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THE PRIORITIES LIST FINTECH MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

fintechmagazine.com 5

No, net zero is not the new valuation of some fintechs. Despite the economic woes, sustainability is still high on the agenda; businesses large and small are keener than ever to prove their green credentials.

JOANNA ENGLAND joanna.england@bizclikmedia.com HIGH UP ON

In this month’s issue, we take a look at the source of emissions and how fintech collectively can reduce its impact on the planet. We also have excellent features covering the future of blockchain, the role of community banks, and the growing pains currently being endured by decacorns.

Amid the clamour to appear sustainable, there is a danger for fintechs to overcompensate. Greenwashing, where companies exaggerate their eco-friendliness, has the potential to decimate brand reputations and undermine consumer confidence. It’s a practice that has already taken root in many industries, from cosmetics to automotive.

While fintechs may be lighter touches than incumbent financial institutions, and all of the physical infrastructure that comes with them, they can still play an important part. But to do it, we must all be keenly aware of our own emissions as well as those of our customers, partners and suppliers.

partnersthoseemissionsownaswellasofourcustomers,andsuppliers”

We must be keenly aware of our

Banking innet-zeroAchievingfintech 50 Our UpfrontRegularSection: 12 Big Picture 14 The Brief 16 Timeline: The history of Open Banking in Europe 18 Trailblazer: Nikolay Storonsky 22 Five Minutes With: Anne-Laure Klein Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Data-Driven Procurement: The SMBC Strategy 28CONTENTS

Financial Services Blockchain 74 Payment Solutions The future of economybankscommunityinaglobal 92 Vodafone Creating a place for Vodafone in the world of FinTech 56 Global PayEX Optimising working capital via AR and AP automation 80

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Grupo PortugalAgeas Beyond insurance: Grupo Ageas Portugal 146 Booz Allen Hamilton Cyber innovation for today’s commerce 100 Technology Struggling to scale? Fintech decacorns and the downturn Storebrand ManagementAsset throughassetTransformingmanagementtechnology Everi Holdings Inc. Leading gaming into a digital future 114 134 122

How can an B2B theTreviPaybusiness?lightPaymentsEmbeddedSolutionupyourDownloadtheeBookhasanswers.

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As the world reels from the financial fallout of the Russia/Ukraine war, Taiwan calls upon its citizens to prepare for a nuclear attack byWithChina.apopulation of 29 million people, the Asian democracy has been at odds with China since 1947 over whether it’s a territory of China or its own country – a contentious issue that has reared its head in recent years. DreamWorks’ 2019 film Abominable featured a controversial image of contested territories in the South China Sea, which included Taiwan. A war between the two would trigger financial devastation for the already unstable global economy.

BIG PICTURE

China 12 September 2022

China and Taiwan in pre-war standoff?

fintechmagazine.com 13

The new Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act was recently introduced to the US Senate and seeks to strengthen security against the latest threat actors through quantumPassedcomputing.inJuly2022, the bill addresses federal agencies’ preparedness for quantum computing and requires them to adopt proper defences against quantum-computing-enabled dataThebreaches.threats posed by cyber attacks have risen significantly since 2020 and the digital transformation of industries. The problems being faced by the financial industry are multifaceted, involving cloud migration of legacy systems and after-the-fact cybersecurity solutions rather than cyber-by-design business models.

_QU4NTUM_C 0 MPUT1NG T 0 _F1GHT_CYB3RCR1M3_ “THE GENERATEBANKINGCOMMUNITYSECTORWILLNEEDTOEVALUATEOPPORTUNITIESTONEWSTREAMSOFNETINCOME,WHILEENHANCINGTHEIRDIGITALCAPABILITIES” Keith RIDDLE CEO of BankiFiAmericas,  14 September 2022

The move by the US government to action the use of quantum computing against the growing cyber threat illustrates the seriousness of hacking and data breaches to the US business community.

Fintechs are also under threat, often because of their business modelling, which by nature offers services at speed as well as services such as Open Banking and embedded finance, driven by APIs, which may leave them additionally vulnerable to data breaches.

The bill also underlines the need to migrate federal agencies’ information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography and mandates that the Office of Management and Budget will supervise the migration process.

A spokesperson for the bill remarked: “Quantum computing will provide for huge advances in computing power, but it will also create new cybersecurity challenges. This bipartisan legislation will require the government to inventory its cryptographic systems, determine which are most at risk from quantum computing, and upgrade those systems accordingly. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation.”

THE BRIEF “FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, REVOLUT HAS HIRED THE BEST TALENT. WE CONTINUE TO HIRE EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE GLOBALLY AND RECENTLY SURPASSED 5,000 EMPLOYEES” André SILVA Head of International Expansion, Revolut  READ MORE “IN A PRODUCTSGREENWASHINGNUTSHELL,ISTHECOMMUNICATIONOFUNSUBSTANTIATEDOREXAGGERATEDCLAIMSINRELATIONTOTHESUSTAINABILITYOFANDSERVICES” Ella MOORE SeniorSuperunionStrategist,  READ MORE READ MORE

BY THE NUMBERS ZILCH

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The neobank evaded the crisis plaguing other fintechs due to its extensive product offerings and also recently forged a collaborative partnership with Stripe. KLARNA

The UK-based company laid off 18% of its workforce recently as a result of the changing economic climate, which is leading to industry hiring freezes.

The former leading BNPL company – which grew 10-fold during the pandemic – lost $40bn from its valuation as a result of rising inflation and interest rates. AMOUNT

WE ASKED YOU: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING FINTECH STARTUPS IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE? 12% Cybersecurity 15% Inflation 48% instabilityEconomic 24% Lack investmentof fintechmagazine.com 15

The UK-based debit and credit fintech raised US$50mn – and increased its valuation to $2bn earlier this year, despite other companies suffering hardships. REVOLUT

SEP22 G O O D T I M E S B A D T I M E S

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The birth of Open Banking began following an experiment conducted by the Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Post Office), when the leadership team ran a test using five external computers and inviting 2000 people to take part in their online banking pilot scheme. The test showed that users could action banking transactions from their homes via their TVs using specific transfer codes. In the UK, Oracle and Teletext services soon followed.

Two years later, the very first screen scraping and data use was actioned by what is referred to as SOFORT, enabling bank customers to grant service providers with permission to access their banking information – and provide their login details. This breakthrough enabled the banking provider to access the account as if they were the customer.

1998 HBCI AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTION SERVICES

Germany again broke boundaries when it came to the next step in developing Open Banking as a platform. From 1998 to 2002, banking experts developed the Home Banking Computer Interface (HBCI) which enabled security, messages, and transmission protocols to be established. By 2002, HBCI was replaced by the Financial Transaction Service, which resulted in a banking security system and the invention of the PIN.

2004 SOFORT SCREEN SCRAPING

THE GERMAN FEDERAL POST OFFICE

TIMELINE The Bankinghistory 16 September19802022

2022 APIs AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM

OPEN BANKING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, DISRUPTIVE TRENDS TO HAVE HIT THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL INDUSTRY. WE TRACK ITS BIRTH AND GROWTH IN EUROPE

By 2011, the UK’s Midata initiative was announced, which was a government initiative that enabled British customers to download their current account transaction data and put it into online tools to increase bank switching. The scheme was backed by RBS and Visa, officially rolled out in 2015 with the aim to “change personal banking forever”.

By 2007, the European Commission devised the first Payments Services Directive – called PSD1. The aim was to stimulate competition in the financial industry, enhance the quality of services provided and to protect the end user. The move led to a new industry category –namely, payment services, which featured new regulations enabling non-banks to carry out transactions and growth in the sector.

2007 PAYMENT SERVICES DIRECTIVE IS LAUNCHED

2011 RECESSION AND THE BANKING RESET

Today, Open Banking has transformed the global transactional space within retail. Innovative APIs have resulted in far more frictionless relationships between banks, vendors and customers as automated solutions enable non-banking entities to offer similar products and services. Open Banking also has the potential to reduce cyber attacks, fraud and result in a streamlined financial payments system.

fintechmagazine.com 17 history of Open Banking in Europe

18 September 2022

Coming from such a science oriented background, it's hardly surprising that young Nikolay excelled academically, studying for a Master’s degree in physics at Moscow University, and also taking a second Masters in economics at the New Economic School in Moscow.

As the brilliance and drive behind one of the world’s most successful fintechs, Nikolay Storonsky has a story almost as colourful as his meteoric rise within the financial industry.

Born in Dolgoprudny – a town located about 20 kilometres north of Moscow’s city centre – in 1984, Nikolay Storonsky grew up in a Russia that was newly divorced from the Cold War and Communism and embracing Western style democracy and a free market economy. His father, Nikolay Mironovich Storonsky, was a senior manager for Gazprom, the Russian majority stateowned multinational energy corporation that is headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. Still working, he is currently the Deputy General Director of Science for Natural Gas Research Institute since 2017, as well as the First Deputy General Director for Science Gazprom Promgaz OAO.

NIKOLAY STORONSKY was a champion swimmer and brilliant student. Now he kitesurfs in his spare time while running the UK’s most valuable fintech

thrill-seekingRevolut’sCEO

But, as well as being a brilliant student, Storonsky was a keen athlete. During his teenage years, he became a state champion swimmer, and also took boxing lessons.

TRAILBLAZERAsateenager,

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Wired Magazine even published an internal email from Storonsky warning that those who underperformed would be “fired without any negotiations”, cementing a somewhat tyrannical reputation. Damage limitation As a result of the damning 2,200planparticipationanintroducedcompanymaturedhisthestartupthattheWhiletheheldthehardStoronskyreport,workedtoreversereputationbyRevolutinmarketplace.hehasinpastarguedrunningaisnotforfainthearted,zealhasandtherecentlyequityforitsnowemployees, who have seen their stakes skyrocket following the most recent valuation. In 2021, a Series E funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank and Tiger Global 20 September 2022

A move to London

TRAILBLAZER

In 2004, aged 20 and in search of new challenges and work experience in a financial industry hub, Storonsky moved to London. His bold approach and impressive academic background served him well, and within weeks, he started his first job in finance as a trader – first for Lehman Brothers and then later, after the 2007 economic crash and fall of the investment giant, with Credit Suisse.

The hours were long and brutal, but for highly ambitious Storonsky, they left a lasting impression and shaped his work ethic. And in 2015, he left Credit Suisse to launch Revolut – which, at the time, echoed the new digital neobank startups emerging within Asia. Tough work ethic

His determination to succeed was evident from the hours he put into the venture on a daily basis, often spending 18 hours a day at the startup’s coalface. He expected the same level of commitment from his team, which ultimately led to conflict and complaints about the work culture in the early days of HeRevolut.wasonce quoted as saying: “I can’t see how work-life balance will help you build a start-up. Either you’re all in, you’re focused and you spend time on it, or you have little chance to survive.”

“I

Management raised $800mn and saw the then six-year-old fintech hit a jackpot valuation of $33bn. Today, Storonsky is seen as a mentor and advocate for fintech, which means he’s now a regular speaker for the cause. He is in demand as a presenter because of his dynamic delivery style and acute industry knowledge in finance. To date, he has taken part in well over 100 business events globally. A thrill seeker But his tempered management style has not extended to his love of adrenaline and sports, and Storonsky is an avid kite surfer who enjoys the rush of extreme activities whenever he can. He is also a family man at heart, settling into London life with his wife and two daughters.Revolut continues to move from strength to strength under his leadership. Despite a disappointing period in 2021 – when the neobank withdrew from Canada following difficulties during its application for a banking licence – today, Revolut is one of the world’s most successful digitalWithbanks.arecent valuation of US$33bn and a new partnership with fellow stratospheric fintech Stripe, the future has never looked brighter for this sporty and determined CEO. just don't like banks. They're so bureaucratic, with so many managers not really doing anything... If you fired 80% of bankers, nothing would change”

Nikolay RevolutFounderStoronsky,andCEO, US$7.1BN

PERSONAL NET WORTH:

Anne-Laure Klein is the COO at Akur8 , which is insurancerevolutionisingpricingwithTransparentAI.Wecaughtupwithhertofindoutwhytheindustryisherhappyplace FIVE MINUTES WITH... 22 September 2022 5 KleinAnne-Laure

“We are seeing the momentum grow as insurance carriers embrace the power of data and analytics”

Anne-Laure

Q. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ - AND HOW LONG AGO DID YOU READ IT?

» “There’s no such thing as adults”, meaning that when you have to make a decision, there’s not going to be an expert or knowit-all in the room to rely on, who will know for sure what to do or where to go. You ultimately make your decisions following your best judgement and gut feeling and manage the consequences the best you can. This was true in my previous roles, but even more so as the COO of a fastgrowing, ever-changing insurtech where you have to adapt and adjust constantly, under ever-changing circumstances and featuring many unknowns in the equation. Akur8 has grown from under 10 to over 100 employees in less than two years; from one to five offices; from 0 to 45 clients; and from only a handful to 700 users. There was no user manual to build all that, and we’ve been adapting as a team to scale as a company for our employees, and as a business solution for our clients.

» ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama. It’s actually not the last one I’ve read, but it made an impression on several levels – including how, at the end of the day, your personal and professional selves are one and the same. You bring your personal self to your job everyday; it is a major building block of your professionalism, achievements and drive for results, often weighing more in the balance than all the qualifications you have accumulated.

Q. WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED?

fintechmagazine.com 23

Q. WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO AND WHY?

» I can’t really say that I had a childhood hero. But since joining Akur8, I’ve taken a liking to Batman because of The Actuary character. In one of the comics, Penguin (the villain) meets The Actuary, an interesting character who counts cards – which is the only legal way to beat a casino. This extra perceptive actuary tells Penguin that Batman foils criminals only at night! Using this key observation, The Actuary recommends that Penguin order a hit at a big gardening expo in the middle of the day. It’s a fun story, and, at Akur8, we love actuaries – they’re superheroes who dedicate their skills to assessing and managing risks, a noble and highly valuable role!

Q. WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE/ADVANTAGEBIGGEST YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED TO DATE IN THE INSURTECH INDUSTRY?

