Case study

SME banking, fully online.

Client: Mastercard
Sector: Payments
Engine: Consulting
Market: France

Background

Small and medium businesses still open accounts the slow way. Files signed in branch, KYC handled on paper, the first card landing by mail. For owners running lean and trading online, that pace is friction by default. Mastercard wanted an SME proposition that lived in the same place its end customers already work: their phone.

The brief

Design and ship a fully digital banking offer for SMEs, delivered with a French bank partner. From the first form to the first payment, every step had to live online: identity verification, business KYC, account opening, a web platform and a native mobile application. With cards running on Mastercard rails, the journey had to land cleanly on both bank and scheme operating standards.

The solution

A consulting engagement embedded inside the joint scheme and bank team. B One brought a PMO to hold the program together, a Product Owner to shape the backlog across web and mobile, and a QA tester to run the cycle on every release. KYC obligations stayed at the centre of every decision.

Small business owner using the digital banking app from their shop

The customer · SME owner, on the move

The pillars

Three pillars, one journey.

/01

KYC compliance, built in.

Identity checks, business KYC and regulatory obligations sit at the centre of the flow. Onboarding cannot ship if the compliance path is not airtight.

/02

Platform and mobile, in step.

A web platform for the back office and the bank teams, a native mobile application for the customer. Both built against one product backlog and one user model.

/03

Mastercard rails, end to end.

Card issuance, payment authorisation and dispute flows handled on Mastercard rails. The journey had to land on both bank and scheme operating standards.

Scope of work