Business

Financing vs. Leasing A Car: A Breakdown From Douglas Eze of Largo Financial Services

Published

4 years ago

October 1, 2021

If you’re interested in buying a car anytime soon, you may be wondering whether it’s best to finance it or lease it. There are many things to consider before making a decision that suits your lifestyle.

Here’s your guide to financing and leasing a car from wealth strategist Douglas Eze.

Leasing A Car

Leasing a car is good for people who don’t drive much or for people who have multiple cars.

For a middle-income American, there’s a lot to consider including out-of-pocket costs, mileage, and monthly payments.

While leasing may offer lower monthly payments, you’re still buying the car for the value of the car. If the car is $50,000, you’re leasing it for that same price. The major downside? You’re not receiving any discounts. Yes the finance guy will tell you that you will be paying lower because of the expected depreciation during the lease period and a possible benefit is that you can take it in for maintenance anytime you want, but, at the end of the day, when you lease a car, you’re not only paying more out-of-pocket each month, you’re also restricted by mileage.

Financing a car allows you to invest your money elsewhere. Your dollar today is more valuable than your dollar in the future. Your dollar today needs to be working for you and making you money.

Financing A Car

When financing a car, you own the car and get to keep it for as long as you want. If this is the option you choose, think about your financing options. Where do you want to finance it? How long do you want to finance the car?

Remember, a car cannot give you any equity. It’s more of a liability than it is an asset. Financing a car strategically offers you the opportunity to invest money elsewhere.

You may think that someone with a credit score of 850 whose income is over 7 figures would buy a car mostly or all up front. But, if they are wise, they won’t do this. Rather, they will finance for the longest term possible or allowed by the finance company. Again, it’s not that they can’t take a short loan term, because they most likely could, they do this because they are looking at the monthly out of pocket money. Here’s an example.

If someone purchases a $30,000 car, they are often presented with two loan options; 36 or 60 months. The 36 months option has an auto loan rate of 1.79%, resulting in a monthly payment of $857 and the total interest amount of $835 paid. The 60 months option, with a higher interest rate of 2.19%, results in a monthly payment of $528 and the total interest amount of $1700 paid.

Many will pick the 36 month option because of its low interest rate. However, the smarter decision would be to choose the 60 month one. Although you end up paying $865 more in interest total ($1700 minus $835), if you take the difference in the monthly payment, which is $329 a month ($857 minus $528), and save it, you will have $19,740 saved. Better yet, if you put it in an account that pays a 4% guaranteed interest, then the value will be $21,812. That’s WITH a $2072 interest earned.

The key is having access and control of your hard earned money. Keeping this example in mind, Douglas Eze can still show you how to pay off the car in 3 years without even making an extra payment.

Build Your Wealth Strategy With Financial Expert Douglas Eze

20 years ago, Douglas Eze founded Largo Financial Services. His calling is to equip individuals and families with the education and resources to build generational wealth. Douglas’ primary mission is to identify the areas his clients may be unknowingly throwing away money and empower them with the tools to begin saving for their future.

Largo Financial Services is Licensed in 50 states and the District of Columbia. To inquire about insurance, annuities, college plans, and tax-free retirement, schedule a free consultation with Douglas Eze and his team.

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.