» The biggest challenge is definitely to increase the pace at which the insurance industry is changing! The industry is undergoing a profound transformation, both externally – from a B2C standpoint –and internally – B2B. Akur8 is fully focused on the B2B side of things. Akur8 automates insurers’ pricing process through transparent machine learning, increasing speed and performance to deliver immediate business impact, without compromising on auditability and compliance. Although tech-savvy insurers, new entrants and insurtechs are fully embracing advanced analytics to boost their processes, some insurers are not yet fully feeling a sense of urgency. But market pressure is a reality and things are moving!

• To continue expanding our product suite to cover the full insurance pricing value chain, from risk modelling to rate deployment

» I don’t have a single role model. I have worked with and read books written by inspiring people, whether in terms of management, business vision, leadership, emotional intelligence, or inclusivity. I mostly believe in adapting to every situation, mix and matching approaches.

Q. WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP AND MENTORSHIP?

“You bring your personal self to your job everyday ; it is a major building block of yourachievementsprofessionalism,anddriveforresults”

» Audio books! I love listening to audio books, especially ones read by the author. It’s really immersive and inspiring to hear the author’s voice, and it’s so easy and adjusted to all circumstances: while driving, travelling, commuting, running etc. I can ‘read’ way more books now that I can ‘listen’ to them!

Q. DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS

» Reliable, driven and enthusiast. Q. WHAT'S NEW ON THE HORIZON FOR YOUR COMPANY – WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING AS THE YEAR CONTINUES TO UNFOLD?

» Our ambition is to become the world leader in end-to-end insurance pricing in the non-life space. Our current priorities are: • To accelerate Akur8's international expansion, especially in the American and Asian markets. We already have several clients in these regions but will accelerate our growth in 2022 to take advantage of the growth dynamics and size of these markets

5 FIVE MINUTES WITH... Q. NAME ONE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT AND WHY (EXCLUDING YOUR MOBILE PHONE!)

24 September 2022

» Insurtechs are changing the way insurance has been done for the past few decades. It is very exciting to be an element of change within that dynamic. There has especially been a real shift in applying AI, from experimental data labs to leveraging AI in Weproduction.havewitnessed it first-hand. Looking at the pricing process itself, blackbox AI was a real blocker as going into production with blackbox models is not only unacceptable to regulators in most geographies, but it also exposes insurers to potential adverse selection effects. The advent of transparent ML – spearheaded by Akur8, as we are patenting our algorithms –has lifted that blocker, allowing insurers to put models generated with Akur8 to go into production safely. We are seeing the momentum grow as insurance carriers embrace the power of data and analytics across their internal processes on a new level, to deliver the reactivity and transparency that customers are now demanding at scale.

fintechmagazine.com 25

Q. WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN THE INDUSTRY TODAY?

A BizClik Brand

TOP 100 LEADERS COMING SOON Join the Community Never miss an Issue! Discover the latest news and insights about Global Fintech LEADERS2022 S•LEADER 2202•SREDAEL2202 DAEL•ERS 2022 • Creating Digital Communities

StrategyTheProcurement:Data-DrivenSMBC 28 September 2022 PRODUCED BY: SADRMIKE WRITTEN BY: ÖZSEVIMİLKHAN

fintechmagazine.com 29

All things procurement with Frank Wadsworth, Managing Director and Chief Procurement Officer, Americas Division at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

“After finalising our target operating model towards the end of 2020, we hit the ground running in 2021, growing the procurement team, successfully implementing the Coupa platform, and standing up procurement operations for four of nine of our group companies,” says Wadsworth. “We are roughly one-year old as a procurement organisation following our first implementation, and I’m proud to say we’ve accomplished a significant amount in a short period of time. “We’ve onboarded more than 1,000 suppliers with 75% of fromparadigm–electronicallyinvoicessupplierprocessedasignificantshiftoneyear

30 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

As Chief Procurement Officer for SMBC, Wadsworth is leading the development and implementation of a multi-year target operating model for the organisation to provide a centralised, strategic, and valuedriven procurement function that will foster the timely delivery of quality goods and services to the business.

F rank Wadsworth is a Managing Director and Chief Procurement Officer for the Americas Division at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Frank has spent his career in financial services, having worked at some of the biggest names in banking: Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Bloomberg, and now at SMBC. Beginning his career in technology, Wadsworth gradually transitioned to assume a variety of vendor management leadership roles. Prior to joining SMBC, he led global supply chain operations for Bloomberg, while also establishing a third-party risk management programme for the firm, transforming a fragmented, reactive approach into a cohesive one. This role at Bloomberg was preceded by a position leading strategic vendor management for J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking Division (IBD), as well as Procurement Professional Services for the bank globally, with several billion dollars of spend under management. Wadsworth’s experience includes responsibility for driving multi-milliondollar savings, improving process efficiencies, and reducing risk by identifying and establishing outsourcing, offshoring, and shared services opportunities.

fintechmagazine.com 31

Our procurement practitioners provide a range of advisory and managed services, along with enabling Contact us for more information Achieve your company’s procurement vision with customised solutions

Outcome-driven companies like SMBC partner with WNS Denali to operationalise their procurement function: Business Unit Leader Alpar Kamber explains Alpar Kamber is Business Unit Leader of WNS Denali, the global business process management company he founded in 2008 and that is now under the umbrella of WNS Global Services. WNS Denali is a leading procurement solutions company providing procurement, strategic sourcing and supply chain services to 90+ global 1000 companies and offering consulting, source to contract execution, procurement operations, market intelligence, capability enablement, and digital solutions and services to procurement Bankingprofessionals.andfinancial services are a key sector for WNS Denali, where the conversation usually starts with a discussion around the client’s level of maturity in their procurement journey, the current state of the organisation, and where they want to take it over the outlook period. This is how the relationship with SumitomoMitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) started. “SMBC is a great example of the value we can bring. They are in the midst of a digital transformation, and implementing a platform that will enable and bring more efficiency to procurement. “So we’re working with SMBC to enable digitalisation of their contracts and help them onboard suppliers with maximum efficiency. Also, we set up a help desk: there’s a lot of transactional work too. Though you want to automate as much as possible, you still need to put human checks in place to make sure that you can deal with exceptions!”

WNS Denali Links with SMBC to Digitalise its Procurement Ecosystem

This is the first phase of enabling digital and transactional procurement at SMBC. The next step is effectiveness: “Strategic thinking around category management, decision-making about which suppliers to work with, taking into account pricing and innovation trends, matching best-of-breed suppliers with the company’s requirements and deriving value from its thirdparty resources – these are among the essential considerations WNS Denali is helping SMBC with on its digital journey.” At the top of most of his clients’ concerns right now are cost and talent. Both of these challenges threaten the viability of the supply chain in ways WNS Denali’s services and technology can mitigate significantly. Learn more

intensive exercise, pulling data from six ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning systems), ten general ledgers, filtering, rationalising the data, and, finally, producing a simple PPT spendAccesschart.”togood, accurate data in a timely way is critical to making informed business and purchasing decisions. Wadsworth says: “Given our long implementation runway with Coupa combined with the need to have quick and easy access to spend data across the regions, I partnered with Visionet Data Driven Procurement: The SMBC Strategy

“When I first joined SMBC in 2020, it was important to understand the existing supplier base and historical spend. A simple spend report by business and high-level spend categories was a manual and time-

The importance of data to the procurement process “Data is exceptionally important to everything we do,” says Wadsworth. “As Peter Drucker, a leading management consultant and renowned author, once said, ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure,’”

34 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

“Data is everythingimportantexceptionallytowedo”

ago, when all invoices were processed manually. We’ve loaded more than 2,500 contracts into Coupa, with a steady number of new contracts authored and approved through Coupa and executed through DocuSign every day.”

“Separately, we’ve established a supplier spend analytics data lake with PowerBI dashboards that allows us to quickly and easily assess spend across multiple regions, businesses, and spend categories.”

FRANK SMBCCHIEFMANAGINGWADSWORTHDIRECTORANDPROCUREMENTOFFICER,AMERICASDIVISION

specialising in strategic vendor and risk management. Wadsworth is known for transforming business/ procurement operations and thirdparty supplier engagements to reduce risk, create value, and take out cost. Officer for SMBC Americas Division, Wadsworth is currently leading the development and implementation of a multi-year target operating model to provide a centralised, strategic, and value-driven procurement function that enables the timely delivery of quality goods/services to SMBC businesses.

INDUSTRY: FINANCE LOCATION: SMBC GROUP

TITLE: MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER THE AMERICAS DIVISION

BIOEXECUTIVE FRANK WADSWORTH

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Stop guessing if your teams are putting themselves and your business at risk with Future-readyStarCompliance’splatform

Rowland says ‘the STAR Platform enables enterprise organizations like SMBC to stay ahead of regulatory changes, minimize their risk and protect their assets.’

The cost of missing an outside business activity that could lead to a conflict of interest could be devastating to an organization. And the financial ramifications and reputational damage to both the firm and the employee can have irreversible Starconsequences.alleviates these concerns by providing a single, centralized place for monitoring employee conflicts with a compliance software solution. The STAR Platform lowers the cost for reconciliation and database administration, and frees up compliance officers to do the higher-level follow-up and investigative work they’re best suited for.

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Why Monitoring For Employee Conflicts Matters

Star, a leading provider of compliance technology solutions, is now partnering with SMBC to give them the tools they need to monitor and better understand employees’ charitable donations, private investments, board memberships, and other outside business activities.

David Rowland, Star’s Chief Technology Officer, says, ‘We admire forward-thinking companies like SMBC that value their employees and want to make sure they are secure about how their personal dealings could affect their professional careers. Through the STAR Platform–which monitors for employee conflicts of interest–our clients can ensure that issues are flagged and reconciled in a timely manner.’

StarCompliance gives firms full visibility into the outside business activities of their employees, enabling them to operate with confidence and steer clear of risk and costly conflicts of interest.

SMBC was founded more than 400 years ago when the Sumitomo and Mitsui family businesses came together, bringing together their diverse products and services and expanding their business. The Mitsui Bank was established in 1876, followed by the establishment of the Sumitomo Bank in 1895. Two decades later, the first branch was opened in the U.S. in San Francisco and in 1918, the New York Agency was established. In the intervening years, the Sumitomo Bank and the Mitsui Bank opened different offices and branches, including in Brazil and Los Angeles. The two banks merged in April 2001, forming what is now SMBC. The firm has a long-standing tradition of serving clients and businesses around the world with more than 86,000 employees across the globe in 140 offices in nearly 40 countries. to build a supplier spend analytics data lake.” In addition to tracking supplier spend information, it was equally important for SMBC to assess KPIs for its procurement operations function to better understand transactional throughput and processing times, with a view to identifying any bottlenecks in its process. “Since deploying Coupa, 75% of our invoices are now processed electronically with a mean days-to-pay of three days from the time an invoice is approved,” he says. “Applying a data-driven and analytical approach is foundational to making informed decisions and appropriately aligning our procurement strategy and operations.” YOU

DID

Procurement at SMBC has created a supplier spend analytics data lake armed with PowerBI reporting capabilities, allowing both the procurement function and stakeholders across the bank to have quick, easy access to supplier spend reports for SMBC businesses and regions. Authorised users can report on supplier spend, applying dynamic reporting filters to view supplier spend data by: • Region or country • Line of business/group company • Category of third-party goods and services

KNOW... 38 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

How the supplier-spend analytics data lake helps identify supplier-spend trends and reveals savings opportunities

Through analysis of historical spend data

What technology is SMBC utilising to optimise its procurement operations?

• Savings

SMBC’s centralised, strategic and value-driven procurement function

SMBC’s procurement function and key stakeholders can identify: opportunities of suppliers across businesses and/or spend categories Negotiations leveraged through aggregate purchasing power (region, business, etc.)

•

• Concentration/fragmentation

fintechmagazine.com 39

Establishing a centralised procurement function allows SMBC to shift from a tactical transactional purchasing approach

SMBC went through an extensive RFP process to assess several leading sourceto-pay technology solutions. “We ultimately selected Coupa as our technology of choice, and I’m pleased to say that, looking back over the past year – and six implementations later – we made the right choice,” says Wadsworth. “Coupa is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that is highly configurable and interoperable across various modules or source-to-pay functions. Aside from its robust functionality, Coupa provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. Coupa also regularly enhances the product to stay ahead of customer needs and market developments”.

We Innovate,Listen,AndDeliverEngineeringAgilityLikeNoOther

Visionet empowers businesses to drive innovation through modern technologies. We enable digital transformation through digital solutions like PartnerLinQ and HauteLogic that cater to all supply chain needs while our Live Commerce service leverages video streaming to create immersive eCommerce experiences.

Visionet Systems’ CEO Arshad Masood highlights the growth of its PartnerLinQ platform which is empowering industries to achieve supply chain resiliency Most CEOs who saw 100% growth during COVID would be eager to proclaim their recent successes and focus on the changing digital dynamics. But it’s telling that Arshad Masood, founder and CEO of Visionet Systems, initially takes me back to 1995 and ‘Y2K’ era to explain how, from the outset, he was focused on differentiating the company by focusing on multitask automation. It’s fair to say his vision has paid off. From a $1mn investment, Visionet Systems has grown into a $250mn annual turnover business, operating with 8,000 brilliant minds worldwide, with a diverse range of products, solutions, and services.“You have to focus on the value to the customer, and go and solve their problems in an innovative way –and that’s where the longevity of the business comes,” he said. The company’s 25+ years of experience provided solid foundations at a time of great uncertainty amid the COVID chaos. Today, under a catchy alliterative slogan –‘Digital Defined, Digital Delivered’ –Visionet’s customers are as broad as they’re long, encompassing F&B and logistics to healthcare and fashion. Key to its recent success has been its supply chain vertical cloud application, PartnerLinQ, which is a integratedhybridplatform for supply chain connectivity with all analytics, tracking and visibility built in. It’s designed to handle very rapid on-boarding. “That’s why we have grown 100% in the last two years, it’s such a versatile tool, and selling itself,” he said. “We can place PartnerLinQ in the middle of company’s ERP and e-commerce systems, and connect with other vendors, in a matter of weeks.”Arshad Masood is proud to have built a company which is employeeowned and futuregeared.“ Our number one purpose is to serve our employees –and you can’t do that unless you serve your customers, so both are equally important.”

