Business

Best Apps to Use to Aid Your E-Commerce Business

Published

5 years ago

September 11, 2020

So, you want to launch an ecommerce business on Shopify. What do you need to do so? Beyond Shopify’s basic offerings to build a site, there are also thousands of apps on the Shopify App Store that can help ecommerce entrepreneurs maximize their use of the site.

Just ask Steve Tan, an ecommerce entrepreneur himself. After years of teaching himself how to build a successful ecommerce business, he and his brother launched LeapVista, an online set of educational courses intended to help aspiring entrepreneurs learn everything they need to about launching successful online or drop shipping businesses. From his own experience on Shopify, he’s learned which apps help the most for new businesses, and shared with us just which those are and how to use them.

“Apps can supercharge your store, helping you to get new customers through sales, marketing, social media, and otherwise,” said Tan. “The following apps are the ones that we use to supercharge our stores to get the most sales. Simply press ‘get,’ approve some permissions, and the apps will be installed within a few quick seconds.”

BEST Currency Converter.

First, make sure that your company is set up for global purchases if you’re appealing to a worldwide market. This ensures it’s as seamless as possible. “If someone is purchasing from the UK for example, it’s imperative that they can see what your product will cost in British pounds,” Tan explained. “This currency converter provides all pricing information in their native currency, and automatically detects from an IP address to do so.” In other words, the customer doesn’t have to first select their currency and change it. It does so automatically.

There’s a free version available that provides up to five currencies, which is more than enough to get you started. If necessary, the elite version has over 160 currencies.

HelpCenter – Professional FAQ Page

Customers prefer to see an FAQ page to get quick information on any questions that they may have. Without it, their lingering questions may be a reason that they don’t move forward with buying. “The HelpCenter app creates a professional and user-friendly FAQ page that drops down according to question, and groups by types of questions, such as ‘Shipping’ or ‘Payment’,” explained Tan.

This is a great way to add all relevant information to the website without overloading the website with too much text. “This helps the customer to complete the sales cycle more quickly, getting their answers immediately answered so they can move forward with a purchase without having to email your team first.”

FOMO – Social Proof Marketing

Yes, FOMO in this app name does refer to “Fear Of Missing Out.” This Shopify app shows the potential customer that someone just bought an item from your store while they’re perusing. A notification will appear in the bottom left corner saying, “Someone from (city) just bought (this product).” This sense of FOMO contributes to some urgency.

This app isn’t free, and costs $30 on the most basic plan. But, it can be quite powerful in providing social proof. “Evan and I use FOMO in all of our stores because we’ve seen such incredible conversion rates,” said Tan.

Personalizer – Target Recommendations by Limespot

“Limespot isn’t exactly an upselling app, but it shows potential customers suggestions such as ‘frequently bought together,’ or a prompt that says ‘would you like to add to cart?’ when they’re checking out,” Tan explained. It also provides a “You May Like” banner with other product suggestions related to the product they were initially viewing or that they had added to their cart.

Better yet, it’s free — and it drives sales to your store. “After a certain amount of sales have been generated, it starts charging a rate,” said Tan. “But I always say that it’s worth it because you always make money back.”

Loox Reviews – Photo Reviews

Reviews establish more trust and sense of security with your customers, so Loox is recommended as a way to display them (especially the reviews that include photos of your product!). “This is a great way to showcase your happy customers and what they’ll get from buying from you,” said Tan. “You can also consolidate all of your customer reviews on one page.” Buyers will want to see these reviews to further convince them of their urge to purchase. It’s how you help to alleviate any of their concerns about the quality of your product, and reinforce their decision to buy. Good reviews provide the social proof necessary to help the customers complete the sales cycle.

Having your reviews on a dedicated page on your Shopify site also shows up on Google searches, which helps for your company’s credibility. The price is $9.99/month.

Quantity Breaks

What to encourage your customers to buy more? Quantity Breaks creates discounts when customers buy in bulk quantities automatically. “It rewards your customers for spending more in your store, which encourages them to complete large purchases,” said Tan. It provides a table on the checkout page that shows the discount per number of units purchased (i.e. 3 units, 5% off, 30 units, 30% off).

SMSBump

When a potential customer abandons their cart, this Shopify app can send them an SMS that reminds them that they still have items in their cart or provide discounts. Both of these ‘bumps’ are helpful in encouraging the customer to complete their purchase. The Tans refer to this app as an “absolute must have” because of their success with it.

Each of these apps can boost a potential customer’s chance of purchasing and make your Shopify site look more professional and appealing. Try them and see how they work for you.

Business

Inside the $4.3B Quarter: What’s Fueling Black Banx’s Record Revenues

Published

1 week ago

January 16, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Every quarter brings fresh headlines in fintech, but few make the kind of impact achieved by Black Banx in Q2 2025. The Toronto-based global digital banking group, founded by Michael Gastauer, reported an extraordinary USD 4.3 billion in revenue and a record USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, while improving its cost-to-income ratio to 63%.

These results not only highlight the company’s operational efficiency but also mark a pivotal moment in its journey from challenger to global leader. The big question is: what’s fueling such impressive financial performance?

