Banking as a service (BaaS) vs a white-label banking app: which should you pick?
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
- 1Name it and pick your colours
- 2Choose what it does
- 3Launch when you are ready
There are two common ways to launch your own money app without becoming a bank. With banking as a service (BaaS), a licensed provider gives you the accounts and payments through an API, and your own developers build the app on top. With a white-label platform, the app is already built and you put your name on it. Both run on licensed partners. They differ in how much you build yourself.
Banking as a service
You get the building blocks: accounts, cards and payments behind an API. Your team designs and builds the app, the website, the sign-up flow and the admin tools, then connects them to the provider.
It suits companies that already have developers and want to shape every screen themselves. Expect a build measured in months, and ongoing engineering to maintain it.
White-label platform
The app, website, sign-up and owner's console already exist. You choose the kind of platform, name it, set your fees and launch.
It suits founders who want to start selling before hiring a team. On SendPay Business you can preview every page before you launch, and a platform goes live within 24 hours of confirmation.
Try it
Name your platform and watch it come to life
Type a name, tap a colour and pick what it does. The phone changes as you go.
Colour
What it does
Design and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
How to choose
Tap to explore
Tap each one to see what it means.
No developers, want customers this month
white-label.
Not sure yet
start white-label to prove people will pay, and build custom features once you know what they want.
What stays the same either way
You still need to know your customers, register where your market requires it, and never call your app a bank unless you hold a banking licence. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
How it works
Money on its way- 1Pick who to pay and type the amount
- 2Tap send and it is on its way
- 3It lands in their account
Why sign up
Create your free SendPay account
It's all about creating your own financial platform with ease. Start with a free account today.
- 🪪A free business accountOpen it in about a minute with your business name, email, password and mobile. No card and no documents to start.
- 💳Get paid from day oneTake card payments, and share your own payment link and invoices so customers pay in a click.
- 🌐A free business websiteFree to build, free to publish and free to keep, with unlimited visits.
- 🚀Your own financial platformDesign and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Accounts, cards and payments are powered by licensed partners.
Questions people ask
Is it cheaper to build a banking app myself?
Work out the first-year cost of an in-house build from your own team and timeline, and see how a white-label launch differs.
Banking app build cost calculator →Which money app should I launch?
Answer a few questions and get a suggested platform type.
Which money app should I launch? →Can I add my own features later?
Yes. The custom build extra lets you describe extra pages, features or flows and have them built into your platform.
How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you launch.
Build my platform →Read next
Spotted a mistake or something out of date? and we'll fix it. How our guides are made
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. Other companies named in this guide are reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.