Visionet Systems –Enabling Businesses to Navigate the Future of Supply Chain

1,000+

We’ve onboarded more than 1,000 suppliers with 75% of supplier invoices submitted and processed electronically – a significant paradigm shift from a year ago, when all invoices were processed manually 2,500+

We’ve loaded more than 2,500 contracts into Coupa, with a steady number of new contracts authored and approved through Coupa and executed through DocuSign every day

42 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

SMBC’s category leads have several key priorities on the horizon this year, according to Wadsworth: “First and foremost is to assess the supplier footprint and historical spend for their respective categories, establishing savings targets together with an action plan to realise those savings.”

fintechmagazine.com 43 SMBC GROUP

“In building out the centralised procurement organisation, I first focused on establishing a team to support day-to-day procurement operations, contract management, and invoice processing, aligning closely with our implementation of Coupa,” says Wadsworth. “More recently, I’ve established our strategic sourcing function staffed with senior-level category leads across our largest spend categories, such as professional services, IT, corporate services, real estate, HR services, travel, and marketing.”

“As Peter Drucker, a leading management consultant and renowned author once said, ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure’”

FRANK WADSWORTH MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, SMBC AMERICAS DIVISION

across the region to a strategic value-driven procurement model, leveraging digital transformation while providing improved governance and oversight, and hiring professional procurement experts to guide and influence business purchasing decisions.

“Given the transformational nature of this implementation and the centralisation of procurement for the region, our primary focus will be on implementation planning and change management activities across the region”

“The third priority is to establish quarterly business reviews (i) internally with key stakeholders and business representatives, and (ii) with our strategic and critical suppliers, to ensure visibility into their pipeline of prospective deals as well as provide performance feedback.” SMBC’s approach to sustainability

FRANK SMBCCHIEFMANAGINGWADSWORTHDIRECTORANDPROCUREMENTOFFICER,AMERICASDIVISION

According to SMBC’s Christine Ackerson, Head of Sustainability, Americas Division: “We are committed to fostering a society in which today’s generation can enjoy economic prosperity and wellbeing to pass on to future generations. Ackerson explains: “SMBC’s ten-year sustainability roadmap – called GREEN X GLOBE 2030 – is focused on the environment, community, and next generation, including initiatives to address climate change by committing to becoming net-zero in its global operations by 2030, and net-zero in its loan and investment portfolio by 2050, all while supporting our customers in the transition to a decarbonised society.”

fintechmagazine.com 45 SMBC GROUP

• Procure renewable energy (goal of100% renewable energy for its operations by 2024)

The firm’s ESG priorities for procurement are:

The firm’s procurement team is working closely with the SMBC Americas Sustainability Committee and ESG team to incorporate ESG goals into the procurement policy and to execute against each of the ESG goals for procurement.

• Develop green procurement guidelines (including greener office supplies, green leasing for office space)

“A second priority is to establish a strategic sourcing engagement model and policy with the business to ensure that procurement is in front of buying decisions. It’s important to establish a supplier portfolio-based buying approach to ensure we are selecting the appropriate suppliers based on business requirements, supplier market segmentation and capabilities, and to ensure we are leveraging aggregate purchasing power when making our buying decisions.”

• Promote supplier spend diversity

• Achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its operations by 2030 (including company travel, but excluding suppliers currently)

• Invoice processing (P2P)

• Centralised contract repository, contract templates and full contract lifecycle capabilities

Separately, SMBC’s procurement is contracted with Util, a London-based fintech company. Util has extensive data-mining capabilities used to identify individual company performance against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which are helpful in assessing SMBC’s suppliers against its ESG corporate goals and identifying exposure to reputational, legal, or financial risk.

The future of SMBC’s procurement: the next 12-18 months By the end of this year, SMBC plans to have Coupa fully implemented in the U.S. and procurement fully operational for the region. The implementation of Coupa is significant, in that it includes the full suite of core functionality:

According to Wadsworth, “While we are still on our Procurement transformation journey, we have delivered significant value to the Bank to-date” :

• Increased visibility into supplier spend and contract management

• eSourcing • Coupa Risk Assess to support SMBC’sthird-party risk management

• Supplier onboarding (SIM)

“We’reprogrammealsobreaking new ground this year with the implementation of eSourcing and Coupa Risk Assess,” says Wadsworth. “Given the transformational nature of this implementation and the centralisation of procurement for the region, our primary focus will be on implementation planning and change management activities across the region.”

• Contract lifecycle management (CLMS)

46 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

• Alignment with Bank and regulatory requirements.

• Checks and balances through predefined workflows, approval chains, and designated tolerances to mitigate rogue spend

• Electronic supplier invoicing with improved governance to ensure invoices are tied to approved purchase orders and underlying contracted commercials

• Auditable, traceable source-to-pay workflow with visibility into “who has the ball”

Value Delivered

“While it may seem like a relatively straightforward exercise, it was exceptionally difficult,” says Wadsworth. “Working with fragmented systems, data models and inconsistent data values presented numerous challenges, all of which the Visionet team addressed head on.”

In addition to the design and development of the data lake, Visionet developed PowerBI reports that are not only easy to use and exceptionally versatile, but also graphically sophisticated. “Visionet’s client partner, Rajasshri Phadnaik, played a key role in managing our overall relationship and went beyond the call of duty to drive programme success,” says Wadsworth. “We

fintechmagazine.com 47 SMBC GROUP

SMBC’s partnership with Visionet Arshad Masood is the Managing Director and CEO of Visionet Systems Inc., a leading digital technology solutions company that helps their global clients increase agility, reduce costs, and enable business and technology outcomes. Visionet played a critical role in designing and developing SMBC’s supplier spend analytics data lake and PowerBI dashboards. The Visionet delivery team hit the ground running, engaging with SMBC’s business partners across multiple group companies and regions to identify, map, ingest, and rationalise data from six ERP/AP (Accounts Payable) systems with ten general ledgers into a single repository.

GLOBE 2030 – is focused on the environment, community, and next generation, including initiatives to address climate change by committing to becoming net-zero in its global operations by 2030, and net-zero in its loan and investment portfolio by 2050, all while supporting our customers in the transition to a decarbonised society”

“SMBC’s 10-year sustainability roadmap – called GREEN X

48 September 2022 SMBC GROUP

CHRISTINE ACKERSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY, SMBC AMERICAS DIVISION are currently exploring other opportunities with Visionet to leverage their cloud services capabilities.”

OTHER PARTNERS THAT HELP SMBC TO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS

WNS Denali

When SMBC kicked off its procurement transformation in 2021, they leveraged WNS Denali’s procurement subject matter expertise to assist in SMBCs Coupa sourceto-pay activities. WNS Denali was a key partner for contract meta-data extraction in support of the Coupa Contract Lifecycle Management implementation. Additionally, when SMBC Procurement hit a critical point of onboarding suppliers into Coupa, WNS Denali provided support with supplier onboarding/setup activities. WNS Denali is an excellent partner willing to quickly spin up teams to meet project deadlines, taking an agile and nimble approach and providing support as needed. Dell EMC Dell Technologies products play a crucial role as the strategic data processing platform to run SMBC's core infrastructure. Additionally, SMBC utilises Dell as part of the end-user compute experience. Both are critical use cases for which SMBC relies on Dell’s global footprint to deliver and ensure no disruption to its day-to-day business. Consistent and transparent communication between the executive account team, internal stakeholders and Procurement plays a key role to ensure commitments are kept or contingency plans are made to address (potential) global supply chain issues. Star Compliance “In today’s world, there is so much digital information to track, manage, and attempt to put to proper use. As a financial institution, we must be ever vigilant about maintaining proper controls and compliance in a dynamic regulatory environment.”, said Wadsworth.So,when SMBC went to market in search of such a product, Star Compliance encouraged the business to leverage proofof-concept methodology to ensure that requirements were met or exceeded prior to full investment. Sand Hill East In 2019, SMBC engaged Sand Hill East, a strategic venture and fintech advisory firm, to assess the Bank’s technology organisation and their readiness to support the transformation journey and leverage

the capital markets fintech and innovation ecosystem. As part of this ongoing engagement, Procurement was introduced to a fintech company called Util by Roseann Palmieri, the President of Sand Hill East, to help track ESG performance metrics for key SMBCSandsuppliers.HillEastworks with new and growthstage technology companies to advise and develop new technology ventures from ideation to go-to-market strategies, to scale their businesses and accelerate growth.

SMBC benefits tremendously in that it gains insight and early access to new and disruptive technologies. fintechmagazine.com

Like any other sector, consumers expect fintech to do its part in achieving net-zero. How difficult is that, and what are the risks if we get it wrong? WRITTEN BY: ALEX CLEREAchieving innet-zero fintech 50 September 2022

Thompson also cites bitcoin mining as an example of the carbon footprint associated with fintech. Although bitcoin is a digital asset, and we often like to think fintechmagazine.com

Simon Thompson is the author of Green and Sustainable Finance, a new edition of which, due out in January 2023, includes a chapter on sustainable fintech. “The increasing use of digital technology requires building the infrastructure –particularly the data centres required to support cloud computing – to support this, which in turn need electricity for power and air conditioning,” Thompson says. “According to Greenpeace, in 2020 Amazon’s data centres emitted more than 44mn tonnes CO2e. Microsoft emitted some 16mn CO2e. “Data centres can, of course, be powered from renewables. Greenpeace also gives the example of Google’s longterm objective of purchasing all electricity from renewable sources, with 2020 CO2e emissions of only 1.2mn.”

BANKING W hen it comes to carbon emissions, we tend to think of fintechs as being a light touch. After all, they’re not burdened with the same physical infrastructure that traditional financial institutions have, they are more likely to be remote organisations with employees working from home, and much of their business is done either on the cloud or through APIs. Yet fintech needs to demonstrate that it’s making a difference, just like other industries. There are still carbon footprints associated with the delivery of financial services, and fintechs need to show willing that they are playing their part. Consumers are paying more attention to climate issues than ever before, and consumer power is a huge incentive for businesses. Where do fintech’s carbon emissions come from?

The main source of carbon emissions for fintechs is the energy required to operate data centres, servers and physical locations – either theirs, or those of their partners and suppliers – particularly when those facilities are powered by fossil fuels rather than renewable energy. Even renewable energy has a carbon footprint, particularly when building projects from new, although research in the journal Nature Energy has suggested that the carbon footprint of renewables is even more insignificant in the long term than we might think.

Bitcoin mining has a large carbon footprint

Easy managementmulti-entityand reporting Sage Intacct cloud finance software for financial services WITHTHATFINANCESCALESYOULEARNMORE

Europeanaspowerelectricalgenerationamedium-sizedcountry

Bitcoin mining is said to have the same

BANKING

“Rather it’s their Scope 3 emissions – the indirect, financed emissions – that we need to focus on. What are fintechs financing and encouraging their users to buy, consume, lend to or borrow? Are they supporting high carbon business models and consumption or encouraging low carbon, more sustainable models?”

Fintechs need to show that they are taking action to address climate change, but they cannot rely on token gestures or empty fintechmagazine.com

The danger of greenwashing

SIMON THOMPSON CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE CHARTERED BANKER INSTITUTE “ It’s not just the direct emissions created by fintechs and their suppliers; it’s the indirect, needemissionsfinancedthatwetofocuson” of cryptocurrencies as existing only in a digital sense, the carbon emissions associated with it are very real. Bitcoin mining is said to have the same electrical power generation as a mediumsized European country. The problem with bitcoin is that mining is concentrated in the hands of very few global players; research from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) suggests that just 0.1% of miners are responsible for 50% of mining capacity. That makes it exceptionally difficult to make improvements to the way in which bitcoin is mined – for instance, by making a concerted effort to adopt renewables in place of fossil fuels. And Simon Thompson believes we have to think more broadly about what we include within the scope of fintech’s carbon footprint. He says: “It’s not just the direct emissions created by fintechs themselves, and their suppliers (especially their energy providers) – the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in the jargon.

1. Increasing efficiency - as well as providing cost efficiencies, the use of fintech tools, such as smart contracts, can automate services (for example, approving and paying out climate insurance claims) without the need for human intervention.

4. Targeting investors - digital platforms and data analytics enable issuers, fund managers and others to target retail or institutional investors with an appetite for green and sustainable finance investment.

BANKING

5 ways fintechs

5. Changing consumer behaviour - apps that can track customer spending behaviour and link this with emissions data can estimate carbon footprints and ‘nudge’ consumers towards more climate-positive or other socially desirable spending and behaviours.

Source : ‘Green and Sustainable Finance’ by Simon Thompson can support sustainable finance

3. Enhancing transparency and market integrity - availability of monitoring and verification data from satellites, drones, smartphones and other sources makes the verification and publication of impact data (like factory emissions, de- or re-forestation) more robust, cheaper and accessible.

