Frankfurt based start-up extends online solutions for German visa provision
In mid-2017, more than 355,000 international students were enrolled at German universities for the first time in history. This means that the target of 350,000 international students set by universities and politicians for 2020 has already been reached much earlier than expected. This is a pleasing figure in view of the high competition for clever and qualified specialists. However, international students often have to overcome major hurdles on their way to Germany. The high level of bureaucracy and especially a cumbersome and lengthy visa process is often the decisive factor against the country.
Fintiba specialises on the needs of international students on their way to Germany and offers app-based solutions to make their life abroad easier.
New Fintiba Plus solution
In 2017 Fintiba together with Sutor Bank brought the first online blocked account to Germany. Fintiba now presents the tailor-made solution Fintiba Plus, which is the first online offer that includes the blocked account together with the required health insurances within one solution – covering all requirements for the visa appointment, a potential language course and the enrolment at university. When choosing the right health insurance an international student needs to take many factors into account: coverage for travelling to Germany, age and study time during enrolment, potential preparational courses etc. Depending on the personal situation, a student might require temporary private health coverage (or not), might be applicable to statutory health coverage (or not) and might require additional incoming (travel) insurance coverage to obtain a visa (or not).
With Fintiba Plus, students only need to provide a few personal details and Fintiba takes care of what is really needed. In order to do so, Fintiba bundles private health insurance solutions from MAWISTA, statutory health insurance from DAK and the blocked account from Sutor Bank tailored to the individual needs of the student.
Like the Fintiba blocked account, Fintiba Plus is officially approved by the German Federal Foreign Office.
Fintiba Study Guide for Germany
Along the new Fintiba Plus offer, Fintiba introduced an online Study Guide for Germany, which was developed out of all the questions that clients and friends have asked on how things work in Germany. The digital service that is accessible in the Fintiba app is free to use for clients. It provides customised information exactly at the relevant stage of the students’ journey. Thus, this makes orientation on the way to Germany and during the start at university even easier.
“We are very proud to be able to count several tens of thousands of customers after only one and a half years on the market – and several hundred are added every week. With our offer we have managed to digitize previously complex manual processes. In the future we want to expand our offer even further and offer international students all services from a single source,” says Bastian Krieghoff of Fintiba. Since its foundation, the company has increased its number of employees to currently 25. With more than eleven nationalities, Fintiba also lives its internationality in its own team.
About Fintiba:
Founded in 2016, Fintiba offers digital services for international students to ease the way to study in Germany.
Fintiba is the first online blocked account provider in Germany and is officially approved by the German Federal Foreign Office. With customers from over 160 countries, Fintiba has built up extensive knowledge about demands and requirements of international students wishing to study in Germany. The company is supported by WI-Bank, the innovation- and development bank of the state Hesse via the means of an innovation and growth loan. Preparing the visa application has never been easier for an international student – everything fully digital and app-based. Find more information on www.fintiba.com.