Thurgauer Kantonalbank (TKB), the state bank of the region to the east of Zurich, appointed Mike Franz to the board of directors, the company said in a statement today. The IT specialist will replace Werner Dickenmann, who will leave the bank after nine years this spring.

Franz, 53, is an electrical engineer by training and founder of Netcetera, the Zurich-based fintech company. Netcetera helps financial-service companies to develop and implement digital solutions and services.

Competitor of Twint

Netcetera developed SwissWallet together with credit card issuer Aduno and Credit Suisse unit Swisscard. SwissWallet is a digital wallet and competition to Twint, the Swiss digital payment application.

Franz is leading the sales and corporate development division of Netcetera. He also is a member of the board of the holding company as well as its Braingroup and Done units.