Meet Wallet Factory, Runner-up of the Startups of the Year in Warsaw, Poland

As a runner up in HackerNoon's prestigious Startups of the Year 2023 competition, Wallet Factory and its CEO Mikhail Miro have been garnering significant attention in the tech world. Here’s the interview with Mr. Miro to discuss Wallet Factory's meteoric rise as a leading provider of digital wallet solutions, the key factors behind the company's impressive growth, and his vision for the future of the payments industry. Fresh off the heels of this major achievement, the CEO opened up about the company's foundational principles, his personal leadership style that has driven their product innovation and market success, and why he believes Wallet Factory has cemented itself as a startup to watch in the ever-evolving fintech ecosystem.

Tell us how your startup is changing the world.

Wallet Factory is a one-stop embedded finance solutions provider for ambitious, forward-thinking businesses across developing markets in Africa, MENA, and LatAm. The company helps capitalize on innovative FinTech opportunities like digital wallets, personalized loyalty rewards, B2B payment services, financial marketplace, and open banking. Our mission is to facilitate the transition from a "Cash Heavy" to a "Cash Lite" society, aiming to include unbanked citizens into the financial system through our clients. We offer a unique 3-in-1 digital wallet platform that enables banks to serve the unbanked and underbanked segments, fostering financial inclusion and accessibility for those who have not yet had access to traditional banking services.

What sets you apart from the competition?

We have succeeded in developing all-purpose digital wallets that go bundled with personalized loyalty rewards. Our innovative Wallet and Rewards platforms not only provide digital financial services but also instill long-lasting customer loyalty to engage and retain earlier and newly acquired audiences. Through personalized rewards and secure and user-friendly interfaces, we strive to make payment services easily accessible and attractive, even for non-tech-savvy and picky end customers.

What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?

They are the most fantastic people I’ve ever worked with! Wallet Factory's team is comprised of dedicated professionals with a shared passion for enabling financial inclusion through digital financial services. The team's collective expertise and experience in the financial industry, coupled with their commitment to creating innovative FinTech solutions, uniquely position Wallet Factory to address the challenge of fostering financial accessibility and inclusion for unbanked and underbanked populations.

If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?

Personally, I would likely be working in a leading position in the international banking field, continuing to contribute to the financial industry and helping people access digital financial services. Speaking of Wallet Factory, if it wasn't focused on its current mission, the company would likely be engaged in developing and providing other innovative FinTech solutions to address various challenges in the financial industry, with a continued emphasis on fostering financial inclusion and accessibility for underserved populations.

At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics?

As of today, our executives and analysts measure success by the number of end customers using our digital wallet and loyalty rewards platforms, as well as the growth of our clients' revenue streams. Our core metrics include user engagement, customer retention, and the expansion of our services in emerging markets.

What goals are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2024?

In 2024, we aim to further expand our presence in emerging markets and help more banks and non-banking financial institutions serve the unbanked and underbanked segments. We also plan to enhance our digital wallet and loyalty rewards platforms with new features and integrations to better meet the needs of our clients and their customers.

Which trend(s) are you most excited about in 2024? Share your reasons.

We are excited about the continued growth and adoption of digital wallets and mobile payment services, as well as the potential for increased collaboration between banks and FinTech companies to drive financial inclusion and accessibility.

2023 had been another crazy year, especially in tech, with layoffs and the Generative AI takeover! Which trend are you most concerned about? Be as brief or as detailed as you like.

We are most concerned about the potential for increased competition in the digital wallet and FinTech space, which could lead to a saturated market and challenges in differentiating our offerings from those of other companies. One of the most promising trends I’d like to mention is the adoption of AI, as you have deftly put it in your question. I’m definite about the fact that this trend will likely bring more personalized solutions to end customers in 2024, driving greater user experiences and brand loyalty.

Share your biggest success so far and/or your biggest failure so far.

Our biggest success so far has been the launch of over 25 revenue-generating eWallet and customer loyalty projects in 12 countries across 5 continents, with over 4.5M end customers worldwide. One of the biggest challenges our team has ever experienced was the difficulty in penetrating certain markets due to ongoing regulatory challenges and the need for more localized solutions. Fortunately, we’ve learned a lot from that lesson and now can easily tailor our digital wallet and loyalty rewards platforms to the business specifics of any industry or region.

We would love your feedback on HackerNoon as a tech publication! How has your experience been with us?

Our experience with HackerNoon has been more than positive, as we have been able to share our insights and expertise on digital wallets and FinTech trends with a wide audience of tech enthusiasts and businesses. Sure thing, Wallet Factory will be looking forward to taking part in any further tech competitions of this kind!

Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with us?

My piece of advice for businesses and tech enthusiasts is to stay informed in today’s ever-changing world while keeping tabs on the latest trends and developments in the digital wallet and FinTech space. Much like we care about our clients’ success, businesses should think first about bettering their customers’ experiences with the brand. It can help you be prepared to adapt and innovate efficient solutions across your business operations in order to stay ahead of the competition and satisfy your customers.