Business

Thriving Self-Made Millionaire Vishal Jain Speaks On How To Save And Invest Money

Published

6 years ago

March 30, 2020

When it comes to Digital Marketing, the name Vishal Jain is quite popular. Besides being an all-rounder when it comes to self-sustenance and dedication, Vishal is also a mentor for young people who are willing to take risks and explore new options but are struggling to do so. These individuals can certainly benefit from his advice.

“Dropping out of college proves that you have enough courage to go against societal norms,” says Vishal, when asked about why college dropouts are so successful. This is probably why he went on to drop out from college and onto the path which he always dreamt of.

In 2015, Vishal Jain quit college with a dream of starting his own business. For that purpose, he saved up money by working as a freelancer. After a year of saving up, he started his first business, Sunshy Digital Media Agency. Fast forward 4 years, he is the founder of 5 companies, also author of an eBook and the owner of a house at just the age of 23.

So how does Vishal manage to run 5 different businesses along with saving a substantial amount of money when even the most experienced individuals fail to do so? The trick is simple: investing and reinvesting. The money that he earned from his other businesses and passive sources, he would invest back into projects and investment opportunities that would have positive, multifold returns.

“Extra cash”, he says, should be invested into stock market and real estate rather than being spent on short-term fancy items such as fancy phones and expensive clothes.

He wants youth today to learn about his 5 percent rule i.e. spending 5 percent of your income and saving the rest. It is simple to say, but a lot more difficult to follow. According to Vishal, the beginning is always the toughest. Sometimes, he would end up spending more than budgeted for special occasions, and then he would spend months making up for the extra expenditure. Like youth his age, he would want to spend more, party more and hang out with his friends but unlike people his age, his urge to make it big was much stronger. This fueled him to save and invest as much and as frequently as he could. This is when he came up with his 5 percent rule; spending only 5 percent of what he makes and investing the remaining 95 percent.

Vishal puts 10% to 20% of his earnings back into his businesses to help them grow. He has not taken out any money till date from one of his company which deals in industrial items, all of the profit is, again, invested back in the company. Furthermore, he invests 50% to 60% of his earnings in shares, mutual funds and savings funds (Govt bonds). 5% of his income is invested in gold and diamonds. Remaining amount is accumulated in FD’s and savings bank accounts, which when presented with some good investment opportunity in real estate or business is used. Vishal believes in doing charitable work and does it by helping kids with hunger through Akshaya patra association. He has also supplied a year’s worth of books and stationery to an entire village in M.P. and keeps donating to various associations related to health welfare. He will also launch his own charity foundation by the end of this year.

How can that be a possibility for you? Well, that’s easy. According to Vishal, young people should start selling their services on freelancing sites the first chance they get. The modern-day narrative gives young people a larger chance of experimentation than their predecessors ever had. Websites such as Fiverr or Upwork give individuals a chance to learn important skills in life that can help in acquiring better prospects. You don’t necessarily have to quit college; just make sure to experiment with the gazillion options you have on the internet. The rest is saving and investing as much money as you can because your goal should be financial freedom not show off.

According to Vishal, cash is king; the only thing you need to do is look for opportunities to invest it sensibly. Surely, we can all succeed from sincere advice from a young, diligent entrepreneur like Vishal Jain who is not only willing to prosper on his own but also wants many others like him to follow their dreams and make a name for themselves.

Business

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

Published

2 weeks 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.