What It Really Takes to Launch a Neobank in Europe — Lessons from Snappi
Launching a neobank doesn’t have to be a multi-year, high-risk project. In this blog, Natech CPO Georgios Rogkakos shares key lessons from the launch of Snappi, Europe’s newest digital bank, highlighting how a composable platform, regulatory readiness, and modular deployment can accelerate time-to-market and reduce complexity.
By Georgios Rogkakos, Chief Product Officer, Natech Banking Solutions
The reality: launching a neobank doesn’t need to take forever
When we first envisioned Snappi, a fully digital, ECB-licensed bank, we knew it wouldn’t be simple. But we also knew this: it had to be fast. Today, after just over two years of design, build, test, and launch, Snappi is live in the market, onboarding thousands of customers, and operating at full scale in Greece with plans to expand across the EU.
Many banks assume that launching a neobank is a multi-year, high-risk endeavor with no guaranteed ROI. But with the right architecture, modularity, and regulatory readiness baked in from the start, the process becomes dramatically faster and more predictable.
In this post, I’ll share what we learned from bringing Snappi to life and how other financial institutions can replicate this playbook.
Why we built Snappi
Snappi was more than a product launch; it was a testbed for Natech’s full-stack, composable banking platform, including Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provision infrastructure. We wanted to prove, in real-world conditions, that local and mid-sized institutions could compete with the best digital-first banks on:
- Customer experience
- Product agility
- Operational efficiency
- Regulatory robustness
- Embedded finance
- Development capabilities
And we wanted to build it ourselves. Snappi became our internal “client,” giving us the opportunity to actively use and validate our own core technology while fine-tuning our end-to-end BaaS product offering for future Natech partners.
What really made it possible: a composable platform
Snappi runs entirely on Natech’s modular core, the same stack we offer to our clients. This includes:
Core banking: with rich functionality including live ledger, deposits, loans (including BNPL), as well as full BaaS infrastructure
Digital channels: web and mobile interfaces optimized for Gen Z and mobile-native users, plus full PSD2 readiness
AML and onboarding tools: including built-in KYC, screening, risk workflows, and BaaS-ready AML
Payments & cards: including vIBANs, e-wallets, and BNPL (“Snappi Pay Later”)
Critically, our composable architecture meant we didn’t need to build everything at once. We prioritized what mattered for launch and iterated from there, without replatforming or disrupting the stack.
This is the core principle we recommend to clients: Start modular. Build what’s necessary. Expand when ready.
Speed without shortcuts
Launching fast doesn’t mean cutting corners. Regulatory readiness was built into every layer of Snappi’s architecture. As a fully licensed ECB entity, compliance was non-negotiable, from AML to PSD2 to audit trails.
We achieved this through pre-integrated controls across our platform, including:
- Real-time transaction monitoring
- Risk-based customer profiling
- Role-based access and identity management
- Standardized reporting for EU regulatory bodies
This compliance and security-first approach is also the backbone of our BaaS infrastructure and is available to any Natech client launching their own digital bank, speedboat brand, or embedded finance proposition.
Not just for new banks
Snappi shows what’s possible with Natech’s neobanking platform. But it’s not a one-off.
Many of our clients, including cooperative banks and regional institutions, are now looking to use the same approach for dual-brand strategies, standalone digital products, or even white-label BaaS offerings. With modular deployment and fast onboarding, they’re skipping the “rip and replace” phase entirely.
These aren’t tech giants. They’re ambitious mid-sized banks making bold moves with the right foundation.
Snappi proves that launching a neobank in Europe is not reserved for startups with deep VC pockets or big tech players. With a composable core, the right regulatory prep, and a user-first design philosophy, it’s entirely achievable — even for smaller institutions.
And perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t have to take five years. With the right partner, it can take two. And with the right modules already in place, much less.
Curious how it was done?
Download the full Snappi Case Study to see how composable, cloud-native technology can bring your boldest banking ambitions to life—faster, safer, and smarter.
