Euphoria Taps Jiko to Power Bliss, a Mobile Banking App for the Transgender Community

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jiko, a modern banking platform with simple API access that allows businesses to embed financial services tailored to their customers, announced that Euphoria is using its platform to launch Bliss, a banking app for the transgender community¹.

Euphoria provides technology for the transgender community to help alleviate the struggles associated with gender transition. For a community that continues to face social and institutional discrimination, the financial services world is no exception, with stringent identity verification requirements that limit access to products. Considering the costs and stresses of gender transition, Euphoria's launch of Bliss is a huge step for the transgender community that allows easy, digital access to secure financial services.

"I expect Bliss to succeed, and at the end of Euphoria's journey, Jiko will have done one of the most difficult tasks in making everyday finance work for one of the most stigmatized communities in the United States," said Robbi Katherine Anthony, CEO, and Founder of Euphoria. "If you can build a banking services platform that puts money back in our users' pockets while helping us build savings programs that work for trans people, you can set up and run a finance platform for anyone. Euphoria is now able to focus on providing our community and users the best experience possible, and Jiko handles all of the backend of banking."

How Jiko Works

Jiko operates a unique deposit model. It begins with owning a bank and a brokerage and integrating a full technology stack with both to power operations. Rather than storing money in a bank account, customers' funds are automatically invested in government-backed Treasury Bills. When those funds need to be accessed, they can be liquidated in real-time. As a result, customers can feel secure knowing their funds are never lent out, always available, and potentially earning. Meanwhile, Jiko can welcome any amount of customer deposits as its unique model bypasses the capital constraints traditional bank partners face.  Jiko offers direct access to this deposit model through its API, and Euphoria is the first to bring these benefits directly to its customers.

Thanks to Jiko, Euphoria can:

• Provide highly customized and flexible financial services curated to its community's unique needs. For example, an immeasurable benefit to Euphoria's community is customizing the Bliss KYC flow to open accounts for those whose visual representation does not match their government documentation. Euphoria found it difficult for a traditional bank partner to accommodate this.
• Launch Bliss in just a few months. Aligning with traditional partner banks would have taken anywhere from 12 to 18 months of implementation and software development at the cost of over $1 million. Fast-moving companies that want to offer banking services do not have the luxury of spending time trapped inside long integration cycles.
• Streamline vendor management thanks to Jiko's full-stack approach. This eliminates the need for external partner banks and allows advanced customization. The benefits Jiko provides are full-stack vertical integration and lower implementation costs that combine to help remove inefficiencies.
• Improve profitability and economics. Jiko's business model gives the total interchange income from card transactions to partners and their customers.

A great digital money experience is challenging to create. This problem would have been solved years ago if it were merely about technology or completing seamless developer integrations. Instead, Jiko enables its customers and partners to run mobile-first banking applications that their customers are familiar with while using a deposit model that lifts all potential and future money storage requirements. The result enables companies, brands, and communities to focus solely on their users' needs.

"All signs point to an immediate future where fintech is the center of every vertical and community, and Euphoria is no different," said Stephane Lintner, CEO, and Co-founder, Jiko. "We have a massive opportunity to deliver one-to-one money storage at scale by embedding our digital product into your favorite brands, traditional banks, and other fintechs. Because of how Jiko built its product stack, we basically have infinite scale. Jiko can help any company or person with the need to store, save, and spend money safely and at scale."

About Jiko
Jiko is a modern banking and investing platform that empowers innovative companies to embed the storage and movement of money seamlessly into an exceptional customer experience. With Jiko, any company can efficiently store and move its own money, while also offering customers secure, frictionless, transparent and flexible banking functionality. Companies leverage Jiko's T-Bill based model to increase financial efficiency, deepen customer relationships, reach financially underserved populations, and contribute to a more stable financial system overall.

Media Contact:
Colin Crook, Jiko Communications
e: [email protected]
p: 650-269-5235

1. Jiko, owned and operated by Jiko Technologies, Inc., makes available a unique combination of financial services provided by Jiko Technologies and its affiliates, Jiko Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member, and Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank, Member FDIC. Jiko Securities, Inc. accounts:

Not FDIC Insured; No Bank Guarantee; May Lose Value. See FINRA BrokerCheck and Jiko U.S. Treasuries Risk Disclosures.

SOURCE Jiko

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