Longevity Card, the neobank that wants to help the elderly to take care of their personal finances

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COVID-19 has caused citizens to change their lifestyles and priorities. Health is now one of society’s main concerns, from measures to avoid contagions to the prevention of mental health problems, which have skyrocketed during the lockdown.

The data proves it: according to a study by PiC Solution, 72.4% of Spaniards are more concerned about their health since the pandemic began and 40% recognize that they are more attentive to the health of their family members, figures closely related to the aging of the Spanish population. It is precisely the elderly who are most vulnerable to the pandemic.

The Longevity Car fintech was created in response to this concern. It is a neobank and works as such, but in its app it integrates a marketplace with products and services related to health in all areas: from mental health to female sexuality.

The company was founded in March 2020 in the United Kingdom and in just a few months it plans to make the leap to Spain and the rest of Europe. The launch of the app will take place this February.

“COVID-19 has changed people’s perspectives quite a bit. Before it was all about finances and money, and now they have realized that what is important is health,” explains its Head of Global Communications, Carlos Calderón, in an interview with Business Insider España.

Calderón says he is the company’s second employee and agreed to participate in the project after connecting via LinkedIn with its founder, Sergey Balasanyan. Before working at Longevity Card, he worked at companies including N26 and Cabify among others.

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At the moment, the team is comprised of 5 people, all of them in London except for Calderón, who works in Madrid. The fintech chose Spain to expand because, as they explain, it is a market where people care about everything related to health. “Mediterranean countries are becoming more and more concerned about health,” justifies Calderón, although he adds that another of the main reasons is the talent in Spain.

The company’s goal is to reach 350,000 users by the end of this year, of which they estimate that 60% will be from the UK, as most of the investors are British.

Longevity Card has just launched a pre-crowdfunding campaign through Seedrs with the goal of raising 560,000 euros, although Calderón explains that the amount raised could be even higher.

A neobank for the elderly

Calderón explains that Longevity Card aims to become the neobank for people over 65. To this end, they will create a product aimed at this age group to help them control their finances and make it easy for them to do so. The launch is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

“Almost all banks are focused on millennials or generation Z,” he explains, and emphasizes data obtained by the company itself: 89% of people between 65 and 74 years old have used their phone in the last three months in Spain. One of the things Longevity Card has in mind is that users can speak directly to the application and be understood by it, as well as making the letters larger so that they can read more easily.

“The goal is to help them with all the problems they may have,” Calderón said.

Longevity Card has had the advice and support of Deep Knowledge Group as a shareholder since its foundation, but even more for the development of this product. This is an investment fund that specializes in longevity and is the company in which the CEO and founder of the fintech used to work.

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Although they are going to offer specific products for the elderly, they expect people of other ages to use their service and believe that the people who will use it most will be between 27 and 45 years old. In other words, they will be people who are already used to using their cell phones to access their bank accounts and who are concerned about their health.

Another of the company’s more long-term goals is to establish a system whereby customers receive longevity points every time they make transactions with the app, make purchases in the marketplace or exercise with wearables.

An integrated marketplace with health-related products

The Longevity Card app integrates a marketplace offering health-related products at discounted prices. All kinds of items will be sold, from wearables to other items related to female sexuality.

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“This has been our way of differentiating ourselves,” Calderón explains, adding that no other entity has done the same.

Items related to mental health could be the ones that stand out the most, according to the director of agreements. The data confirm the population’s concern in this regard: the prevalence of disorders such as depression, anxiety and insomnia during the pandemic is between 13% and 23%, according to a meta-analysis published in Science Direct.

“The crisis at the global level has been a big blow,” argues Calderón. “What we want is for people to use our bank, to be able to provide them with a solution.”

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