Going Dutch in Germany: Moneyou brings Tikkie to a new market
Just eighteen months after its launch, Tikkie was already used by more than two million people in the Netherlands. The next step was Germany. On behalf of Moneyou, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN AMRO, GlobalOrange provided a dedicated team to develop a German version and modernise the Dutch app.
The challenge was to launch in Germany within a few months while preparing the platform for further growth. GlobalOrange redesigned the architecture, modernised the technology, made the platform multilingual and improved the usability of both the app and the web version.
The result was a scalable, maintainable platform connected to more than 3,000 German banks. Tikkie has since reached more than seven million users, with almost 600,000 payment requests paid on peak days.
Challenge
- Enter the German market with Tikkie within 100 days.
- Modernise the existing Dutch app at the same time.
- Integrate with more than 3,000 German banks, each with its own API.
Approach
- Refactor the codebase and prepare it for multiple languages.
- Migrate to AWS for scalability and flexibility.
- Focus on usability and speed, working closely as one team.
Results
- Launch the German app in 67 working days, with integration across 3,000+ banks.
- Deliver a scalable platform ready for future growth.
- Support more than seven million Tikkie users, with five payment requests paid per second.
- Apply the new architecture to the Dutch version as well.
“A colleague of mine recommended GlobalOrange as a partner for this project. The people at GlobalOrange are open, direct and committed. The same is true of their communication: open and clear.”
Fast, simple ways to split the bill
Dinner, a night at the pub or buying festival tickets: these activities often end with sending a Tikkie. Tikkie is a free app for both iOS and Android. It is an ABN AMRO initiative, but customers of other banks can use it too. Tikkie makes it easy to send payment requests to friends and family via WhatsApp or another messaging service. Payments are made through iDEAL and the recipient’s own bank. Anyone with a Dutch bank account and a suitable smartphone can use Tikkie, and the person receiving a payment request does not need the app. That convenience helped Tikkie attract more than two million users within eighteen months. Trials have also explored its use for business payments, with Transavia, HelloFresh, Ajax and War Child among the participants. Tikkie could offer an alternative to payment methods such as debit cards, PayPal and credit cards.
Tikkie on working with GlobalOrange
Gabi Helfenstein, Tikkie/Moneyou
“The success of Tikkie in the Netherlands is largely down to its ease of use and speed, combined with the familiar iDEAL payment method. Requesting money back is quick and easy to keep track of. The GIFs — short, looping animations — also make paying a Tikkie fun, helping to make asking for money back less awkward.
We built the German version of Tikkie together with GlobalOrange’s developers during a 100-day challenge. There was a tear-off calendar in our office that has since become infamous. Every day counted. As a team, we comfortably met that ambitious deadline.
In the end, it took just 67 working days to get Tikkie into the German App Store.
A colleague of mine recommended GlobalOrange as a partner for this project. Their flexibility meant we could get started quickly. GlobalOrange’s developers became part of the team in no time, and that shows in the result. The people at GlobalOrange are open, direct and committed. The same is true of their communication: open and clear. I found the quality of their people exceptionally high, and we are happy to continue working together.”
“Together with GlobalOrange, we refactored Tikkie’s codebase, prepared it for localisation and made it highly scalable. We also worked with other experts to ensure that Tikkie runs on Amazon Web Services. This new version is ready for the future and can grow without a significant increase in variable costs.
We see the German version of Tikkie as a way to communicate with the German market. Moneyou is still relatively unknown there, and we believe the app can help us build our brand. Tikkie.de demonstrates ease of use, fun, speed and security.
We believe a best-of-breed solution is needed to achieve the best result. We are independent in our choice of partners and suppliers, so we can always choose the best solution for your business.
That is why we implemented Tikkie.de on Amazon Web Services, or AWS. The right infrastructure provides the foundation for a successful platform. Together with our independent partners, we can offer a stable, secure and, above all, flexible foundation for your platform.”
A developer’s view of the project
Front-end developer Daniel Ionescu
“The goal was clear: give German users the same simple, fast way to pay each other back that Tikkie offers in the Netherlands. However, the German banking infrastructure is very different. The Dutch product uses iDEAL and only needs to communicate with a small number of banks, while the German version has to work with more than 3,000 banks. Each has its own API and needs to be integrated into the transaction flow. Moneyou achieved this by working with the German company FintecSystems, which provides a component that facilitates payments through the user’s bank.
Five people from GlobalOrange worked with Moneyou on Tikkie Germany. We felt at home straight away. Constant, open communication made the collaboration run smoothly, and the teams worked well together. There was time pressure, of course, but we met all our sprint goals (Dutch article) relatively easily without compromising.”
“Together with the Moneyou and Tikkie NL team, we continually delivered working products. As a result, we comfortably met our 100-day challenge and had extra time to test the final product.
We refactored the existing product and migrated it to Amazon Web Services. AWS provides an excellent platform for developing and maintaining digital products. Its main advantage is that we can add features quickly and reliably, helping us build a quality product. The system tests changes automatically and sometimes deploys them within twenty minutes.
We also developed a new marketing website to meet the needs of the German market.”
“Together with GlobalOrange, we refactored Tikkie’s codebase, prepared it for localisation and made it highly scalable. We also ensured that Tikkie runs on Amazon Web Services. This new version is ready for the future and can grow without a significant increase in variable costs. I found the quality of GlobalOrange’s people exceptionally high, and we are happy to continue working together.”
