In addition to turning to local products from markets during the coronavirus lockdown, Croatians also turned to domestic financial apps. Aircash, the first Croatian digital wallet, unexpectedly topped the list of the most popular payment and money transfer apps in Croatia on both platforms, the Apple App Store and Google Play, in the past ten days.

This was confirmed by Hrvoje Ćosić, co-founder and CEO of Aircash, stating that at the beginning of June they surpassed the milestone of 100,000 users in Croatia, and during the lockdown, they achieved three times more transaction volume through the app than usual. According to him, this allowed them to catch up with previously untouchable banking apps and the global competitor Revolut.

“In recent months, we have sometimes gained up to 500 new users per day. For example, in April alone, Aircash users made nearly 50 million kuna in various payments through the app,” says Ćosić, adding that before the pandemic, they had just under 60,000 users and more modest volume.

Lightning-fast success

The need for rapid financial digitalization among Croatians in recent months is also shown by the fact that other apps that usually alternated at the top of the popularity charts in Croatia, such as KeksPay and Revolut, also recorded user growth. For example, the Erste bank app currently has over 130,000 users (76,000 in December 2019), and Revolut confirmed they now have around 100,000 users in Croatia (70,000 at the end of 2019).

As for the Croatian “mobile wallet” Aircash, which has been available on our market for three years, CEO Ćosić attributes its lightning-fast success and the doubling of users during the coronavirus lockdown not just to the options for sending and receiving money or paying bills—services also offered by other banking apps.

“Since the branches of Hrvatska Lutrija and Supersport were closed, Aircash was the only logical choice for deposits and withdrawals. Users could also withdraw their winnings, completely free of charge, at ATMs and other retail locations, which proved to be simpler and faster. Even now, we notice that people use the app for this segment just as much, even though everything has reopened,” Ćosić emphasizes.

When they introduced online gaming options within Aircash last year, and then a few months ago the ability to purchase PlayStation vouchers, they didn’t realize how important entertainment would become during isolation. Ćosić says they were surprised by the high demand for PlayStation vouchers, but it’s understandable given that all specialty stores were closed for two months.

Transfers from abroad

However, he notes, their business is not built solely on that segment. For services offered within the app—such as entertainment, games, ENC, parking, PlayStation and telecom vouchers—they do not charge any fees. Depositing money into the Aircash wallet is also free, while users pay a fee for sending money (from 1%) and for bill payments (3.5 kuna per bill).

“It’s interesting that our transaction volume in March and April grew in the money transfer segment, especially from abroad. Users abroad could send money with one click, and the recipient could immediately receive and withdraw it from an ATM. That’s actually an innovation in the Croatian market,” explains Ćosić.

What’s innovative, he adds, is that to withdraw money from an ATM via Aircash, the user does not need a bank card or to be a client of the bank. All they need is a mobile phone. By selecting the “ATM” option and the desired amount in the app, Aircash generates a six-digit code, which is then entered into the ATM, and after verification, the ATM dispenses the cash. Money can be withdrawn at all PBZ ATMs in Croatia, free of charge, as well as at Ina gas stations and Tisak kiosks. Ćosić says they are considering introducing direct payouts to users’ bank accounts, but the drawback is that such transactions cannot be instant. They also plan to enable cash withdrawals at gas stations and kiosks in all EU countries neighboring Croatia. By the end of the year, they plan to enable payments with Aircash in physical and online stores, as well as via Google and Apple Pay.

Published on: novac.hr