Deployment in 5 months of a mini-loan integrated into the Nickel app, in partnership with Floa.
Context
Nickel - a neobank acquired by BNP Paribas in 2017 - grew rapidly with more than 3 million customers in 2023 and expanded rapidly in Europe. With the acquisition of 50,000 new customers per month, Nickel is establishing itself as an accessible alternative to traditional banks, especially for underbanked or vulnerable populations.
In a tense economic context marked by high inflation, Nickel's management identified a double strategic challenge: improving customer retention and increasing ARPU (average revenue per user), without denying its values of financial inclusion. To do this, the neobank is launching a diversification initiative through partner offers.
The first step is to offer a simple, responsible and 100% digital short-term credit offer, capable of quickly bringing value to its customers. This project becomes the spearhead of a broader roadmap including the launch of a home insurance (April 2024) and savings offer, positioning Nickel as a complete financial hub for its users.
Challenges
- Launch a credit offer in less than 5 months, including framing, development and production.
- Managing the integration of a complex partner API (Floa) and its poorly documented technical edge-cases.
- Create a smooth journey combining native and webview to maximize adoption while limiting user friction.
- Work in strong dependence with several Nickel teams, in a limited period of time.
- Ensuring a robust and compliant experience, while ensuring conversion and reducing the cost of risk.
Our approach
A team of 5 Fintech experts (1 Project Director, 1 Product Owner, 1 Product Owner, 1 Tech Lead, 2 Developers) was integrated into the Nickel organization to deliver a V1 in just 11 weeks.
What made the difference:
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Right-First Time
Hexagonal architecture, automated tests and precise error management to make the product reliable from day one.
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Tech-Enabled Network of Teams
Creation of a generic partner API facilitating reuse for future offers (insurance, savings).
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Just-In-Time
Design-to-cost methodology and agile strategy for rapid iteration with continuous user validation.
Theodo Fintech was able to deliver a first integrated version of our credit offer in record time, while respecting our quality requirements and security constraints. Their methodology and their ability to collaborate closely with our teams were key to the success of the project.
