You will have to find a way to convince the consumer that you will be able to protect the user data. You will also have to have convince them that all of their sensitive information is a priority as far as your business is concerned.

Don’t promise more than you can deliver

Do you have the means and resources to deliver on your promises? It will be disastrous for your business to fail the consumer after you have made certain promises. You will require an excellent business model as well as well formulated policies and it’s important to be always transparent as far as your products and services are concerned.

It is also important to frequently request feedback from your customers because this information is essential to gauge how much has been accomplished and how far the business has progressed as far as the trust of the consumer is concerned. Accountability is a very important indicator of the reliability and trustworthiness of any business organization. Every employee in that business organization has to work together in order to create an organization which will be able to earn the trust of the consumer. This will require strong leadership that is able to set an example which will clearly indicate exactly what it means to earn someone’s trust.

On the deployment of AI and Chatbot Technology:

With this, Ben Ezra seems to think that not only will consumer confidence increase, but also predictability for businesses, followed by business confidence.

Business

High Volume, High Value: The Business Logic Behind Black Banx’s Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2025

Matthew Wiles

In fintech, success no longer hinges on legacy prestige or brick-and-mortar branches—it’s about speed, scale, and precision. Black Banx, under the leadership of founder and CEO Michael Gastauer, has exemplified this model, turning its high-volume approach into high-value results.

The company’s Q1 2025 performance tells the story: $1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, $4.3 billion in revenue, and 9 million new customers added, bringing its total customer base to 78 million across 180+ countries.

But behind the numbers lies a carefully calibrated business model built for exponential growth. Here’s how Black Banx’s strategy of scale is redefining what profitable banking looks like in the digital age.

Scaling at Speed: Why Volume Matters

Unlike traditional banks, which often focus on deepening relationships with a limited set of customers, Black Banx thrives on breadth and transactional frequency. Its digital infrastructure supports onboarding millions of users instantly, with zero physical presence required. Customers can open accounts within minutes and transact across 28 fiat currencies and 2 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) from anywhere in the world.

Each customer interaction—whether it’s a cross-border transfer, crypto exchange, or FX transaction—feeds directly into Black Banx’s revenue engine. At scale, these micro-interactions yield macro results.

Real-Time, Global Payments at the Core

One of Black Banx’s most powerful value propositions is real-time cross-border payments. By enabling instant fund transfers across currencies and countries, the platform removes the frictions associated with SWIFT-based systems and legacy banking networks.

This service, used by individuals and businesses alike, generates:

Volume-based revenue from transaction fees
Exchange spreads on currency conversion
Premium service income from business clients managing international payroll or vendor payments

With operations in underserved regions like Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, Black Banx is not only increasing volume—it’s tapping into fast-growing financial ecosystems overlooked by legacy banks.

The Flywheel Effect of Crypto Integration

Crypto capabilities have added another dimension to the company’s high-volume model. As of Q1 2025, 20% of all Black Banx transactions involved cryptocurrency, including:

Crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto exchanges
Crypto deposits and withdrawals
Payments using Bitcoin or Ethereum

The crypto integration attracts both retail users and blockchain-native businesses, enabling them to:

Access traditional banking rails
Convert assets seamlessly
Operate with lower transaction fees than those found in standard financial systems

By being one of the few regulated platforms offering full banking and crypto support, Black Banx is monetizing the convergence of two financial worlds.

Optimized for Operational Efficiency

High volume is only profitable when costs are contained—and Black Banx has engineered its operations to be lean from day one. With a cost-to-income ratio of just 63% in Q1 2025, it operates significantly more efficiently than most global banks.

Key enablers of this cost efficiency include:

AI-driven compliance and customer support
Cloud-native architecture
Automated onboarding and KYC processes
Digital-only servicing without expensive physical infrastructure

The outcome is a platform that not only scales, but does so without sacrificing margin—each new customer contributes to profit rather than diluting it.

Business Clients: The Value Multiplier

While Black Banx’s massive customer base is largely consumer-driven, its business clients are high-value accelerators. From SMEs and startups to crypto firms and global freelancers, businesses use Black Banx for:

International transactions
Multi-currency payroll
Crypto-fiat settlements
Supplier payments and invoicing

These clients tend to:

Transact more frequently
Use a broader range of services
Generate significantly higher revenue per user

Moreover, Black Banx’s API integrations and tailored enterprise solutions lock in these clients for the long term, reinforcing predictable and scalable growth.

Monetizing the Ecosystem, Not Just the Account

The genius of Black Banx’s model is that it monetizes not just accounts, but entire customer journeys. A user might:

Onboard in minutes
Deposit funds from a crypto wallet
Exchange currencies
Pay an overseas vendor
Withdraw to a local bank account

Each of these actions touches a different monetization lever—FX spread, transaction fee, crypto conversion, or premium service charge. With 78 million customers doing variations of this at global scale, the cumulative financial impact becomes immense.

Strategic Expansion, Not Blind Growth

Unlike many fintechs that chase customer acquisition without a clear monetization path, Black Banx aligns its growth with strategic market opportunities. Its expansion into underbanked and high-demand markets ensures that:

Customer acquisition costs stay low
Services meet genuine needs (e.g., cross-border income, crypto access)
Revenue per user grows over time

It’s not just about acquiring more customers—it’s about acquiring the right customers, in the right markets, with the right needs.

The Future Belongs to Scalable Banking

Black Banx’s ability to transform high-volume engagement into high-value profitability is more than just a fintech success—it’s a signal of what the future of banking looks like. In a world where agility, efficiency, and inclusion define competitive advantage, Black Banx has created a blueprint for digital banking dominance.

With $1.6 billion in quarterly profit, nearly 80 million users, and services that span the globe and the blockchain, the company is no longer just scaling—it’s compounding. Each new user, each transaction, and each feature builds upon the last.

This is not the story of a bank growing.

This is the story of a bank accelerating.