54 September 2022

2. Improving risk management - access to, and analysis of, data over a wide range of green and sustainable finance-related areas (for example climate data and emissions tracking) makes it easier for financial institutions and others to identify, assess, manage and disclose climate and other environmental risks.

greenwashMisleading has the potential to thatchangemeaningfuldivertingultimatelydecisions,andinvestmentinfluencepurchasingweneed”

“Misleading greenwash has the potential to influence investment and purchasing decisions, ultimately diverting meaningful change that we need. The good thing is that regulators are increasingly sharpening their scrutiny, but with guidance on sustainability-related disclosures still in consultation across the UK and EU, brands are being left exposed.”

fintechmagazine.com 55

ELLA SUPERUNIONSENIORMOORESTRATEGIST,

Moore says that there are various strategic, legal, regulatory and reputational ramifications if brands choose to try and greenwash their consumers.

statements. Today’s consumer is welleducated and well-briefed about climate issues, particularly carbon emissions, and by failing to take their obligations seriously fintechs could put themselves at risk of so-called ‘greenwashing’. “In a nutshell, greenwashing is the communication of unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims in relation to the sustainability of products and services,” explains Ella Moore, Senior Strategist at brand agency Superunion. “It’s driven by three major trends: an increased demand for, and growth of, sustainable products; a lack of regulation, standardised definitions, disclosures, and metrics for sustainability; and the poor availability and quality of data. “

Creating a place for Vodafone in the world of FinTech 56 September 2022 PRODUCED BY: MICHAEL BANYARD WRITTEN BY: CATHERINE GRAY

fintechmagazine.com 57 VODAFONE

58 September 2022

The way we pay for financial services products is changing with emerging technology, and

Vodafone’s ambition is to be at the forefront of this change P

fintechmagazine.com 59 VODAFONE

“Most people know Vodafone to be a leading global technology and telecommunications company. We have a huge footprint in Europe and also in Africa. Our purpose is to use technology to improve our customers' lives and enable a truly inclusive, sustainable digital society,” says“PeopleKrishnan.may know that we are a large mobile and fixed-line operator across our European and African footprint. We serve over 300 million mobile customers and over 28 million fixed customers. One of the things that surprises people is when I tell them we are one of Europe's largest TV platforms –that's always news to customers and people that I speak to.” As a technology leader, Vodafone has been looking into new and disruptive technologies to ensure the company is best

roviding new and exciting ways to pay for goods, the FinTech industry is booming and the world of financial services is going through some fundamental –yet essential – changes. With a long history of working with different businesses in sectors of the financial industry, Vodafone has a focus on ensuring that its customers succeed in the future. Known for its telecommunications and consumer services, Vodafone is accelerating its journey within the FinTech sector to support those who need it most. Driving forward this journey is Varun Krishnan, Vodafone’s Managing Director for FinTech.

Varun Krishnan is a seasoned technology leader with c. 20 years of experience in Telco, FMCG and Management Consulting across B2C and B2B businesses. He is currently the Managing director for Fintech at Vodafone Group Services and is based in Vodafone’s global headquarters in London, UK. Prior to being appointed into his current role, Varun was the global marketing director where he was responsible to deliver the commercial strategy and scale core mobile and fixed line propositions across Vodafone’s global footprint. Varun joined Vodafone in 2011 from Booz & Company (Strategy&) where he worked with TMT clients across Middle East, Africa and Asia. placed to offer its customers the best tech that address real customer needs. Now, the company is one of the global leaders in the Internet of Things, as Krishnan outlines: “We've got over 150 million connected devices, and we are live with the platform in multiple continents. All of these things that we're doing are working towards enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society.”

UNITED

“Culture is everything when you're trying to build new products and new lines of business. The spirit of Vodafone is all about being customer-centric, having the courage to take calculated risks, not being afraid to fail, and having the ambition to think about and create the future. I'm really happy that everyone in my team embodies that spirit. Additionally, most of my team are hybrid

Although the company is categorically focused on technology, people are at the heart of everything it does – both the employees and the customers. Reflecting on his own team in the FinTech department, Krishnan explains how they strive to build the FinTech element of Vodafone: “I'm really lucky to have a fantastic team of leaders and experts; their energy and ambition gives me confidence that we can achieve great things.”

FINTECH

TITLE: MANAGING DIRECTOR, LOCATION: KINGDOM BIOrely partnershipson to deliver great value to our customers, as well as a great experience that's enabled by cuttingedge technology”

EXECUTIVE

“We

Varun Krishnan

VARUN MANAGINGKRISHNANDIRECTOR - FINTECH, VODAFONE 60 September 2022 VODAFONE

fintechmagazine.com 61

The technology platform powering businesses that offer insurance Learn more Increase program profits through process automation Digitise, simplify and enhance the end-to-end insurance customer experience Quick market launch through API integration and no code architecture A FinTech Global InsurTech100 company

EIP Vodafoneenablesto give their customers an end-to-end online experience. COO Ed Hemburrow explains why digitalisation is vital to insurance. A partner with Vodafone for over a decade, EIP is at the forefront of digitising and automating the servicing of insurer’s products. EIP’s proven software delivers both increases in customer NPS (net promoter score) and program profitability. The relationship with Vodafone has evolved from one of an advisory service, helping them set up insurance products, towards an array of services designed around the customer’s needs. As Hemburrow puts it: “We’re more than just a tech provider.” “We saw a gap, having worked in this industry for a while. We know that the vast majority of people are good, honest customers just trying to get a phone or device back in their hands as soon as possible, because they run their lives through them,” said Hemburrow. EIP helped Vodafone to automate the insurance process and bring it online. Customers can now go through an endto-end claim process, including getting an automated decision, in less than a minute and a half. “It’s super slick and easy. We’re taking the pain out of it. By designing a journey for the vast majority of Vodafone customers that have genuine claims, we know at that ‘key moment of truth’, they will get a great experience. We re-engineered and automated the process to be digital-first and allowed customers to self-serve,” he said.

Personalised products for customers One of the priorities for EIP is to associatedpricedpersonalisedcreateproducts,accordingtotherisk,rather than actually just the device that a customer has. They’re already working with Vodafone to bring that into play. On “I’veHemburrowVodafone,added:workedinthis industry for a while and it’s quite refreshing when a company like Vodafone has such a customer focus. They want great onboarding and a streamlined claim experience as well. So that’s why our partnership works well”.

EIP: Insurance is an industry ripe for Learnchangemore

300mn+Mobilecustomers28mn+Fixedbroadbandcustomers22mn+TVcustomers150mn+IoTdevicesconnected1982Yearfounded€45.6bnRevenue2022

64 September 2022 VODAFONE

For the insurance part of its business, Vodafone is focused on adding to its existing smartphone services by offering smartphone insurance to its customers. While in the past this has largely been a retail only product, it has now evolved to an omni-channel OTT digital insurance product that offers customers ultimate cover and flexibility. These two lines of business are crucial to the FinTech team.

workers who sit globally across markets, but we work together as one across commercial and technology team to deliver. Having that strong sense of vision and strong sense of purpose helps teams across markets work towards a common goal,” he adds. Addressing customer needs in the FinTech space Still in its early stages, the FinTech part of Vodafone’s business comprises the company’s carrier billing and digital payments platform, its insurance business, its device financing and Device Lifecycle Services (DLS) business. The carrier billing platform addresses customer needs around convenience and security, allowing them to pay for their digital content on their bill as well as underpinning the company’s ability to bundle mobile content such as Spotify and Netflix with its tariffs.

Commenting on this, Krishnan says: “We've had our carrier billing platform since the early to mid-2000s. This was originally set up for customers to charge for things like ring-back tones to the Vodafone bill. We've since evolved this to allow customers to purchase digital content. This is enabled across our mobile, fixed and TV customer base. So all of our customers have access to this platform in order to consume digital apps and OTT content.”

“The third line of business is one that we’ve just set up,” explains Krishnan. “This is our whole end-to-end Device Lifecycle Services business. “At Vodafone, we are really focused on sustainability and our impact on the planet. Offering compelling trade-in and financing solutions helps support our objectives: financing helps customers spread the cost of their devices over long periods; trade-in helps customers get good value for their old devices. Refurbishing and reusing these traded-in devices allows us to extend the lifecycle of these devices and enable the circular economy. All of this is enabled by a very simple end-to-end digital experience that makes the process of buying a new or refurbished device with Vodafone really easy andIntransparent.”additiontothese three lines of business, Krishnan shares that he is fortunate enough to have a “fantastic innovation

Varun Krishnan, Managing Director FinTech at Vodafone Group

“Culture is everything when you're trying to build new products and new lines of business”

fintechmagazine.com 65 VODAFONE

VARUN KRISHNAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR - FINTECH, VODAFONE

Welcome Your personal MyOperator LaunchPad Let's get started Making lifecyclessmartphoneassmartasthedevices One tech company is changing the way mobile carriers manage their customers’ devices. What does that mean for smartphone customers? MCE. Mobilizing Customer Experience

Digital Mix MyOperator accessible trade-in led to a large increase in the digital mix

For more information on how MCE is Mobilizing Customer Experience for the worlds largest mobile operator brands get in touch with Eitan at eitan@mce-sys.com

Grade Variance Trade-in discrepancies were reduced to low single digits “Carriers today are fighting over price,” says Eitan Linker, “instead of giving customers a truly differentiated experience.” He adds, “once the customer is happy, everything else falls into place.”

Linker points to trade-ins as the untapped opportunity. “There is too much friction and uncertainty about price in the current tradein process and that’s depressing volumes and leading to churn,” he explains. With more than $200 billion worth of mobile phones just sitting in drawers across Western Europe and North America, operators and customers are missing out on a huge opportunity.

MCE helped Vodafone UK seize the opportunity, with a fully digital omnichannel trade-in solution, including a guaranteed price, enabling it to become the country’s trade-in leader. The price guarantee, an elusive goal due to discrepancies in grading, was enabled by MCE’s innovative, highly accurate AI-powered remote grading technology. The app put users (and their reps) in control while ensuring Vodafone achieved better margins. “When the customer engages with diagnostics to grade their device; the valuation is fully transparent. There’s a lot more trust in the final price.” Consequently, Vodafone UK more than doubled its volume of trade-ins in the first year, lowered discrepancies, improved NPS, and reduced trade-in times, becoming the UK’s top carrier for trade-ins. It also increased upsells to premium plans and increased the digital mix. Vodafone led the market leading to a reduced mix of Never Traders of 89% in 2020 to 47% in 2022.

Vodafone UK more than doubled its volume of trade-ins in the first year

Trade-in Uplift

MCE digitizes, automates, and connects these journeys so they’re fast, accurate, and yield a clear, actionable view of each device. It surfaces the smartest options at every moment, from repair alternatives to upgrade offers - empowering customers to get more value from devices, while spending less time managing them, and enabling reps to have more rewarding customer interactions.

Eitan Linker is Chief Commercial Officer at MCE systems, a device lifecycle management pioneer which transforms key device lifecycle moments – from set up, to service and care, to upgrade and trade-in.

“There's a lot of people working together on bringing our payments and insurance products and services to customers. SAFe allows us to have one budget and one end-to-end backlog of activities that we are working together on delivering collectively,” Krishan notes.

The Managing Director goes on to add that Vodafone’s global products and services organisation has been moved to work in a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). As a result, Vodafone now operates as one end to end delivery organisation in squads across its commercial teams, product teams, technology teams, global platform teams and local market execution teams.

team that are looking at topics that are a bit more into the future, such as our role in the Metaverse and what do future financing models look like.

Equally, this framework feeds back into Vodafone’s customer centricity as it gives customers a straightforward and easy-toBy July 2021, Vodafone was purchasing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources in Europe. The company plans to roll this out to the rest of the world by 2025.

SUSTAINABILITYANDVODAFONE 68 September 2022

“We are really keen to work with bestin-class partners to bring some of these propositions to life. We rely on partnerships to deliver great value to our customers, as well as a great experience that's enabled by cutting edge technology,” he adds.

“I'm delighted to say that we'll continue this journey with them as we expand into fintechmagazine.com

VARUN MANAGINGKRISHNANDIRECTOR - FINTECH, VODAFONE navigate customer journey, which Krishnan outlines: “We spend a lot of time thinking through customer journeys. The key thing is addressing customer pain points around transparency and flexibility when it comes to FinTch products and in the process building a trusted brand. If you can really make things simple and transparent for customers – no fine print, everything is as it says on the tin –we can create that trust. That's the thinking we use to build out our customer journeys.”

“We spend a lot of time journeys”throughthinkingcustomer

Looking to partners to secure Vodafone’s future in FinTech

One key business partner to Vodafone is Assurant, a global provider of risk management products and services. Assurant has been Vodafone’s insurance partner for years on device insurance, according to Krishnan.

“While we have the ambition to grow, we also have the humility to recognise that there are partners out there that have a depth of knowledge and access to technology that would take us years to build. Partnerships are really crucial. They can help us accelerate our learning curve and also give us quick access to technology that will be expensive and time-consuming for us to build ourselves,” explains Krishnan

69 VODAFONE

As Vodafone is relatively new to the FinTech space, the company knew there would be opportunities to learn and grow by embarking on strategic partnerships with others.

Helping people thrive in a connected world

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In partnership with our clients, Assurant supports more than 300 million customers across the globe. We develop innovative products and services that support, protect and connect major consumer purchases. And we do this for some of the world’s most recognised brands, enabling us to anticipate the evolving needs of consumers, and continually deliver an enhanced customer experience.

Today’s consumer has over 20 different wifi-enabled gadgets in their home, underlining the size of the gadget protection opportunity. Assurant – a leading global business services company that supports, protects and connects major consumer purchases, serving more than 300mn customers – is focusing on insurance products and services that empower consumers to protect those gadgets.

Culture vitally important to the way Assurant does business Woolnough says that culture is particularly important to Assurant. “Our culture is pretty special and we call it the Assurant Way,” he says. “Within that, we have a set of values. Those values are common sense, common decency, uncommon thinking and uncommon results. Everything we do hooks back into those.” This platform of trust has allowed it to enjoy a

Assurant: protecting and connecting consumer tech

“We focus on everything that sits around the device,” Assurant UK Managing Director Chris Woolnough explains. One of Assurant’s brands is Pocket Geek, cancel at any time. Protect Your Bubble provides valuable real-time insights for the company based around consumer behaviour, which it can use to hone its B2B propositions.

Assurant is providing a range of protection products and services to help people thrive in a connected world, partnering with Vodafone to bring protection to life.

