Zak – the name says it all

Bank Cler Zak App Logo

Branding for the first smartphone bank in Switzerland. «Zak» expresses what the smartphone account of Bank Cler stands for: radically simple and fast banking. As of today, the Zak app is live and revolutionizing mobile banking in Switzerland. Scholtysik & Partner developed the name, the interface design as well as tonality and language style.

Bank Cler Zak doesn’t have much in common with conventional banking any more: Zak is based on a radically new platform model. Bank account, Maestro card and credit card come for free. The app was exclusively designed for smartphones, its use is more intuitive and faster than traditional mobile banking.

Go to project 

Zak puts knowledge of behavioral economics into practice

Centerpiece is the personal division of the account balance into individual pots. All account movements are automatically displayed in these budget pots. The user always knows how much is put aside and for what purpose and how much money he can spend at the moment. This meets an urgent need of the young target group of Zak.

Bank Cler is ideally positioned for Zak

Scholtysik & Partner is in charge of all Bank Cler’s strategic brand issues. Elsewhere in Europe, innovative projects have to be launched under separate brands because traditional bank brands are perceived as too inert and inflexible. Bank Cler in contrast is credibly positioned as a young, digital bank.

«Zak proves perfectly what Bank Cler stands for: easy money management, understanding the needs of our clients, and fresh ideas.»

Gregor Eicher, Marketing Manager Bank Cler

Zak is different

When developing the name, the radical simplicity and speed of the app were the most important factors. At the same time, suitability in all language regions of Switzerland was mandatory. In addition to the name creation, Scholtysik & Partner also initiated and accompanied semantic clarifications, trademark searches and registrations. The branding agency also defined the tonality and language style of Zak – matching the spirit of the name.

From first idea to launch in only seven months

The agile development required ongoing and close coordination between branding agency and business development, marketing, strategy consultants, software developers and the advertising agency Heimat Zürich, which was responsible for the national launch campaign. Right from the start, Bank Cler actively involved its customers in the development and accepted their wishes. Scholtysik & Partner tested prototypes, optimized the interface design, designed the presentations in the App Store and Google Play Store, designed the Zak Maestro and credit cards and developed Youtube tutorials.

«Zak» on cler.ch
TV special about Zak on SRF 10vor10
Download in App Store
Download in Google Play