From the center of trust
to a disposable product.
Star-date log 6 dec 2025. In a galaxy still far too close to home. Readying for takeoff and a week of meetups and customer team-workshops ahead…
Entering the airport a little too fast and a little too late. I have mastered the “just in time” mechanism for traveling. There is nothing I hate more than idling on an airport.
It reminds me of a warm summer evening in Tallinn, Estonia. Having a beer with my good friend Caner. “What time are you flying, Dan?” “…in about 20 min”. His eyes became wide and his grin widened. “Shouldn’t you already be on the way then?” Mmmm, yes maybe. May be.
I made it to my flight, to Ukraine, on time. But my flight was delayed… I could not have known it would become a trip that would alter the direction of my life forever…
Back to today. As always the whole chain of events on the airport were a breeze. no delays. Still more than enough time to enjoy a good cappuccino. I love my cappuccino!
While sipping my coffee, my eye lands on a Revolut vending machine. A Revolut vending machine? Is it a commercial wrapped coffee machine? Upon closer inspection I discover, no, not a coffee machine at all. But an actual Revolut machine.
The machine allows you to acquire a Revolut Visa card to start your onboarding sequence and instantly have a card at hand. Revolut-ionairy was my first thought. Quite a bright idea. Instant physical payment card (who still pays with physical card, right uhm?!).
Revolut-ionairy was my first thought.
Quite a bright idea.
I could not hold back my enthusiasm, as I love new creative ideas. I started to tap my way through the touchscreen to validate that I am, indeed, European. I am old enough (shit I am getting old, and grumpy if I may say so)..
Side note:
And side-note, a worthwhile reads: The Enshittification of Everything!
And there it was. Even without a sound (god I wanted a good old thump). My new card had arrived.
But … it all felt so empty.
No anticipation. Nobody to welcome you. Nobody to celebrate with. Not even an email. Nor a sms in the sky.
The instant, but impersonal, card became the signal that made me have zero relationship with Revolut. I not with them. Them not with me.
The bank made themselves become a disposable good. Not a safe haven. Nor someone to turn to in dire financial times. Just a wrapper around your next pair of socks. It became the vending machine in the empty airport. Replaceable. Distant. Not a place of value. Or trust.
I took the card with me and I will explore their onboarding.. to see if my opinion will change and will report with a follow up.
On “Neobanks vs. Traditional Trust”: The Trust gap.
The Finding: Research shows a clear “Trust Gap.” While 89% of consumers use digital banking, traditional banks still hold the primary “trust” relationship because of their physical presence and human support. Neobanks are often relegated to “spending money” rather than “life savings.”
Link: Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 Report: Digital Banking Usage & Trust (Search for their 2025 “Digital Trust” findings).
Academic Support: A November 2025 paper on “Humital Banking” (Human + Digital) argues that digital-only models are failing to bridge the “emotional gap” and that the future is hybrid.
This might read like a tech-story. But it is a story about brand.
Brand experience & relationship. We are fast approaching an era where the only things relevant are reach, relationship —————— and most of all trust.
“Do I trust you?”, is the question your customers and potential customers are constantly asking themselves. Trust is a predominantly human / being thing. There is no such thing as trusting a machine or an algorithm.
We are already seeing how the algorithms need human manipulation to work… let it be your YouTube account. You watch one wrong video (how to fix my dishwasher for good) and suddenly, that which interests you, is nowhere to be seen. Or your email account, you deleted this last time, so now it will go to spam (grmblll!)
How do you expect to build trust when the very first thing your customer sees of you is an airport vending-machine?
Hypothetical: Second step when I hit their website: please prove you are human? With an impossible to solve (for a human) distorted text? My whole body would be screaming: “Maybe first you prove to me you are human. Worthy of my attention.”
Why are we automating that which is most important to our well-being? The human interconnecting fabric. While leaving people mindlessly busy, pushing spreadsheets around.
Today, while in mid flight, I leave this with you:
What relationship are you aiming to build?
Ah, about that cliffhanger. I did consider leaving it hanging 🙂
That trip to Ukraine, the one with the delay? That is where I met my wife.. I moved to Ukraine that very summer. Not much later our baby Girl was born. This is now 6 years ago. I need not explain that much more has happened since and life has proven to be quite a rollercoaster.
Now I sit here in the airplane, proudly wearing my cap with the symbol of Ukraine. The home country that is in my heart every day, every hour, every beating second. And I miss our place in it. Slava Ukraine!
Dennis Maij — adventurer seeking generalist wealth.