In the fort of 21st-century safe deposit boxes

More and more people are looking to store their belongings in a safe, accessible, and reliable place. We're not talking about just any belongings, but those of great value, not always material. Jewelry, documents, money, keys... objects they'd rather not have at home in case of theft or fire . Sometimes they just want to keep them for a short period of time due to a move, a vacation, or a temporary absence from home. When we think of safe deposit boxes, we usually think of them as a service offered by banks, but with the closure of branches, they've been diminished for a long time.

Specifically to address this market need, Grupo Inviam was founded in 2013. It offers private, independent services for storing jewelry, physical and electronic documents, and other valuables in a high-security facility with a capacity for 4,400 safe deposit boxes in vaults. They started in a rented space in Madrid, and two years later, they acquired a property without leaving the capital, offering larger spaces and opportunities for growth. "Clients can choose from three different safe sizes, can authorize up to five people, and have free and unlimited visits," emphasizes David Sacristán, co-founder and CEO of Grupo Inviam.

Many bank branches have been abandoning this service, not only due to closures but also due to changing regulations. "It's not always possible to keep up with regulations, with space and customer access requirements," Sacristán emphasizes. In their case, starting the business from scratch, they have even opted to improve aspects such as the level of security at the teller counters. Regarding customer access, technology is a great ally for this bank . Customers are granted access through facial recognition and palm scanning. With a system of locks for entry, each one only opens when the previous one has closed, and there are never more customers than employees within the teller access area. And to guarantee the security of customer and company data, they have an internal computer network that is not connected to the internet, thus preventing cyberattacks.

The armored door that provides access to the safes weighs 1,600 kilos . To open these safes, customers need a key, which they have, and a key that the employee has. "Once opened, customers have five minutes to stay inside the vault, and if they need more time, there are two rooms outside where they can stay," explains the CEO. One of the new features in the safes' layout is that they have rows of movable boxes, which significantly increases their capacity. As the boxes move, the aisles open.

Sacristán acknowledges that the beginnings were difficult. "It took us two years to get the business up and running. It was something new, the regulations, and finding a suitable location that met the criteria of discretion and reliable construction." Initially, there were two founding partners who initiated a round of financing that included eight investors and also obtained a loan from Aval Madrid, which they managed to repay in four years. Given their business, "we rely on being available, but without advertising," the co-founder acknowledges. Customer recommendations have been key, and they pride themselves on having a very high loyalty rate of 90%.

This firm wants to emphasize that this type of service is accessible to many people. "The small box is valued at 365 euros per year , 1 euro per day," emphasizes Sacristán. This amount includes insurance worth 25,000 euros, which can be extended. Among its collaboration agreements is the one with the Bar Association, "a fairly common client profile, for documents that they want to keep protected." Strategic agreements with financial institutions are also planned, which will allow them to boost their growth by up to 50% in five years, and to this end, a new business area has been created. "We want to support banks in this transformation process, offering real solutions that benefit both the institutions and their clients. The new area was created to build bridges, not to compete, and to provide continuity to a service that many people continue to need," explains Sacristán.

With annual customer growth of 25%, the outlook for the future is positive: "We hope to build the next vault in the next six or seven years, and from the beginning, we've planned to expand by opening spaces in other cities and countries ," the CEO acknowledges. Currently, they have 1,150 of the current 1,600 vaults occupied. During periods like summer, demand for this service increases considerably, a customer they hope to build loyalty with later.