Assurant A partnership with Vodafone built on trust and great service

“Shared platform of corporate trust and commitment to customer service, is the foundation of the long working relationship Assurant enjoys with Vodafone. Assurant partners with Vodafone to provide a range of protection products and services to let consumers customise coverage for their devices. Assurant provides Device Insurance to Vodafone as a benefit for business customers and offers Vodafone Rapid, a replacement service that can deliver a new device in under four hours. Next, the two companies are preparing to make multi-gadget insurance available, starting in one market, and then rolling out with technical support.” EIP “EIP and Vodafone both prioritise the use of smart technology to deliver great customer experiences that are simple, reliable, and transparent, which is why the partnership has flourished for well over a decade now. “EIP is a customer centric organisation, focused on developing technology that removes unnecessary frictions from the insurance customer journey” says Ed Hemburrow, COO of EIP. “In our relationship with Vodafone, we work in a cross organisational team that has a laser focus on providing customers with market leading products, great value and fantastic experiences using smart technology and innovation. We’re delighted to be working with Vodafone as part of their FinTech journey, and excited to reimagine the customer experience as we move into new insurance categories.” MCE Systems Working with MCE Systems and incorporating their platform has enabled us to deliver best-in-class products and services with a very high standard of security and user experience as part of our objective to bring pioneering digital technologies and solutions to the market. Together we continue to turn the challenges of digital transformation and evolving customer expectations into competitive advantages”, said Varun Krishnan, Vodafone’s Managing Director for FinTech. “Today, the MCE Systems ecosystem is used to enhance the trade-in and upgrade journeys for millions of Vodafone customers, across the United Kingdom, Germany, Romania, and Greece, enabling them to get a guaranteed price for their old devices. We are looking forward to continuing this collaboration with MCE to fuel our digital-first, Device Lifecycle Services initiatives.

VODAFONE PARTNER QUOTES 72 September 2022 VODAFONE

Vodafone has partnered with EIP, with whom it has worked for “a long time”, according to Krishnan. “EIP supports us with our end-to-end claims management and our claims handling platform, and they also support us in responsibly marketing and talking to customers about their choice of insurance“Anothercover.partner that's crucial when it comes to this cutting-edge technology that we are utilising is MCE. MCE is our software partner that has a fantastic digital diagnostic platform. We use that in our insurance claims and we are also using that now in the new device trade-in product that we've just launched in our markets,” he continues. With all of these partners supporting Vodafone as it continues on its journey in the FinTech space, Krishnan explains that it is a great time for the company –particularly for those in his department: “The journey that we are on is very exciting.

Vodafone is the FinTech and mobile payments leader in Africa. The M-PESA FinTech platform in Africa enables 52 million people to benefit from access to mobile.

The next 18 to 24 months, in terms of our FinTech ambitions specifically, are centred around the transformation from being a pure device insurance player to a multicategory insurance player and to really scale our DLS platform.” He concludes: “We are working on optimising the features, the journeys and the go-to-market approach to build scale quickly. We want to get more markets on board on our global platforms and really get this whole space around device lifecycle services that support our planet ambitions across all our markets.” our first new category, which is multigadget home tech insurance. We also rely on Assurant to bring us the best in regulatory expertise, as well as helping us to think across our footprint and working with our sales channels to talk to customers about their choices when it comes to insurance in the right Additionally,way.”

VODAFONE AFRICA

“Clearly, the journey that we are on is very exciting”

VARUN MANAGINGKRISHNANDIRECTOR - FINTECH, VODAFONE

fintechmagazine.com 73 VODAFONE

74 September 2022

fintechmagazine.com 75 FINANCIAL SERVICES

WHAT IS THE KEY NOW TO INCREASING BLOCKCHAIN UPTAKE?

WRITTEN BY: ALEX CLERE funding will come from the US, with expected market growth from US$7.18bn to US$67.4bn by 2026. Some of the primary factors driving this rapid expansion of the blockchain market include an increase in venture capital funding and investments; adoption of blockchain technology in cybersecurity applications; easy access to smart contracts and digital identities thanks to the widespread use of blockchain technology; and conscious efforts from governments.TheUShas the largest blockchain market share. The region's early adoption of blockchain and the fact that various manufacturers offer security have provided fuel to the Jonathanfire.Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes, which conducted the research, explains: “Businesses are increasingly implementing security and managementvulnerabilitysolutions in this region. It prevents phishing, commercial espionage, and enables data security. In addition, it ensures privacy, continuity of business, and data security.”

RECENT ANALYSIS SHOWS THE SEISMIC GROWTH WITHIN THE BLOCKCHAIN ECONOMY, WITH 2021 ITS ANNUS MIRABILIS.

T he increasing adoption of blockchain and the advance towards Web3 mean that the practical applications of blockchain are becoming more and more exciting. In fact, according to CB Insights’ State of Blockchain report, funding in blockchain companies grew by 713% year-over-year in 2021 to reach more than US$25bn. At the same time, funding in NFTs soared by almost 13,000% (yes – thirteen thousand) to It’sUS$4.8bn.nosurprise that the New York-based market research company called it “a breakthrough year” for the blockchain economy, with venture funding to blockchain startups hitting new record highs and the volume of blockchain deals growing by 88% to reach 1,247. Global blockchain market experiencing seismic growth In 2022, experts predict that slightly more than half (51%) of global blockchain

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77 FINANCIAL SERVICES

Bitcoin still retains confidence despite recent devaluation Despite all the clamour for new blockchain use-cases and more stable cryptocurrencies, bitcoin – which has long been the posterchild for all digital assets, but more recently has been beset by turmoil and a falling valuation – still retains robust confidence. As one industry insider recently said, bitcoin is only volatile right now as a retail investment – for other applications of bitcoin, its price does not necessarily matter.

“I am still hugely excited about bitcoin,” says Iskandar Vanblarcum, Europe General Manager at OKCoin. “It is the perfect example of a blockchain protocol. We’ve seen early adoption and if you think of a “ SPACE”BLOCKCHAINTIMEVERYITCHALLENGES,PERCEIVEDTHEISSTILLAEXCITINGFORTHE

DESPITE

ISKANDAR

VANBLARCUM

EUROPE GENERAL MANAGER, OKCOIN traditional distribution curve, it’s displaying positive signs for the future with innovators getting involved and enterprise adoption at various layers. What we’ve not seen yet is bitcoin’s use as a medium of exchange, but it’s coming slowly and that is very exciting not just for the crypto sector but for the future of blockchain technology. “It’s great to see people already using crypto more and more in their daily lives. It’s ultimately about a shift in mindset and understanding that there is no central authority. It’s a social economic function and that is the real-world application of blockchain that will ultimately transform people's lives.” Much relies on informing and educating consumers Despite the hype, one thing that crypto industry insiders often forget is that everyday consumers – the regular person who might occasionally dabble in cryptocurrency – is not particularly well-versed in the blockchain. In fact, despite the progress already made, understanding of blockchain technology is still fairly nascent. Less than 1% of the global population uses blockchain technology, and access to it is not shared equitably. Moreover, a recent survey from Cardify found that one in three crypto investors – those people who had already made the mental leapof-faith to put their money into cryptocurrencies – had little or no understanding of what crypto is. That figure should come as a shock to crypto advocates, although sadly it probably won’t. fintechmagazine.com

“ BITCOIN

BLOCKCHAIN PROTOCOL.

ISKANDAR VANBLARCUM EUROPE GENERAL MANAGER, OKCOIN 78 September 2022 FINANCIAL SERVICES

“The future of blockchain and cryptocurrency is dependent on education,” OKCoin’s Vanblarcum continues. “This new technology represents a shift in mindset. For example, in traditional financial services there are a number of necessary hurdles to go through to engage with financial products – these are removed by blockchain technology. As such, it is vital that users are educated on both accessibility and responsibility. They need to know how blockchain makes services more accessible to them, but at the same time they must understand that responsibility lies with the user more than with traditional services.” This issue of decentralisation is what has allowed bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies IS PERFECT OF A SEEN EARLY ADOPTION THINK OF A TRADITIONAL CURVE, IT’S DISPLAYING THE FUTURE”

FOR

THE

“Despite the perceived challenges, it is a very exciting time for the space with thousands of entrepreneurs building on this open, permissionless system and the future is certainly bright,” he says. “There is certainly also more work to be done with the current protocols and companies in the space. There’s lots of talk of the next generation but by focusing on the hereand-now we can build better products that work for the future. Ultimately, the success of blockchain applications will be driven by adoption and engagement fromOneusers.”such innovative application is Mode, an e-commerce payments

to a lesser extent, to enjoy uncontrolled growth and at the same time set it on a collision course with regulators. The future of crypto continues to be uncertain, not least with bitcoin trading almost 60% down on its November 2021 highs (at time of writing), but Iskandar Vanblarcum continues to be bullishly optimistic.

TRADITIONALADOPTIONPROTOCOL.EXAMPLEWE’VEANDIFYOUDISTRIBUTIONDISPLAYINGPOSITIVESIGNS platform that allows merchants to accept payment in bitcoin through its Pay With Mode feature and gives consumers cashback in bitcoin as a reward. It takes away investment hesitancy associated with cryptocurrency – consumers are still curious about digital assets but are reluctant to part with their own cash to get involved, particularly with inflation and energy prices rising. Mode allows them to own cryptocurrency while only spending money on their normal purchases.

Mode’s CEO, Rita Liu, explains that because digital assets can be traded on the open market, they represent a more transparent and more attractive value proposition than traditional points-based loyalty schemes. She hopes that the company will expand to offer different crypto tokens and is also exploring other payment avenues, including going into bricks-and-mortar retail using QR codes or offering account-to-account (A2A) payments using open banking. fintechmagazine.com 79

PERFECT

Optimising working via AR and AP automation 80 September 2022

workingautomationcapital fintechmagazine.com 81 AD WRITTENFEATUREBY: ALEX CLERE PRODUCED BY: PALLISERJOE GLOBAL PAYEX INC

82 September 2022 GLOBAL PAYEX INC

Global PayEX offers a SaaS platform that helps businesses to automate and digitise AR and AP processes. The company wants to make B2B payments as seamless as paying a utility bill (C2B payment), and has designed digital customer journeys, including on mobile, that remove frictions in B2B payments. Based in Connecticut, US, the company is five years old – meaning no legacy tech hangover – and the firm already has a marquee customer base such as 3M, Bridgestone, Stanley Black and Decker, Reiter, Hafele and several other mid-to-large corporates. It has enabled its customers to realise significant operational efficiencies within their AR and AP departments and processes.

Global PayEX provides a SaaS platform underpinned by AI and ML to bring about rapid transformation in accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP)

fintechmagazine.com 83

A s the industry presses ahead with digitisation, there are dark corners of the finance world that risk being left behind. Without doubt, B2B finance processes have been overlooked in favour of digitisation in the B2C space. Now, a raft of innovators are beginning to recognise the potential for greater disruption in B2B payments and related processes, and one of the most neglected areas is that of accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP).

“ Our primary targets are typically mid-to-large sized corporates such as Bridgestone, Stanley Black & Decker and Huhtamaki” NARAYAN RAMAMOORTHY CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, GLOBAL PAYEX INC 84 September 2022 GLOBAL PAYEX INC

Implementing Global PayEX’s platform can reduce the number of days sales are outstanding (DSO) – the single biggest metric in AR. It can also speed up the time taken to reconcile a payment, and to automate the accounting into the ERP/accounting systems, which in turn can shorten the overall payment and reconciliation cycle and allow customers to place their next order sooner.

“That becomes a very powerful revenue acceleration for our clients, and also enhances customer satisfaction for our clients’ customers,” Chief Revenue Officer Naru Ramamoorthy explains. When Global PayEX’s platforms are fully implemented and integrated into a business, it can save them between 1% and 4% of their annual revenue.Narujoined MphasiS at an early stage in 1999 and worked closely with MphasiS’ founders – Mohan Krishnan (Global PayEX’s CEO and Founder) and Jerry Rao and Jeroen Tas (Initial Global PayEX investors). MphasiS went on to become a multibillion-dollar firm and was acquired by EDS and later by HP. He has more than 20 years’ experience in working with a full spectrum of B2B transformation and payments companies. In Global PayEX, Naru is responsible for global growth, both in existing and new markets.

2018 foundedYear 140+ Number of employees

Naru specialises in business process transformation leveraging technology, process, operations, and market needs. He brings over two decades of experience in scaling businesses and P&Ls across most continents (the US; UK and Europe; India, Asia and GCC; Africa andHeAustralia).hasheld leadership roles in industries ranging from payments, banking and financial services and retail in organisations like Wipro, Tesco, Thomson Reuters, and MphasiS. He holds an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and a Computer Science engineering degree from VJTI, Mumbai.

NARAYAN RAMAMOORTHY

“That's what I specialise in,” Naru says.

“Essentially taking concepts that are semiproven with an initial customer base and just multiplying it by 100, by 1,000. That's what I love doing, so that's why I came to Global PayEX.” Solving unique challenges across both AR and AP

The company’s platform can be thought of as two separate ‘halves’, one for AR and one for AP. It plugs into a company’s ERP (that integration is the only part where custom code is required) meaning the interface can be customised to the client’s accounting rules in their ERP – across all major ERPs like SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, and others.

On AR, Global PayEX provides two core digital platforms – electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) and reconciliation (cash application automation).

GLOBAL PAYEX INC

TITLE: CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER INDUSTRY: FINANCIAL SERVICES LOCATION: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

On the EIPP platform, Freepay™, end customers can view invoices and credit/ debit notes, make payments and deductions, view statements, and EIPP automates the accounting entries posting into the seller’s ERP. The reconciliation platform, AlgoriQ™, automates document reading such as remittance/payment advice and bank statements, and automates reconciliation and posting to the ERP (automated accounting). A key area of focus

On AP, Global PayEX provides a vendor portal for suppliers and vendors to view documents like POs, goods receipt notes and payment advice.

is on deductions – AlgoriQ helps to identify, tag and resolve deductions made by end customers. AlgoriQ is gaining rapid traction for ecommerce marketplace reconciliations among buyers like Amazon and Walmart.

Suppliers can upload invoices via this portal.

The Global PayEX platform also enables invoice process using auto-reading of invoices across formats, providing validation workflows and automating the invoice entry into the ERP.

