Yourasset in the Private Banking Customer Magazine of Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft

 CREDUM – the customer magazine of Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft, the private bank within the German Savings Bank Finance Group, has published an article about our CEO Stephan Kolz and the founding of Yourasset AG. 

Courage Means Believing in a Vision

It all began with a seemingly simple question that founder Stephan Kolz asked himself in 2019:
Why can expensive cars be financed, but not high-end luxury watches or designer handbags?
“That really makes no sense,” says Kolz. “Cars lose value quickly, while many luxury watches actually increase in price over the years. Historical inflation data shows that luxury goods tend to appreciate faster than the general inflation rate. Given their lasting value, watches share many characteristics with traditional assets.”

And Kolz knows what he’s talking about: from 2012 to 2017, he worked at Frankfurter Bankgesellschaft (Schweiz) AG in Zurich, advising wealthy clients. That experience proved invaluable for founding Yourasset and laid the foundation for what was to come.

From Vision to Reality

Founded in 2020, the fintech specializes in regulated financing and payment solutions for the luxury industry.
While the concept may sound technical, it actually bridges two worlds that have rarely met before: the world of digital finance and the emotional world of luxury watches, jewelry, and other fine goods.

On the digital platform yourasset.com, users find a marketplace for luxury watches where merchants can run their own digital boutiques – complete with integrated financing options at checkout. Every transaction takes place within a regulated structure that includes credit checks, transparent terms, and clear risk assessment.

Customers can finance elegant timepieces in installments – both brand-new models from represented brands and dealers, as well as curated pre-owned watches – and can also sell their watches. In addition, they can manage their existing collections online or even use them as collateral for loans.

What makes Yourasset’s financing unique: traditional “buy now, pay later” offers are usually unregulated – meaning no strict credit checks or legal protections as in conventional consumer loans. For high-value watches, that can create risky situations for both merchants and buyers.

Yourasset takes a deliberate alternative approach: financing is offered on a regulated, transparent, bank-like basis with proper credit assessment. Customers benefit not only from legal security but also from fair and predictable conditions:

Monthly payments are clearly structured, the purchase price remains fixed, and the term can be flexibly chosen between 12 and 60 months, for amounts up to CHF 250,000.

For merchants and brands, the model offers additional advantages: through a simple API integration, financing can be embedded directly into their online or in-store checkout, while Yourasset acts as the payment and financing provider behind the scenes.

Rapid Growth

One question remains: why would wealthy clients choose to finance a luxury watch at all?
The answer is relatively simple: even for liquid buyers, financing can make strategic sense. Many models increase in value every year – sometimes by 5 to 10 percent – while financing costs remain predictable over fixed terms. Financing today secures the current price and protects against future price increases, which are especially common in the luxury industry.

For instance, according to the Swiss business magazine Bilanz, luxury watch prices have risen more than twice as fast as general inflation since 2000. Another example: the iconic Chanel Classic Flap 2.55 cost €5,150 in 2019. Just five years later, after annual price increases of up to 15%, it now costs €10,300.

“We often see our customers choosing to finance consciously – not out of necessity, but for rational reasons,” says Stephan Kolz. “Entrepreneurs in particular understand that managing liquidity is part of good wealth management. Financing a luxury good doesn’t mean you can’t afford it – it means you’re structuring it wisely.”

Next Stop: Germany

Just three years after launch, Yourasset was named one of the Top 10 Fintech Startups in Switzerland by Venturelab. But the journey wasn’t always smooth:

“We built most of it from scratch – the database, platform, risk engine, marketplace. Creating that kind of technical infrastructure from zero obviously takes capital. That’s essential, especially for a completely new business model outside an existing, well-capitalized corporate structure that still has to prove itself in the market,” recalls Kolz.

“Raising capital was our absolute focus for a while, and it was sometimes difficult to put aside other exciting topics and ideas I wanted to pursue.”

Today, Yourasset is an established player in Switzerland, and Kolz – as team captain of the Venture Leaders Fintech – has already gained international attention. But he’s not one to rest on his laurels: expansion into Germany is planned for 2026.

Would he ever consider leaving entrepreneurship behind after all these fast-paced and successful years?
“For me, it’s conceivable to return to a permanent position if a significantly larger corporation were to acquire Yourasset,” says Kolz. “The upside would be that I could then expand my personal watch collection much faster,” he jokes – before offering a sincere piece of advice to young founders:

“Be brave! Believe strongly in your own vision! Courage and perseverance are the foundation for creating something new – especially when others don’t yet believe in it.”

Visit the Yourasset website to learn more about luxury watch financing.