Banking as a service (BaaS) vs a white-label banking app: which should you pick?
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
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 paying, and a platform goes live within 24 hours of confirmation.
How to choose
- No developers, want customers this month: white-label.
- A product team and a design nobody else offers: BaaS.
- 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.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
Is it cheaper to build a banking app myself?
Compare the first-year cost of an in-house build with a white-label launch, using your own team and timeline.
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? →What does a white-label platform cost?
The white-label banking app cost guide explains how pricing works, with nothing to pay until you publish, from the money transfer platform to the business account platform.
White-label banking app cost →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.
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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. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.