BNP Paribas and a Swedish start-up join forces for the climate

BNP Paribas has just strengthened an existing partnership with a Swedish start-up. Dreams specialises in offering climate-friendly investments. The partnership between the two players also strengthens a strategic positioning for the French bank in Sweden.

FACTS

• Until now, Dreams has offered a savings service designed to help consumers improve their financial well-being. But its service is now evolving.

• Dreams and BNP Paribas created a joint company in early 2022. Called Dreams Sustainable, this joint offering, which has now been made official, has the following main objectives

  • create eco-responsible banking services, such as a payment card that reduces the carbon footprint of its spending (currently being launched),

  • to help Dreams' nearly 450,000 existing Scandinavian customers to adopt more sustainable consumption patterns.

• To do this, Dreams Sustainable wants to rely on the tools that made its previous offer so successful, namely scientific methods and behavioural research. The aim is to help users of its services to improve their finances even further, but now with the addition of respect for climate issues.

CHALLENGES

• A multi-level commitment: In addition to its positioning as a supporter of improved financial behaviour for end customers, Dreams Sustainable has also joined the global 1% for the Planet movement, donating 1% of its turnover to a certified environmental project. In terms of savings, Dreams has already demonstrated the relevance of its behavioural approach, as its personalised savings incentive tools enable its users to save an average of EUR 140 per month.

• A high-potential market: BNP Paribas is counting on this merger to consolidate its position in a particularly dynamic market. The Nordic countries represent a high growth market compared to the rest of Europe in terms of GDP, market capitalisation and prosperity, according to Eirik Winter, CEO of BNP Paribas' Nordic regional division. Sweden is also an innovation hub.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Dreams has been offering SaaS services to banks since 2021, but has already been working in partnership with Ukrsibbank, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Group, since 2020. At the time, the Swedish FinTech's goal was to leverage this partnership to improve the digital user experience of its two million customers in Ukraine. The Dreams platform was then included in Ukrsibbank's online banking offering.

• For BNP Paribas, this merger represents a way to target Millennials through a different channel than Hello Bank! All of this in a way that respects climate issues.