Start your own digital banking app in Oranjestad and take on Aruba Bank

By SendPay Business · · 3 min read

Start your own digital banking app in Oranjestad and take on Aruba Bank

Oranjestad is one of the biggest money cities in Aruba. In Aruba, card payments are part of everyday life. Most of it flows through Aruba Bank and RBC Royal Bank. A brand built for Oranjestad, its neighbourhoods, communities and small businesses, can win people the national giants treat as just another account number.

How Oranjestad pays todayWho you'd be competing with in OranjestadWhat you can launch under your own brand

How Oranjestad pays today

Oranjestad is Aruba's capital, the Aruban florin is tied to the US dollar, and people bank with Aruba Bank and CMB while US dollars are common in tourism.

A brand made for Aruba's tourism businesses, shops or families can make paying and getting paid simpler.

Who you'd be competing with in Oranjestad

The big banks, Aruba Bank and RBC Royal Bank, are everywhere in Oranjestad. The apps won people over by being simpler. Your edge is being local: your language, your community, your city's name on the card.

What you can launch under your own brand

An everyday account app with balances and a branded card, a money transfer app, a payment-link product for invoices, a marketplace that pays its sellers, or a membership platform. Each is a template: your name, your colours, your domain, your fees.

How it works, in a few clicks

Pick the template closest to your idea, type your platform name and preview every page before you pay.

  1. Pick a template.
  2. Name it and choose your colours. The site changes as you type.
  3. Preview the finished platform, page by page.
  4. Verify with a selfie and pay your invoice.
  5. Go live on your own domain within 24 hours and invite your first users.

You set the fees, you keep them

Charge 1%, 2.9% or nothing: it's your call. On every florin your users move, your platform earns the fee you set.

Permissions: the honest part

The accounts, cards and payments behind your platform are powered by licensed partners. Depending on what your platform does and who it serves, you may also need your own registration, and serving customers in Aruba can bring local rules from the Centrale Bank van Aruba. We tell you in writing which permissions apply to your platform before you pay, and introduce specialists who handle them. We are not licensed advisers and don't guarantee outcomes.

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

Can I really compete with Aruba Bank in Oranjestad?

Not on size on day one. But you can beat any big bank on focus: a platform built for one city, community or kind of customer, with a better experience and fairer fees.

Can I call it a bank?

In most countries, including Aruba, "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, an app or a platform.

Is SendPay Business connected to Aruba Bank?

No. We name them only to describe the market. SendPay Business is an independent technology company, not a bank.

Should I put Oranjestad in my app's name?

It can help if you only plan to serve Oranjestad, because people trust a local name. If you want to grow across Aruba later, pick a name that still works outside the city. The free name generator gives you ideas and opens your favourite straight in the builder.

Payment app name generator →
How much could a platform in Oranjestad earn?

It depends on how many people in Oranjestad use it, how much they move and the fee you set. Put your own numbers into the free calculator.

Platform earnings calculator →
Is there a guide for the whole of Aruba?

Yes, the Aruba guide covers the national picture.

Aruba guide →
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?

Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers. Tick each step off as you go.

Digital bank app launch checklist →
How do I start?

Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.

Build my platform →

Read next

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.