EIPP solves for all of these by digitising and automating the interaction between sellers andAnotherbuyers.key challenge in AR with institutional customers is related to deductions. Each customer could have different deduction codes to refer to the same events – whether that’s a goods return, a goods short supply or a withholding tax. Even customers in the same industry can have different terminology for the same deductions. Global PayEX’s customer (seller) may also have different terminologies in their ERP to refer to those events, for example ‘return to vendor fintechmagazine.com

NARAYAN RAMAMOORTHY CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, GLOBAL PAYEX INC “ Banks are interested in Global PayEX because they want to offer a differentiated service to their corporate banking customers banking”receivablesacrossandpayables

The AR/AP platforms also enable financing workflows and automation across the anchor corporates, banks and the corporate’s buyers and suppliers. Lastly, the PayEX platforms can enable straightthrough automation with all key ERP platforms. The challenges in AR are very different to the challenges in AP, but there is still an interplay between them; after all, a vendor’s AR is a buyer’s AP. In accounts receivable (AR), challenges faced by sellers include lost or misplaced invoices, the cost of accepting payments (specifically physical modes like cheques), resolving for part-payments or deductions, and delayed payments. A lot of time is spent by AR teams, sales teams and the end customer’s AP teams on emails and phone calls to resolve these.

87 GLOBAL PAYEX INC

88 September 2022 GLOBAL PAYEX INC

1-4% Global PayEX claims its platform can save and enhance clients' annual revenues by 1-4% Europe After achieving a dominant position in India and launching in the US, Global PayEX is setting its sights on Europe. 3-4 The company already has 3-4 big-brand customers in the US, having gone live in the country earlier this year

(RTV)’ compared to ‘goods return’. Global PayEX’s reconciliation platform, AlgoriQ™, automatically reads those incoming documents and reconciles the different document formats, deduction codes and terminologies. That gives time back to the finance teams in their clients’ companies, who are no longer faced with the arduous task of having to sift through all this complex data. In AP, the system works like a mirrorimage. Vendors can upload their invoices into a vendor portal, and the Global PayEX platform is able to auto-read these invoices and to convert into a standard format. This further helps to validate and automate the processing of that invoice into the customer’s ERP.

The end-to-end payments journey means that Global PayEX sits in the middle of a lot of data, which it can use to bring greater value for its clients. The platform can identify patterns of behaviour and learn about how customers pay their invoices, and, more importantly, when. If a customer is late with their payment, the system can obviously send reminders automatically and chase customers for money – but it is so intelligent that it is able to draw distinctions between different customers and understand when fintechmagazine.com

“We intend to further enhance our AI capabilities via building a neural network that has 99%+ accuracy in terms of reading any random document around the concept of account receivable and account payable”

NARAYAN RAMAMOORTHY CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER, GLOBAL PAYEX INC

Using data to embed financial services into Global PayEX

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a pattern of behaviour is out of the ordinary for that company. That intelligence allows for extensive dashboarding, which can present data in a way that a company’s CFO, credit, or finance manager can interpret and action.Global PayEX is also seeking to incorporate embedded finance into its platform. “We are trying to embed financing into these B2B workflows where we invite banks and non-banks to lend through our digital ecosystem,” Naru says. The system already knows which of a vendor’s distributors have access to financing, because it does the reconciliation for it, so Global PayEX can anonymise that data and send it to partner banks or lenders. That data allows them to make underwriting decisions and provide funding for a certain range and/or customer segment. When a new credit line becomes available, buyers (distributors) will log into Global PayEX’s FreePay™ EIPP platform and see that they now have a credit limit of up to £50,000 or £100,000 provided by a partner institution. It’s the distributor’s decision whether to accept that credit line. If they do, they are onboarded by the institution in the usual way and, afterwards, they will see a new payment method in the app when they come to settle an invoice that allows them to pay using that credit.

GLOBAL PAYEX INC fintechmagazine.com 91

Naru elaborates: “We want to get that to at least a 9/10 document auto-read capability across formats over the next 12 months, with an eventual goal being a neural network which has 99+% accuracy from day one, in terms of reading any random document related to AR and AP.”

When Global PayEX was launched, it initially focused on the Indian market, where it has now established a dominant position for itself. The company is now live in the US, where it has a few big-name brand customers and a pipeline of prospects. When Naru speaks to us, he is in London conducting due diligence and laying the groundwork for a future presence there. Global PayEX wants CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER,

Targeting new markets and enhancing product features

NARAYAN RAMAMOORTHY

Global PayEX will continue to invest in AI/ML technologies to improve the efficacy of its automation, giving its platform enhanced abilities to read and contextualise document formats.

“ We are trying to embed financing into these B2B workflows by inviting banks to lend through our digital ecosystem” to be live in the UK, with boots on the ground by Q4 of this calendar year. It marks a continued expansion for the firm, which hopes that the US and EMEA can become significant contributors to group revenues. In the next 12 months, Global PayEX will focus on growing its penetration in the US market and establishing itself both in the UK and in continental Europe. From a regulatory perspective, this provides a unique challenge: Europe has various compliance requirements to grapple with, not least GDPR. From a product perspective, the company is working on globalisation, supporting more currencies and languages to allow for further market expansions in future. It is also looking at new requirements like e-invoicing standards and new payment mechanisms such as realtime payments, building that out from a product stack or enhancing the product stack to include them.

“The reason banks are interested is because they want to offer a differentiated service to their corporate banking customers on the receivables/payables banking or on the corporate transaction banking side, and banks don't necessarily have these sophisticated technologies,” Naru explains. “So, they use our technology; we are the back end while the bank is the front end offering these technologies to the customer. Our latest partnership is with FIS, the payments behemoth, where they're white labelling a part of our stack globally to their customers. Several other global and regional banks leverage our platform such as JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.”

The future of economyabankscommunityinglobal 92 September 2022

“The bankscommunitynew…aretakingtheopportunitytousemodernbankingtech,unburdenedbylegacysystems” ANDY NON-EXECUTIVECOPSEYDIRECTOR,ABL fintechmagazine.com 93

A community bank is a deposit and lending institution that specialises in personal relationships with their customers. They are typically smaller than nationwide or international institutions – with an emphasis on the ‘community’ aspect – and usually don't have the product range or branch networks available to larger banks. Community banks also often provide lending facilities to those who may not qualify with big banks, based on the more standardised criteria used. Community-level banking in a digitised economy But, in a world where the transactional space has never been so dynamic, competitive and frictionless, the role of community banks isn’t always clear – and, according to industry experts, it's an industry that needs to define its purpose if it is to continue to develop. Community banks provide essential services to the SME marketplace. We take a look at their future within fintech JOANNA ENGLAND

A s the physicalprovidedtraditionallyanexpands,marketplacefintechofferingarrayofservicesbybanks,the role of community banks has remained key in providing for small businesses and individual customers within localised areas.

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“In essence, the community banking sector will need to evaluate opportunities to generate new streams of net income, while enhancing their digital capabilities to compete with larger financial institutions and non-bank providers competing for market share within their consumer and business client bases.”

Copsey says: “The new-to-market and in-progress new community banks are taking the opportunity to use modern banking tech, unburdened by legacy systems.

Andy Copsey, former Handelsbanken UK Chief Operating Officer and now a NonExecutive Director at commercial finance consultancy ABL, explains: “Community banks tend to aim their efforts towards SMEs, local and micro businesses. It's not clear that community banks are making meaningful inroads into this sector, which is often entrenched with established highstreet clearing banks.”

“If approach,tobankscommunityfailtakethistheywillstruggletosurvive;theymustremaincompetitive”

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

BankiFi’s CEO of Americas, Keith Riddle, says community banks continue to experience a host of economic challenges and a broadening field of competitive threats. He points to reports that will impact the space in the coming months including regulatory pressure to address overdraft fees, while competition from neobanks and non-bank providers will create a significant impact on non-interest income, earnings dips, and earnings staying static.

fintechmagazine.com 95

One of the biggest problems is that these smaller institutions haven’t always adopted innovations as quickly as their larger counterparts or fintech competitors. However, newer community banks are making progress in terms of technology.

HANS EXECUTIVETESSELAARDIRECTOR,BIAN

“To provide a truly personalised experience that caters for all customers within the community, these banks must overcome obstacles surrounding interoperability,” says Tesselaar “A coreless banking model approach to transformation can empower banks to select software vendors needed to obtain the best-of-breed for each application area. By translating 96 September 2022

Tesselaar outlines the importance of recognising that not all consumers are willing or capable of making the digital change, and there will always be those who prefer to bank manually. “This is where community banks can provide hands-on support at branches for those unable to access digital services at home. Not only does this help to improve accessibility and increase education around digital initiatives, but it also encourages people to embrace digital ways of banking.”

The expense alone of transitioning to digital services has resulted in older community banks being sluggish to adopt new practices – which puts them behind the curve, in terms of customer expectations.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

Critical for underserved communities Hans Tesselaar is the Executive Director at BIAN (Banking Industry Architecture Network) – a collaborative, not-for-profit ecosystem formed of leading banks, technology providers, consultants and academics from all over the globe. He believes that, despite the speed at which global banking is developing, community banks have a vital role to play. In areas where digital adoption is not common, access to physical services remains a priority, Tesselaar says, pointing out that fintech and banks must continue to think outside of the box, innovate and develop other initiatives aimed at those reluctant to embrace digital banking alongside the role community banks will “Communityplay. banks will be critical in ensuring underserved communities have access to financial services as the popularity of digital banking grows. As fintechs and banks continue to accelerate their digital transformation in response to this, the closure of more high-street banks is making in-person banking inaccessible for many.”

The assessment could recommend a shared branch opens in the community, or that a Post Office be upgraded. Tesselaar says, “In addition to this, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has the power to ensure local communities across the UK have access to cash and banks who don’t comply could face fines, demonstrating the need for community banks in certain areas.” A challenging time But there are challenges involved in providing services as innovative and cutting edge as current fintechs and larger banks.

“They need the tech to keep costs down and deliver the service their market segment requires – which is both clicks and bricks –as well as quality staff to provide the advice that their customers want but increasingly feel unable to find because their existing bank is closing its branches and removing named account managers from all but the larger SMEs and large corporates.”

Industry and regulators are, according to Tesselaar, prioritising community banking to provide for those who prefer to bank in person. “A pilot agreement has recently been launched for banks to share services to support the local community and the future of cash. If a banking provider is closing a branch, it must assess how the branch was used by the local community.

DAVE LEWIS CEO ANDRANQXFOUNDER,

fintechmagazine.com 97

dollars“Communitybanksinvestbackintothecommunity,creatingjobsandhelpingwiththelocaleconomy”

communities...commitmenttheirtotheirbyonlysupportingtheirdefinedgeographicmarket”

each proprietary message into one standard message model, communication between different organisations is, therefore, significantly enhanced, ensuring that each solution – in and outside the bank – can seamlessly connect and exchange data.”

ANDY NON-EXECUTIVECOPSEYDIRECTOR,ABL 98 September 2022

He suggests that community banks should also form an ecosystem with their peers, alongside fintechs, service providers, and aggregators, helping them when it comes to the speed they can introduce new products, which in turn will support the customer experience.Aneffective ecosystem strategy, he adds, will mean these banks can better serve their customers, creating an opportunity to drive better experiences by providing the speed, scale and differentiated products that make the most of the opportunity presented by the significant shift to digital banking. “If

“Those community banks that are mutuals can reinforce this message by saying the customers own the bank, thus making the bank accountable to its customers in what – if managed correctly – can become a virtuousCopseycircle.”believes that, by having scalable systems, community banks should also engage with experienced local commercial finance brokers that can build their balance sheets and generate returns more quickly to cover their largely fixed cost base.

community banks fail to take this approach, they will struggle to survive as they must remain competitive as consumers continue to demand new, digital services aligned to their needs.”

He adds: “The importance of face-to-face advice to these businesses, which are so vital to the economy has, if anything, increased. Some established and new lenders have majored in tech over personal relationship banking – with the latter being especially crucial outside of the main UK commercial centres, where SMEs have been left abandoned by the clearers.”

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Embracing future changes

Copsy agrees that personalisation is key in providing services that appeal more to their customers. He says community banks must also capitalise on the close relationships they can establish in their local communities.

“To do so, they need to communicate their commitment to their communities clearly, and build a loyal following by only supporting their defined geographic market. Some, for example, promise that deposits taken from savers in the local market will only be used to finance mortgages in that market.

commerceforinnovationCybertoday’s 100 September 2022 PRODUCED BY: VAUGHANLEWIS AD WRITTENFEATUREBY: JOANNA ENGLAND

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B ooz Allen Hamilton, a global consulting firm headquartered in Virginia and founded in 1914, has firmly established itself as a leading cybersecurity partner for Fortune 500 corporations, governments, and not-for-profits. We caught up with Tony Gaidhane, Vice President in Booz Allen's Commercial business, to find out just how Booz Allen’s solutions are transforming cybersecurity for businesses worldwide. Gaidhane, who has 21 years’ industry experience, has been based in the Netherlands for three years – the move marking a considerable change for the US-native. He works with clients across the UK and Europe and has been part of Booz Allen since 2013. Prior to his move to Europe, he worked in Washington DC as a Cyber Security Executive in Booz Allen’s US Commercial Business, where he led Booz Allen's Commercial Cyber Fusion Centre Capability and worked with a number of clients in designing, operating and maturing their cyber defence and operations’ capabilities globally. From the experience gained in his career thus far, Gaidhane believes a major differentiator between newer companies and the offerings provided by Booz Allen lies in the organisation’s experience in the marketplace. “Having founded the management consulting discipline over fintechmagazine.com

103 BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

Booz Allen Hamilton fuses cyber technical expertise with decades of strategic consulting to deliver advanced cyber defence solutions

a century ago, business, government and military leaders have turned to Booz Allen to solve their most complex problems. We bring a tonne of expertise in analytics, in digital, in engineering and in cybersecurity.”

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Gaidhane says part of the company philosophy is to work ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with clients, using a mission first approach to choosing the right strategy and technology to help them realise their visions. He explains: “We're also a key partner on some of the most innovative programmes for governments worldwide and are trusted by some of the most sensitive agencies. We began working with commercial clients over 40 years ago, and we continued to expand our work.”

