Drapo saves thousands of euros of transaction fees through Memo Bank

Drapo is a startup that streamlines the distribution of incentives for energy renovations to individuals and businesses. It enables companies that perform renovation work to automatically deduct from their quotes the financial incentives their clients are entitled to (i.e., individuals and businesses deciding to renovate a building). These clients only pay the remaining balance.

Founded in 2015 by Julian Aroun and Basile Denis, Drapo is growing: the company doubled its revenue between September 2020 and September 2021. Since 2020, Drapo has grown from ten employees to sixty and is currently looking to hire an additional fifty people.

Memo Bank has successfully combined a tech aspect, with a very intuitive website, and a human touch, with the support of a dedicated business manager.

Julian ArounCofounder and CEO

Drapo collects the incentives for which the end clients are eligible (for individuals, for example, the amount of the incentive varies based on their income level and place of residence) and transfers these incentives via bank transfer to the artisans who carry out the work. Drapo now works with over 2,700 partner artisans: hence, several million euros are transferred out of the company’s bank accounts each month.

However, traditional banks charge their clients fees each time money leaves their current accounts, whether it’s in the form of a transfer or a direct debit. All banks take a percentage of each outgoing transfer (e.g., 0.20%), and most of them also charge a fixed amount per transfer (e.g., €0.40 per outgoing transfer). For companies like Drapo, which handle a large volume of transactions, these fees charged by banks represent a significant expense — amounting to tens of thousands of euros per year for Drapo.

The billing of transaction fees is not just a financial burden. It’s also a mental burden for the CEO, who can never predict what the bank will charge at the end of the month. Julian Aroun, the CEO of Drapo, wanted his company’s transactions to be domiciled in a bank whose pricing model does not include transaction fees. But how can one escape this model adopted by all traditional banks?

In 2021, Julian Aroun discovered Memo Bank, whose pricing model perfectly met Drapo’s needs. The CEO appreciated the transparency of Memo Bank’s pricing: three subscription plans, each offering different types of services. This subscription-based pricing allows Drapo to achieve significant savings. It also provides Julian Aroun with peace of mind: he finally has visibility on the banking fees that Drapo will pay. There are no unpleasant surprises: Memo Bank does not charge the startup for its growth.

Thanks to Memo Bank, Drapo saves money, and also time. The online bank account management is very intuitive, and many features have been developed to simplify users’ lives.

Julian Aroun is particularly pleased with how transfers are managed. Thanks to two-factor authentication, adding new transfer beneficiaries is immediate: the manager adds the beneficiary on the bank’s website and confirms the operation on his mobile app—and that’s it. He does not need to wait 48 hours for his bank to validate the IBAN of the new beneficiary. Memo Bank also allows him to perform thousands of transfers in a few seconds, without the risk of error, thanks to batch transfers. The CEO simply needs to import a CSV file containing the transfer orders onto the platform, and Memo Bank takes care of the rest. If the file contains new beneficiaries, they are automatically added.

Another feature offered by Memo Bank, which has become fundamental for Drapo, is the creation of secondary current accounts (up to 20), which allows the startup to categorize its cash flows into sub-accounts, labeled by type of flow. This connectivity enables Julian Aroun to more easily monitor the company’s cash flows and simplifies accounting.

Finally, Julian Aroun highly values the “human” aspect of the banking relationship at Memo Bank. Drapo is supported by a dedicated business manager, Maxime, who takes the time to understand the company’s challenges and issues. Julian can easily contact Maxime by phone or message.

Drapo estimates that it has saved between €20,000 and €45,000 in banking fees related to transaction fees.

The choice of Memo Bank has very concrete consequences for Drapo. The startup estimates that in 2021, it saved between €20,000 and €45,000 in banking fees related to transaction fees by migrating all its cash flows to Memo Bank. The time saved by Julian Aroun in managing his bank accounts is measured in several hours per month.

Fully satisfied with the support provided by Memo Bank, Julian Aroun sees himself continuing the relationship with the new bank over the long term.