Air Bank

Air Bank Group »

Air Bank routinely introduces novel services and solutions to the Czech market, where it leads the way in customer centricity. This approach has seen it continue to attract new clients, increase its volume of lending, and record growing income from regular retail banking services. At the end of 2021, Air Bank had more than 986,000 clients served by 955 employees at 32 branches distributed among the Czech Republic’s largest towns and cities. In recent years, its customer experience has been ranked first and second out of two hundred regularly assessed brands that are present in the Czech market.

It was the first domestic bank to launch instant payments. It was also among the first to make the popular Apple Pay service available in the Czech Republic, subsequently going on to add Google Pay, Garmin Pay, and Fitbit Pay. It launched multi-banking and linked this system with all other major banks (from which many clients make their way to Air Bank). 

In 2021, Air Bank deployed the first banking app that could be voice-controlled in Czech, a feat earning it Novelty of the Year award in the financial sector. Air Bank was one of the first banks in the Czech Republic to offer banking identity, or BankID, as a means of facilitating communication with the public and commercial sector. Air Bank clients can now make returns on their savings by investing via the Portu service or in other clients’ loans via the Zonky Rentiér service. Looking to the future, Air Bank will focus on areas such as services for families and the expansion of its mortgage and investment services.

Air Bank’s mobile banking enjoys high levels of popularity among customers. In the third quarter of 2021, it was used by over 670,000 users, almost a quarter of whom made daily use of the app. The scale of Air Bank’s digitalisation is also phenomenal in terms of clients opening new accounts (75% online), applying for loans (88% online), or taking out travel insurance (91% online).

In 2021, the bank committed to environmentally and socially responsible business by subscribing to the Czech Banking Association’s Memorandum on Sustainable Finance. Both Air Bank and Zonky are regularly named among the most responsible consumer lenders in the People in Need Responsible Lending Index.

PPF Group holds 91.12% in Air Bank through PPF Financial Holdings a.s. and Home Credit B.V.

Zonky

Zonky, operated by Benxy (a subsidiary of Air Bank), is a P2P fintech platform. Zonky offers to lend money via a simple digital platform and application. Using a computer or smartphone, customers can handle the whole borrowing process from submitting an application to signing a contract within minutes. Zonky typically charges lower interest than traditional lenders.

Zonky also offers services for all types of investors, both experienced and newcomers based on sharing economy principles. At Zonky, clients themselves can make money by acting as a “bank” and investing into loans without an institutional intermediary, either through our in-house portfolio management or through a Zonky Rentiér.

Zonky, the P2P lending platform, formally became part of Air Bank in December 2021, but continues to offer its services under its own brand.