Innovating in the cyber space

Advanced solutions for the cyber business community Booz Allen is also unusual because its cyber roots are decades old and include significant milestones in research and security innovations. For the last three decades, Booz

TONY GAIDHANE VICE PRESIDENT OF BOOZ ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON “ Whether it's a threat intelligence platform or an platformanalytics–using that to strengthen one of the key principles and isandresponseacceleratingultimatelydetectionmitigation–itkey”

TONY GAIDHANE TITLE: VICE PRESIDENT IN BOOZ ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL BUSINESS INDUSTRY: IT & SERVICES LOCATION: NETHERLANDS

BIOEXECUTIVE

Tony Gaidhane leads Booz Allen’s commercial business for the United Kingdom and Europe. Based in the firm’s Netherlands office in The Hague, Tony leads our market-facing cyber capabilities for commercial clients in the UK and Europe. He delivers solutions in security strategy, security operations, managed services, incident response, cyber analytics, and data protection to solve our clients’ most complex challenges.

Booz Allen in 2013, Tony assisted client organisations in their fight against cyber threats from advanced global adversaries in his work as a senior manager of cybersecurity advisory services at another premier consulting firm. Prior to that role, Tony worked in Industry for a decade, and served as a director with a Fortune 30 health insurance company where he created and managed many leading cybersecurity capabilities. In addition to several certifications in the areas of information security, auditing, information privacy, and project management, Tony holds an M.B.A. from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He also has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Nagpur University and Texas Tech University, respectively.

Tony has more than 20 years of experience providing cybersecurity advisory services in industries such as energy, finance, retail, automotive, healthcare, and technology with a focus on strategy, design, and implementation of cyber threat intelligence, threat defence operations, attack surface reduction, cybersecurity strategy, and supply chain cybersecurity.Beforejoining

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

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TONY GAIDHANE VICE PRESIDENT OF BOOZ ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON “ We sectors.”enterprisesandveryexperienceheritageGaidhanetheirdefenceforAllenmissions”existentialandtransformationsexecuteourthatenablingascybersecurityapproachabusiness-functionempowersclientstodigitalfulfiltheirhasbeenacybermissionintegratortheUSgovernment,aswellasfortheUSsectorasawhole.“We'vehelpedthemsolvesomeoftoughestcybersecuritychallenges,”says,“bycombiningourconsultingwithdeepcybersecuritypractitionerthatwe'vegainedfromtacklinghigh-profilecybersecurityincidentsbroad-basedtransformationsacross–bothinthepublicandprivate

Booz Allen has thousands of cyber professionals across the firm, holding more than 10,000 cyber certifications. This number continues to grow. “They bring this deep cyber tradecraft to our clients, whether it's to safeguard life-saving healthcare solutions, to secure the next generation of global manufacturing to protect global financial infrastructure, or to continue to secure energy production. All of which are really key missions for our commercial clients.”

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Redefining the future with Cyber Fusion

Booz Allen is a global leader in the war against breaches and hacking, partnering with public and private companies to tackle ther global cybersecurity challenges.

Over a decade ago, the company formed the commercial Cyber Fusion Centre –an operating model evolved from the company’s experiences running fusion centres for some of the largest US agencies.

The rise in threat actors was so marked that Booz Allen developed proprietary solutions for the commercial market.

“Their traditional SOC (security operations centre) environments, or cyber operations’ environments, were grinding down and fintechmagazine.com

“Having seen the evolution and sophistication of threat actors in those environments, we also started to see that same evolution in the commercial sector. Then we started to see the evolution of the various types of threats that our clients were dealing with, along with an increased magnitude and velocity of vulnerability.”

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“ The digital ecosystem is making everything more connected, which means that, as cyber defenders, we have to look at the broader context”

He continues: “What we've done over the course of the last few years is further advance that model by engaging with our clients' cyber operations’ programmes and helping them solve broader challenges in merging cybersecurity with fraud, with insider threats, with data protection, with the manufacturing side of things, as well as in operational technology and other domains via what we call ‘converged fusion’.”

TONY GAIDHANE VICE PRESIDENT OF BOOZ ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

To continuously test and strengthen detection-response capabilities, Gaidhane says that Booz Allen uses red teaming and purple teaming, which allows the development of those capabilities to continue. The last stage of this process involves response and detection. “Lastly, we use customer technology to their advantage. Whether it's a threat intelligence platform or an analytics platform – using that to strengthen one of the key principles and ultimately accelerating response detection and mitigation – it is key.”

becoming very reactive in dealing with advanced persistent threats,” explains Gaidhane. “The fusion centre model enables clients to possess a holistic and informed view of their environment to focus on key principles and break away from that grind.” After establishing the comprehensive nature of the fusion centre model to Booz Allen’s solutions, Gaidhane goes on to explain the cyber fusion concept in stages, with anticipation of threats being the first port of “Numbercall. one, it's threat intelligence-led and driven. It starts with our intelligence, which percolates through the course of the chain centre, focusing primarily on anticipating threats rather than reacting to them. Anticipating those threats is what’s most important to the enterprise, as opposed to getting bogged down by threats that aren't as important or are already mitigated. It also drives the ability to rapidly coordinate at a tactical level because of the fusion between all of these cyber components.”

As the digital ecosystem and IoT result in ever-greater connectivity between industry players, the question of cybersecurity becomes increasingly important and complex. Businesses – both large and small – now work digitally closer than ever before, sharing data streams and information at unprecedented levels. As cyber defenders, the role of Booz Allen is to ensure that its solutions empower businesses to partner and connect without the threat of imminent breaches occurring.

Developing converged fusion

Cybersecurity in a digital ecosystem

Gaidhane points out that attackers use a combination of human and cyber techniques to gain an advantage. “What you have to do on the defensive side is the same thing. You have to start seeing fraud data within a cyber context and see cyber data within a fraud context, then be able to talk between and merge these two.” The approach is multifaceted and so requires another angle of defence. Booz Allen’s industry experience delivers context about the different types of cyber threats occurring across different industries, and enables better prioritisation to protect the entire“That'senterprise.oneexample of where we've helped financial companies deal with fraud,” asserts Gaidhane. “In other cases, clients are trying to deal with things like insider threats. If you try to tackle that problem by itself, not knowing the cyber context, it’s going to be a difficult problem to solve. But, once you start looking at these problems holistically, trying to merge those domains and see where the overlaps are – just like the adversaries are doing –then it becomes a better way to solve that problem. This approach is essentially being applied to a multitude of domains.”

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The realm of cybersecurity is becoming increasingly complex and fast moving, which means companies must keep up or face the terrible consequences of a potential breach. Gaidhane believes Converged Fusion is a proven approach that will continue to develop better cyber fortification within an increasingly connected business environment. It involves using intuitive thinking, which predicts the nature of the attacker.“Essentially, it involves combining cyber domains with other domains,” he explains. “An example of converge fusion at a bank would be, ‘How do you reduce fraud?’. Fraudsters are using traditional mechanisms and means to trick individuals into paying them money or transferring them money. But there's a pretty big overlap with the cyber techniques that cyber criminals use. If you try to tackle the fraud problem using cyber and fraud techniques separately, you'll never act fast enough to catch the attackers. In this case, it makes more sense to try and think as the attackers do.”

He points out that threat actors use this extended business enterprise, such as OT or manufacturing or cloud, to gain access to client systems. Their motivations for these threat actors range from nation state adversaries, access of sensitive information or intellectual property to terrorists.

“They are trying to disrupt infrastructure and operations. This is especially true if it's critical to a new generation of threat actors, who are using these vulnerabilities as a way to raise the stakes in ransomware attacks and get paid.”

“We approach cybersecurity as a business-enabling function that empowers our clients to execute digital transformations and fulfil their existential missions,” says Gaidhane. “What we've seen is that, as organisations grow their business and take on large transformations – such as cloud migrations or broadbased operational tech migrations or evolutions – their attack surfaces, and then consequently, their threat numbers, are growing at an unprecedented rate.”

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The future of cybersecurity

and off now, because it's a combination of humans potentially using code and other things to do it.”

Looking to the future, he says that providers are going to have to continuously raise the bar and enhance defences to allow businesses to focus on their more complex business challenges, rather than being distracted by security issues. “The attackers only have to get this right once. But, as defenders, we have to get it right every single time. So, Booz Allen's approach to cybersecurity is honed from decades of serving alongside the most sophisticated global enterprises and government agencies. As we evolve our

Ultimately, an effective security provider needs to examine a broad picture to assess weaknesses across the extended environment, and then apply the correct solutions, according to Gaidhane. “The digital ecosystem is making everything more connected, which means that as cyber defenders, we have to look at the broader context of being able to connect the dots between all of these business environments to be able to stay ahead. Companies are connected in a variety of ways, but even within companies, their sub-businesses are connected via means that traditionally weren't looked at as being connected.”

As industry experts continue to play cat-andmouse games with increasingly sophisticated hackers, the cybersecurity industry has its work cut out. According to Statistica, the number of data breaches in the US alone in 2021 totalled 1001 cases.

To put that into perspective, this translates to over 155.8 million individuals being affected by data exposures occurring that year, including accidental revelation of sensitive information due to less-than-adequate information security – amounting to a whopping US$4.2bn in damages. According to reports, between 2015 and 2021, fiscal cost wrought by cyber attacks has also increased from $1bn to $6.9bn in 2021.

As the numbers continue to rise in line with increased connectivity, bleedingedge technology is the only possible solution, says Gaidhane. “In the future, I think we'll see more use of automation, more use of analytics, advanced analytics, more use of machine learning, and even AI by the attackers, which will increase the specification, volume and velocity of these sophisticated attacks. We see them on 112

September 2022 BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

TONY GAIDHANE VICE PRESIDENT OF BOOZ ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON

The future for Booz Allen

These are the driving forces behind the innovative solutions created by Gaidhane and his teams. The company will continue to develop proactive cybersecurity services and capabilities that stay ahead of the threat actors, as well as the threats, faced by their clients. Automation and AI are key components of these offerings, and have already proven markedly successful in a market beset with cyber issues. Gaidhane concludes: “As our clients evolve to use more automation, more analytics, machine learning, and AI, we'll continue to evolve our leading-edge capability to solve our clients’ challenges in these areas. The other aspect is that assessing the broader business context within a number of threats, as well as its reactors, is really going to be important to stay ahead of the curve.”

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clients’ security posture and stay at the front-end of a lot of these types of attacks, we get to see what the future is going to bring and stay ahead.”

“We’ll continue to evolve our capabilities to be able to take the full business view in addition to, I'd say, staying ahead of the curve in automation, analytics, and AI to get there.”

“ As our clients evolve to use more automation, more analytics, machine learning, and AI, we'll continue to evolve our inourcapabilityleading-edgetosolveclients’challengestheseareas”

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Fintech decacorns the downturn

AS GROWTH

WRITTEN BY: JOANNA ENGLAND ACROSS THE FINTECH INDUSTRY SLOWS AND CONTRACTS, WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOW FINTECH HAVE BEEN AFFECTED

he news that the world’s largest and most successful Buy Now Pay Later company, Klarna, had lost US$40bn from its valuation, shocked the financial sector. The Swedish lending giant had increased in size 10-fold over the pandemic period as online spending skyrocketed and government hardship packages and devaluation of currencies kept cash circulating across economies.Butwhen the party stopped, the drop in valuation was more dramatic than most experts had predicted. And although Klarna has by no means been the only fintech to suffer during increased interest rates, inflation and new industry regulations, it certainly fell hardest. The move has also signalled a re-evaluation of priorities for top fintech business leaders as valuations contract, hiring is paused and IPOs are delayed.

downturndecacornsscale?and

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DECACORNS

two years to make a positive impact in communities is OneFarm Share. The platform grew as a response to the challenge faced by many developing countries and amplified during Covid-19 lockdowns: food security and hunger. OneFarm Share (facilitated through a partnership between HelloChoice and Standard Bank Group) provides a digital business-to-business platform that allows emerging and commercial farmers to sell and donate their produce to new markets. By December 2021, 5 900 tonnes of produce had been distributed and nearly 24 million meals provided through the platform. This year, the plan is to distribute 10 000 tonnes of food and provide more than 50 million meals across South Africa. Visit standardbank.com to find out more.

The platform economy is not just changing banking It’s fighting hunger, too.

Standard Bank is an authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15). The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg. No. 1962/000738/06).

OneFarm Share is a digital business-to-business platform (facilitated through a partnership between HelloChoice and Standard Bank Group) that allows emerging and commercial farmers to sell or donate their produce to new markets. Since its launch it has provided more than 24 million meals to various communities. Watch our video here.

GETTYIMAGES.COMIMAGE:

T he platform economy is changing the globe, creating and connecting communities in every industry. Digital access allows new markets to flourish, so that users can share resources, interact and transact with more reach and impact than ever before. As a result, businesses and their customers are forging meaningful relationships that support more than just the bottomFinancialline.services institutions are realising the opportunities this new economy offers. Recently, Standard Bank Group released the paper ThePower ofthePlatformEconomyforFinancialServices,whichhighlightedtheneedforend-to-endsolutionsandthenecessityofbuildingstrongpartnershipsandecosystemsdrivenbydataandinsights.TheStandardBankGroupisinvolvedindevelopingsuchpartnershipswithfintechandBigTechcompaniessuchasSalesforce,MicrosoftAzureandAmazonWebServices.Onestrategicpartnershipthathasevolvedoverthepast

The current economic climate for fintechs could not be a sharper contrast to that of a year ago. In 2021, the global growth of fintech dropped sharply. According to a report of global fintech growth for 2022 by CB Insights, fintech funding in Q2’22 hit its lowest level since Q4’20. Indeed, overall, funding fell 33% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 46% year-over-year (YoY) to Data$20.4bnshows deals also fell 17% QoQ to 1,225 in Q2’22. Both funding and deals dropped to their lowest quarterly level since 2020 as investors pulled back on funding fintech startups amid market volatility.Revolut is one fintech decacorn that has continued to thrive despite the recent economic change of market circumstances. The neobank recently joined forces with fellow fintech heavyweight Stripe, with Stripe’s technology supporting Revolut's payments in Europe and facilitating expansion.Speaking to Fintech magazine, André Silva, Head of International Expansion for Revolut says the bank was strategising by focusing on the customer and their needs in tandem with a datadriven approach. “This allows us to deliver the best product and has attracted 20 million retail customers to Revolut in seven years. From the very beginning, Revolut has hired the best talent. We continue to hire 5,000recentlypeopleexceptionalgloballyandsurpassedemployees.”

