What role do innovative payment solutions play in shaping the future of finance? During Money Motion 2025, IT Logs caught up with Dejan Donev, the head of digital product development at Erste Bank, who shared insights into the transformation of banking technology and the success of their payment solution KEKS Pay.
As the founder of Erste Bank’s digital innovation lab, Donev has been instrumental in developing innovative financial applications, including KEKS Pay, NetBanking, and mBanking. With over 15 years of experience in banking – spanning risk management, credit scoring, and model development – he discussed KEKS Pay’s journey, its expansion plans for the region, including Macedonia, and the future of digital banking.
IT Logs: What brings you to Money Motion 2025?
Dejan Donev: Primarily, we are here because of our application KEKS Pay, which has been present at this conference since its inception. KEKS Pay is our internal startup, developed from scratch in Croatia, and is centered around payment solutions. We describe it as a lifestyle app rather than just a fintech product. This event is an opportunity to showcase new KEKS Pay developments, and our team is actively participating—our CEO is on a panel discussion now, and I’ll be on one later. We also have a booth here, where attendees can learn about the app and even use it to pay for food or make charitable donations.
KEKS Pay is unique because it is not a traditional banking app; it is designed for everyone in Croatia, regardless of their bank. While Erste Bank was the investor behind the product, it has grown beyond a conventional banking service to become a widely used digital payment solution.
How did you initially begin building KEKS Pay?
Dejan Donev: When we started developing KEKS Pay, we assembled an entirely new team from scratch. Almost everyone, except me, came from outside the bank. The bank provided the budget and gave me the freedom to build something innovative. Our CEO has also emphasized this approach—true innovation often requires fresh perspectives from outside traditional banking structures.
Banks are highly structured institutions with established processes, which can sometimes hinder radical innovation. That’s why we brought in a team of seven to eight external professionals. We built the app in about a year, primarily during 2018, with some initial work starting in late 2017. We launched it at the beginning of 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily slowed our growth. However, since 2022, we’ve been back on track, experiencing annual growth rates exceeding 100% depending on new features we introduce.
Now, we are planning to launch KEKS Pay in Macedonia. We are also in the process of establishing a separate company for KEKS Pay, which will allow for external investment, including funding from our headquarters in Vienna. This move will give us the flexibility to expand into new markets. Since I am originally from Macedonia, it made sense for us to begin expansion there. Bosnia is also a priority market for us.
We visited Macedonia in December to initiate the process, including discussions with the National Bank. We weren’t sure how they would respond, but they were very welcoming and eager to see new, innovative solutions in the market. That positive response has encouraged us to move forward.
What type of services will KEKS Pay offer to new users in Macedonia?
Dejan Donev: Whenever we launch KEKS Pay in a new market, we start with a few key use cases and then expand based on demand. In Macedonia, we will introduce three initial features.
The first one is Peer-to-Peer payments – this allows users to settle bills, split expenses, and collect money for events, regardless of which bank they use. A common example in Zagreb is coworkers splitting lunch bills—one person pays, and the others reimburse them via KEKS Pay using just their phone numbers. Unlike traditional banking apps, users don’t need to open a new account; they simply link their existing debit card.
Remittances is the second feature – with many Macedonians work abroad, particularly in Croatia, and regularly send money home. KEKS Pay will make these transactions faster, easier, and significantly cheaper. Instead of opening a separate bank account in Croatia, workers can link their Croatian, German, or Irish debit card and instantly transfer money to a Macedonian recipient.
The third one is QR Code Payments, as this will streamline payments in web shops and physical locations. Online payments with KEKS Pay eliminate the need to manually enter card details, making checkout faster and more secure. In Macedonia, we will integrate with Monri Payments, one of the region’s major payment gateways, ensuring widespread merchant adoption.
We also plan to introduce bill payments for utilities, similar to our success in Croatia. Instead of receiving paper bills or manually entering payment details, users will receive digital bills directly in KEKS Pay and pay with a simple swipe. Additionally, if we find a partner for parking payments, we will integrate that service as well.
We aim to launch in Macedonia by the end of the year—likely in November or December. After that, we plan to expand to Bosnia and then Serbia, with Montenegro also on our radar.
You started developing KEKS Pay in 2018–2019. How have you seen banks collaborating with fintechs over the years?
Dejan Donev: While we are making significant strides in digital banking, the overall market is not moving as fast as I would like. Erste Bank has embraced digitalization extensively – almost all our products are available on mobile – but cash transactions and traditional banking habits still dominate in many areas.
For example, in major cities like Zagreb, digital payments are widely accepted. However, in other regions, cash is still prevalent, and many people continue to pay bills by scanning paper invoices. Changing long-established habits takes time, and despite the progress we’ve made, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve full digitalization.
What emerging trends do you see shaping the future of digital banking and fintech?
Dejan Donev: The biggest trend is eliminating analog processes – everything will be digital and mobile-first. We are moving toward a world where banks exist entirely on your phone, and cash transactions will gradually disappear.
AI will play a crucial role in accelerating this shift. It will enhance automation, reduce costs, and improve customer service. Currently, KEKS Pay has over half a million users, and customer inquiries continue to grow. At the moment, our support system is largely manual, leading to delays. AI-powered chatbots and automation will help us respond to users instantly and efficiently.
Another major shift will be in user interfaces. Right now, mobile banking involves navigating multiple screens and buttons. In the future, I believe users will interact with apps through voice commands or natural language inputs. For example, instead of clicking through menus, a user could simply say, “I want to send money to my friend,” and the app would guide them through the process conversationally.
AI-driven interfaces will replace traditional forms, making financial transactions as simple as having a conversation. I’ve been talking to ChatGPT using my voice more frequently, and I see how voice interaction is becoming more intuitive. Once the technology is truly seamless, user adoption will skyrocket.
