A Polish Small Payment Institution (SPI) needed to scale its digital payment services across 30+ EU countries with multi-currency accounts (EUR, PLN, GBP, USD), SEPA and SWIFT rails, and a fully branded mobile experience. Finhost provided the SaaS banking stack with compliance modules, card issuance, and manual review workflows — all under the client’s brand.
Objectives
- Expand EU-wide payment services under an existing SPI license.
- Support 4 currencies (EUR, PLN, GBP, USD) from launch.
- Integrate with local banking providers for reliable payment rails.
- Deliver mobile apps and card program as a premium add-on.
What We Built (Scope)
- Web & mobile apps: branded client experience on iOS, Android, and web with full localization support.
- Accounts: hold in EUR, PLN, GBP, and USD with dedicated account details per user.
- Payments: SEPA standard and SWIFT transfers with compliance checks and status tracking.
- Card issuance: integrated card program via issuing partner for individual and corporate users.
- Onboarding & compliance: KYC/KYB with manual review workflow enabled for enhanced due diligence.
- Back-office: full admin console for user management, transaction monitoring, and compliance operations.
Customer Journey
The client approached Finhost with an existing Polish SPI license and a growing customer base. They were using manual processes and spreadsheets — and needed a scalable digital platform to expand across the EU.
During discovery, we mapped their regulatory constraints carefully. As an SPI (not a full EMI), they had specific compliance obligations — including mandatory manual review for certain transaction thresholds and enhanced due diligence for corporate clients.
We prioritized EUR and PLN accounts first, integrating with mBank as the primary banking provider. The client wanted GBP and USD added later, but we designed the contract system to support all four currencies from the architecture level so the expansion would be seamless.
The mobile apps and card program were structured as premium add-ons to the basic SaaS package. This allowed the client to launch quickly with web-only, then roll out mobile apps and cards in a second phase without re-architecting.
Challenges We Faced
- SPI regulatory constraints: Unlike a full EMI license, the SPI framework imposed stricter limits on transaction volumes and required enhanced oversight. We configured the compliance engine with mandatory manual review workflows that the client’s compliance team could operate directly from the back-office.
- Multi-language localization: Serving 30+ EU countries meant supporting multiple languages. We configured the platform to support all available languages except Arabic, and ensured that onboarding flows, notifications, and email templates were fully localized.
- Provider onboarding timing: The banking provider (mBank) had its own onboarding process with technical requirements and compliance checks. We ran the provider integration in parallel with the platform setup to avoid becoming a bottleneck, using mock providers for staging and testing.
- Corporate onboarding complexity: EU corporate KYB requires UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) verification, which adds complexity. We configured SumSub with separate KYB and UBO-KYC levels, each with dedicated source keys, to handle the multi-step verification flow.
Architecture Snapshot
- Finhost white-label core with SaaS basic package as the foundation.
- Banking provider integration for EUR and PLN payment rails.
- Card issuing partner for prepaid card program.
- Compliance engine with configurable manual review and automated KYC/KYB.
- Back-office console with operations, compliance, and reporting tools.
Implementation Timeline
- Discovery & setup: ~2 weeks (checklist, provider onboarding, design).
- Build & integrations: ~4–6 weeks (apps, banking provider, card issuer).
- Go-live: staged rollout with full compliance maintained across 30+ EU countries.
Successful Launch
The platform launched in under 8 weeks with EUR and PLN accounts active across 30+ EU countries. The client’s compliance team was fully operational on the back-office, processing manual reviews and managing user onboarding. The card program and mobile apps were delivered in the second phase, expanding the product offering without disruption. The client now operates a fully branded cross-border payment platform under their SPI license — serving both individual and corporate customers across the European Union.
Launch a Similar App with Finhost
Finhost is a white-label core banking platform. We deliver the apps, the back-office, and the integrations you need to launch payment services across the EU quickly — without building core infrastructure.
Talk to Finhost about expanding your licensed payment institution with our SaaS stack.