Customer Growth as the Core Driver

One of the clearest engines of revenue growth is Black Banx’s expanding customer base. By Q2 2025, the platform had reached 84 million clients worldwide, up from 69 million at the end of 2024. This 15 million net gain in six months demonstrates both the attractiveness of its services and the scalability of its model.

Unlike traditional banks, which rely heavily on branch expansion, Black Banx leverages digital-first onboarding that allows customers to open accounts within minutes using just a smartphone. This approach is especially effective in regions underserved by legacy institutions, where access to affordable financial tools is in high demand.

More customers don’t just mean higher transaction volumes—they generate a compounding effect where network size, brand trust, and service adoption reinforce one another.

Real-Time Payments and Cross-Border Solutions

A major contributor to Q2 revenues is the platform’s real-time payments infrastructure. Black Banx enables instant cross-border transfers across its 28 supported fiat currencies and multiple cryptocurrencies, helping both individuals and businesses bypass the traditional bottlenecks of international banking.

For freelancers, SMEs, and multinational clients, this means faster liquidity, reduced foreign exchange costs, and simplified global operations. The demand for real-time financial services is growing rapidly—Juniper Research projects global real-time payments turnover to hit USD 58 trillion by 2028—and Black Banx is strategically positioned to capture a significant share of this market.

Crypto Integration as a Revenue Stream

Another key revenue driver is crypto integration. While many traditional institutions remain hesitant, Black Banx embraced digital assets early and has built infrastructure to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Lightning Network. In Q2 2025, 20% of all transactions on the platform were crypto-based, reflecting strong customer appetite for hybrid banking services that bridge fiat and digital assets.

Revenue comes not only from transaction fees but also from value-added services like crypto-to-fiat conversion, staking yields (4–12% APY), and blockchain-enabled payments. For customers in markets with unstable currencies, these services act as a financial lifeline, further expanding the platform’s relevance.

AI-Powered Efficiency and Risk Management

Record revenues would be less impressive if costs ballooned at the same rate. But Black Banx has proven adept at balancing growth with efficiency. Its cost-to-income ratio improved to 63% in Q2, down from 69% a year earlier, thanks to heavy reliance on AI-powered automation.

AI now drives fraud detection, compliance, and customer onboarding—areas where traditional banks often struggle with cost inefficiencies. By automating these processes, Black Banx can process millions of transactions securely while maintaining profitability at scale. This level of efficiency is rare in fintech, where high growth often comes at the expense of margins.

Regional Expansion and Untapped Markets

Geography also plays a role in fueling revenues. Much of the Q2 growth came from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America—regions where demand for mobile-first banking continues to soar. In 2024 alone, Black Banx reported a 32% increase in SME clients from the Middle East and Africa, signaling the strength of its positioning in underserved markets.

By extending services to populations previously excluded from formal banking—migrant workers, rural communities, and small businesses—Black Banx taps into vast pools of latent demand. The strategy proves that financial inclusion and profitability are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing.

Diversified Revenue Streams

Another factor behind Q2’s record revenues is Black Banx’s diversified business model. Income is not tied to a single service but spread across multiple streams, including:

Transaction fees from cross-border transfers and payments.
Crypto trading and exchange services.
Premium account features for high-net-worth clients.
Corporate services for SMEs and international businesses.

This diversification insulates the company against volatility in any single segment, creating stable revenue growth even in shifting market conditions.

Michael Gastauer’s Strategic Blueprint

Behind these results is Michael Gastauer’s long-term strategy: scale aggressively but with efficiency, innovation, and inclusion at the core. His vision has always been to create a borderless financial ecosystem, and Q2 2025’s performance is evidence that this vision is not only achievable but sustainable.

By balancing mass-market accessibility with premium features, and by blending fiat with digital assets, Gastauer has positioned Black Banx as a category-defining player in global finance.

The Road Ahead: Toward 100 Million Clients

Looking forward, the company’s goal of reaching 100 million customers by the end of 2025 will likely be the next catalyst for revenue growth. More customers mean more transactions, more data insights, and more opportunities to refine and expand its service offering.

If current momentum holds, the USD 4.3 billion quarterly revenue milestone could be just the beginning of an even larger growth story. The challenge will be ensuring systems scale securely while maintaining trust in an environment where privacy and compliance are paramount.

A Record That Signals More to Come

Black Banx’s Q2 2025 performance—USD 4.3 billion in revenue, USD 1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 84 million clients worldwide, and a lean 63% cost-to-income ratio—is more than a financial milestone. It is a signal of how the future of banking is being rewritten by platforms that are borderless, crypto-inclusive, and data-driven.

What fueled this record-breaking quarter is not one innovation but a combination of strategies—scalable onboarding, real-time payments, crypto integration, AI efficiency, and expansion into underserved regions. Together, they form a model that doesn’t just challenge traditional banking but actively builds the foundation for global dominance.

For Black Banx, the road ahead is clear: the $4.3 billion quarter is not an endpoint but a launchpad for even greater scale and profitability.