Why deobanks could redefine access to finance

In this interview, Maksym Sakharov—entrepreneur, public speaker, and co-founder of wit—talks about the rise of deobanks. As the pioneer of this concept and a Guinness World Record holder, he addresses accessibility, compliance, and adoption while showing how WeFi’s model opens financial opportunities for underserved communities. Recently, WeFi was also crowned Best Digital Bank of the Year by FinanceFeeds thanks to its innovative deobank model.

In many regions, even opening a simple bank card is a challenge. How does WeFi solve this problem differently from traditional banks or fintechs?

Opening a bank card shouldn’t feel like a battle, but for millions, it still does. Traditional banks bury people in forms, while fintechs often replace paper with clunky sign-up flows that don’t solve the core issue.

As a first-of-a-kind deobank, WeFi takes a different route. Our AI-driven verification and blockchain-based identity cut through documentation barriers that keep 1.4 billion people excluded. Users can connect their own wallet, verify quickly, and get a card without waiting weeks or handing over unnecessary data.

For example, someone in a rural area can open an account in minutes, receive a virtual Visa card instantly, and add it to Apple Pay or Google Pay. For anyone who wants something physical, WeFi provides plastic and premium metal cards that work at over 140 million merchants worldwide, with ATM access and no foreign exchange fees. The simplicity is hard to achieve, but that’s one of the main goals in our company.

You recently launched the WeFi mobile app publicly in early 2025. What was the biggest challenge in bringing deobank services to market?

The toughest challenge was probably onboarding. As said before, in many regions, even opening a card feels like a barrier, so we built a system that works through the WeFi Web App or even directly in Telegram. 

WeFi makes access instant and user-friendly. Everything you need is right at your fingertips—whether it’s trading, checking your balance, or sending money—and it’s all effortless.

Regulation was another hurdle. Frameworks weren’t designed for a decentralized model, so we had to work closely with regulators to align compliance while protecting user control. On the technical side, we integrated WeChain, LayerZero, and stablecoin rails to deliver one app that manages 7,000+ assets, offers rewards, and that soon will support savings and loans.

WeFi recently earned a Guinness World Record for most viewers of a blockchain livestream on YouTube. What does this say about public interest in your model?

Such a record suggests that public interest has expanded far beyond its original niche audience. The recognition was certified at the Beyond Banking Summit in Bangkok on June 14, with over 2,000 people gathered at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. 

The actual feat, though, happened two weeks earlier during our launch in Dubai, where 121,348 people joined the livestream of our launch on YouTube at the same time.

The Beyond Banking Conference in Dubai brought together people from emerging markets who still struggle with basic banking access and professionals frustrated with outdated systems. 

Even executives from traditional finance showed up, curious to explore alternatives. Alongside them were leaders from DeFi, GameFi, FinTech AI, and AI+Web3, highlighting the scale of voices now engaging with this movement. After all, we value numbers, but the high-level attendance is the achievement we’re most proud of.

What we see is that people want something familiar, like banking, but with the control that blockchain gives them. That’s exactly the direction we’re heading. They don’t want complexity; they want control, access, and services that fit seamlessly into daily life. 

At the Beyond Banking Summit in Bangkok, you presented WeFi’s approach to self-custodial finance. How was it received by traditional financial players?

Frankly, we saw a warmer reception than we had anticipated. Some traditional players came in skeptical, but once they saw how our approach to keeping risk low works, that skepticism quickly turned into genuine interest. 

What really struck them was realizing that blockchain transparency can actually strengthen compliance instead of complicating it.

Several major institutions immediately started asking about applications for cross-border payments and remittances. Regulators reacted well because they saw we weren’t trying to avoid the rules. We showed them that decentralization can still meet compliance standards, and they respected that.

On that matter, it wasn’t hindering that we could point to our solid licensing framework. WeFi is registered with FINTRAC under Canada’s MSB License and also holds a VASP license in the Czech Republic. On top of that, we have EU EMI approval and UAE authorizations, including both Dubai’s VARA and a payment solutions license.

These credentials showed that we weren’t operating in the shadows but within established oversight. By the end of the summit, the talks had moved past ideas and into real partnership discussions, especially around using our stablecoin system for international transfers.

What exactly is a deobank — and how does it differ from both traditional banks and crypto exchanges?

I see a deobank as banking built for the blockchain era. Instead of handing your money to a bank or trading on an exchange, you connect your own wallet directly to financial services through smart contracts.

That comes down to the main difference—ownership. With traditional banks, you basically give up control and trust the institution not to freeze or limit your account. With exchanges, on the other hand, you’re mostly focused on trading assets. A deobank flips the script—your wallet remains yours, and services adapt around it.

Picture it this way: banks are storage facilities, exchanges are marketplaces, and a deobank is your own secure safe that plugs into a global financial network. You hold the key, and you can still send money worldwide, earn yield, and spend anywhere Visa is accepted.

Can you give a simple example of how someone in a remote or underserved community could benefit from using WeFi?

Take a mother—let’s call her Maria—who lives in a rural town in the Philippines. She just wants an easy way to send money to her daughter, who studies in Manila. 

Now, traditional banks require documentation she doesn’t have, and remittance services charge 8-12% fees with multi-day delays. Also, the Philippines receives $40 billion in remittances annually, and most people pay excessive fees.

With WeFi, Maria downloads the app, completes simplified verification in minutes, and creates her account. She converts pesos to stablecoins at partner locations or through QR codes. The transfer happens instantly for pennies, not dollars.

Her daughter receives stablecoins immediately, uses our virtual (or physical) Visa card for purchases, withdraws cash at partner ATMs, or earns yield through staking. Maria maintains complete control—no bank can freeze her funds or block transfers.

This isn’t theoretical. Filipino platforms like Coins.ph are already seeing massive adoption of USDC for remittances. We’re scaling this model globally, and financial inclusion becomes a reality for underserved communities worldwide.

How do you see the role of deobanks evolving over the next five years in terms of global financial access?

My take is that deobanks have a great potential to become the primary financial infrastructure for emerging markets. We’re already seeing this in Brazil, where 90% of crypto transactions use stablecoins, and Argentina, where people use dollar-pegged stablecoins to protect against peso devaluation.

The evolution always happens in phases, and the first one is for emerging markets to adopt deobanks for basic services – payments, remittances, and savings. Then, as regulatory frameworks mature, I hope that we’ll see integration with traditional systems. If the global adoption continues, by 2030, deobanks will handle significant portions of global cross-border payments.

Stablecoins are the real catalyst here. With their market cap expected to pass $400 billion in 2025, they’re quickly becoming the rails of global finance—and deobanks are simple, user-friendly gateways that make them accessible to everyone.

WeFi wants to lay the groundwork for a more inclusive financial system, and its growth in the next 5 years will highly depend on how well traditional institutions choose to engage with this shift. If I had to predict, deobanking is on its way to becoming trusted infrastructure worldwide.

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