TECHNOLOGY

A changed market

fintechmagazine.com 117 ANDRÉ SILVA HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, REVOLUT “ Revolut offering”diversifiedforThegrowcontinuedinmarketweatheredhasvolatilitythepastandtoatpace.differenceusisour

The problems facing scaling fintechs in the current climate are multifold. A major hindrance to continued expansion is a drop in investment. Based on funding reports from 2021, the capital available to disruptive startups is no longer as abundant as it once was. Fintechs that commanded mega-rounds last year have strategised and set themselves on roads to expansion and profitability that now can’t be met as subsequent funding rounds shrink.

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However, those companies that grew at a moderate pace, expanding at a rate that didn’t reflect the skyrocketing bubble, are more likely to fair better as the market contraction increases. The key to surviving such a situation, and even thriving within it, often comes with experience.

ANDRÉ SILVA HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, REVOLUT “ Scaling toproblemsnever-endingthereisbusinessahardandaresolve” WHAT IS |VALUATIONSBILLIONWITHCOMPANIESATADECACORN?ALOOKTHE$10FORBES

“The challenges Revolut faced in the early days of the company were similar to what all startups go through,” says Silva. “Scaling a business is hard and there are never-ending problems to solve. But as our CEO and founder Nikolay Storonsky has said, we’ve made almost every mistake possible and we’ve learned from them. We’re fast learners and it’s one of the keys to our success.”

He suggests that just because a company has passed the $10bn valuation mark, does not mean that the investment environment gets any easier. “Revolut has raised $1.8bn in funding and we have been able to raise funds effectively at every stage of our evolution. In our last round in July 2021 Revolut raised $800mn, valuing the business at $33bn.”

Protecting valuations and profitability in a failing economy

Ultimately, it's a time where companies do need to re-evaluate their growth strategies – especially if their predictions were based on the milk-and-honey period of 2020 and 2021 continuing or even increasing. Freezes on hiring, rising inflation and interest rates have hit the lenders hard, and resulted in disastrous stock losses and valuation drops across the board.

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Silva says that the size of a company doesn’t necessarily correlate with the fall from grace many companies have experienced over Q2 of 2022. Rather, navigating an unstable market comes from agility and providing a wide spectrum of services. He points out: “In our experience, size is not an issue. Revolut has weathered market volatility in the past and continued to grow at pace. The difference for us is our diversified offering. We offer dozens of products from spend management and payments solutions for businesses, to market leading foreign exchange and trading for retail customers. Our diverse product offering protects us against market turmoil.”

120 September 2022 ANDRÉ SILVA HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, REVOLUT “ A clear post-merger integration plan is vital for maintaining business-critical applications, IT systems and data”

He says that in order for M&A to benefit smaller companies, business integration needs to be swift, broken down into manageable chunks, and with seamless application and data integration for all services. “In this way, data points become more accessible and clear, united by a master data management solution able to cross departmental and geographic borders in an agile yet controlled manner.”

He concludes, “At the crux of M&A success lies a strategy that makes data accessible and provides the correct governance. For a fully successful merger, both parties need the ability to access raw data from a single platform, from which the company can decide which innovation approach to take for customers, partners and employees moving forward.”

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Mike Kiersey, Head of Sales Engineering, EMEA for Boomi, explains: “A clear post-merger integration plan is vital for maintaining businesscritical applications, IT systems and data. Both companies involved need to understand the importance of a harmonised infrastructure, and the severe implications of a failure to integrate two different systems.”

He adds: “Our goal is to become a truly global financial super app so that people across the globe can open an account in a few minutes, at any time, and access the services they need to manage their money.”

The role of M&A in growth and recovery

TECHNOLOGY

Speaking about Revolut’s own expansion journey, Silva says: “We want to keep growing, both in terms of numbers of customers and markets. We now serve more than 20 million customers across the UK, Europe, US, Australia, Japan, Singapore and we will soon launch the Revolut app in India, Mexico and Brazil.”

As smaller fintech companies and some unicorns struggle to maintain profitability and their high valuations, mergers and acquisitions look set to increase. Larger companies deadline better in the current climate and have the opportunity to expand their offerings and customer base by acquiring other fintechs.

FUTUREAINTOGAMINGLEADINGDIGITAL BY: MEGEARYJAKE WRITTEN BY: O'HANLONJOHN

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124 September 2022

E veri Holdings (Everi) was established in 2015 upon the merger of Global Cash Access (GCA), founded in 1996, and Multimedia Games, Inc. (MGAM) . Today, no single supplier in the gaming industry processes more cash access transactions than Everi – over US$37bn from more than 125 million transactions in 2021 alone, to be precise. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, its primary market is in the USA, but it has growing operations in the UK, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Everi is a dominant supplier of services and solutions in the USA’s land-based gaming space. “Our predecessor, GCA, came on the scene long before companies like Venmo or Zelle. In those days, if you lost your money, how did you pay for your bus ticket home? Global Cash Access came into being to smooth out friction points like this by creating a suite of services – as time passed, SVP Victor Newsom talks digital wallet, cashless technology, blockchain/crypto and transformation in tomorrow's gaming

sectorfintechmagazine.com 125 EVERI HOLDINGS

Victor Newsom has been with the company since 2013. As Senior VP of Product Management and Payment Solutions – with an emphasis on the latter – he's responsible for the vision, definition, evaluation, quality, and delivery of payments products for Everi's core cash access business. His is an exciting, fast-evolving field, not simply because of the proliferation of fintech tools, but also due to the rapid transformation of gaming as on-premise and online options continue to merge and complement one another. As in other sectors, the objective is to provide a seamless service to the end-user however they want to engage, Newsom says.

“We have proprietary core technology that we must protect, but I will work directly with a competitor to solve a friction point for the benefit of the casino. Working together raises the sea level, and the rising ocean lifts all boats. If we can create a fully-integrated digital experience, we will all do better.”

The gaming industry is very tightly regulated, which has encouraged specialist companies. “It's very difficult for one player to do everything, but we are probably further along the consolidation path than anyone else in the industry. However, we're not the only vendor that a casino needs to operate, so collaboration is essential to our success. Co-creation with other vendors is essential. Take slot system providers who have established purpose-built systems with long-term contracts – they're a critical element in an interdependent ecosystem, so we collaborate with the leading players. We have a common interest in creating integrated experiences for the casino operators and their patrons.”

Digitalisation industry-wide Gaming is a naturally conservative branch of financial services, and this is reflected in the speed of digitalisation, Newsom has found. “I'd say very few land-based operators truly Everi is creating a digital neighbourhood for gamers

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Co-petition raises the sea level

Everi's challenge is to deliver a seamless experience, and collaboration is critical to achieving that, as Newsom emphasises.

they bought other businesses; for example, compliance companies and a kiosk company, so that they could add ticket redemption and bill payment to the ATM. By 2015, the GCA name no longer defined the business accurately, so Everi was born. What we do, we do very well, which is why we're the leader!”

Victor has consulted with US law enforcement, worked on payments legislation, advised on central bank policy in emerging markets, and FinTech-related intellectual property.

EXECUTIVE BIO VICTOR NEWSOM TITLE: SVP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, PAYMENT SOLUTIONS LOCATION: LAS VEGAS fintechmagazine.com 127

Victor Newsom, SVP Product Management, Payments Solutions for Everi, is a FinTech and Gaming veteran who has held leadership positions for a wide range of companies engaged in acquiring and issuing, processing, US and International operations, and cardbased, virtual, cryptocurrency, and mobile payments, as well as DeFi.

Carat is the commerce operating system that enables large businesses to optimize payments and create new customer experiences. Drive commercemore carat.fiserv.com © 2022 Fiserv, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Fiserv is a registered trademark of Fiserv, Inc.

the people that choose to go to the cage are the ones who have the highest touch now, because most of the gaming action is now self-service on the floor, they should actually get more money for training, so that the guest experience doesn't degrade. But they're not optimised that way. “Procurement is trying to purchase the cheapest box – hardware like a kiosk, regardless of the services it supports – it doesn't see that a 10% increase in spend for a box that handles five times more transaction types than the competitor will generate millions of dollars more revenue for the company. They're not measured on contract performance or outcome – they're measured on cost. So the least-cost box will never be the best digital solution, and, until the operators understand that, our industry will continue to struggle with digital transformation.” understand what digital transformation means for the business. We have a long history of working in certain ways; the ossified and monolithic systems that have developed make it hard to introduce change – when it does come, it's cautious. “Some companies do get it, but others don't understand that, to rebuild your business as a digital operation, you need to deconstruct it first. For example, the cage managers and the slot managers are very crucial parts of the operation; finance and procurement are too. But these four roles are incentivised very differently, whereas in a digital world, they must all mesh seamlessly. “If we digitise the gaming floor and you’re able to move money into the slot systems and the table games, that increases spend there, whereas the cage manager’s job is to reduce costs and hire fewer people. Yet,

VICTOR NEMSON SVP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, PAYMENT SOLUTIONS, EVERI HOLDINGS fintechmagazine.com 129 EVERI HOLDINGS

NAME SURNAME JOB COMPANYTITLE,NAME “Science fiction and Iimaginariumhavefantasybeenmysincewasachild”

Everi is also in the unique position of understanding the difficulty facing operators and regulators alike in getting digital payments into gaming. Whether or not you trust cryptocurrencies, the investments being committed to platforms like Onyx by J P Morgan, Chase and other established finance houses testify to the fact that they need to be integrated. But how is a regulator expected to become an expert on crypto, when they are already beset with anxiety

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CashClub Wallet is about a digital experience that acts as a hardware-agnostic fabric, layering across the entire resort footprint. When we thought that through, we realised we had unique positioning with our licensing, our hardware, and the fact that we were already enabling billions of dollars into the gaming industry. We only needed to add this layer to create connectivity, efficiencies and connectivity for the consumer, alongside efficiencies for the operator.”

CashClub – more than a digital wallet for cash, cashless or crypto Nevertheless, Everi is leading on rethinking digitalisation industry-wide and delivering value responsibly – particularly on the payments side – in this closely scrutinised sector. Thinking through what innovation is intended to achieve is the critical component, though Newsom believes that this needn't be driven by costly new“Whentechnology.webuilt our groundbreaking CashClub Wallet ®, we drew on years of experience and on infrastructure that is already solving many, many problems in the casino. We didn't just start with a white sheet of paper.

“Our goal was not to create just another mobile app, but to build a digital enablement layer that spans the organisation and also happens to include the mobile channel.

about it and struggling to frame mobile and digital changes?

“We've been envisioning a digital neighbourhood and presenting it to the industry for years, as we try to help our customers and our peers to understand the radical nature of digital transformation. We provide a lot of the core services and operational support the casinos use to run their business – their compliance tools, fintechmagazine.com

131 EVERI HOLDINGS

“We designed our product to allow new stuff like this to be handled independently by regulated third parties outside the industry. The fact that all this is taking place outside of their domain is a comfort to them. Whatever the currency – USD, GBP, AUD or crypto – it can be dealt with as a standard transaction through standard infrastructure, under existing regulation. The regulator can take an objective view of the risk; the real change is in the improved guest experience.

“The CashClub Wallet does not introduce any added friction for the casino or any new vulnerability for the end-user. In this process, we provide more tools than anyone else for people to budget, self-regulate, and make sure they are informed about all their activities with texts and emails on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. In addition, we provide instant and searchable access to all their transactions. That may seem like overkill, but we want to exceed banking standards and make sure that the regulators are comfortable with the activities taking place. We feel that we should exceed banking standards, so we police our own actions!”

Everi's digital neighbourhood Victor Newsom has an ambitious roadmap – he admits there's more planned in there than his team or the industry as a whole could possibly consume in the short term, but that is nothing new.

payment tools, loyalty and so on. So we took the Hewlett Packard route and said, 'What if?' – what if all of these things worked together seamlessly and more efficiently than anything you've ever tried before? What if, rather than just being really good at payments, we integrated it with jackpot pay-outs to generate and fund a wallet, while at the same time having all the data needed to deduct the right tax? What if you don't have a loyalty account and I create a loyalty account for you? When you win a jackpot and share your information, why not leverage that touch point digitally across multiple relationship dimensions? In the same way, if I have an enrolment kiosk, why can't that also be an enrolment touch point for other products and services like wallet?

“The digital neighbourhood means that, instead of a collection of separate products and services, I have a digitally connected array of services that, at any given point of interaction, I can maximise the value – both to the consumer and to the operator.” That brings the cashless element neatly into the story. Though cash is such a major element (just look at the US$37bn Everi handled in 2021), in the digital neighbourhood, you can have an aligned approach that includes cashless transactions – not just mobile digital.

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“You already have gaming vouchers that potentially represent hundreds of billions of dollars in transactional activity that doesn't involve physical cash. You only need cash to bridge the outside world to the gaming world. What if I could give you, as a consumer, the ability to buy a gaming ticket with your debit card? What if I did the reverse when you redeem your gaming ticket? Rather than forcing you to get cash, we could just send it back to your bank. We're the only company in the United States that is allowed to do this today without having you sign up for an account. Cash and the digital payment world are not separate circles – they are interconnected”. The growth story for Everi's future doesn't just lie in penetrating more of the US gaming payments market: Newsom can see a move into adjacent or complementary sectors like hospitality – as well as taking the business model it has proven and tested in the USA into other markets, globally.

In a highly-regulated industry where banking regulations, gaming regulations and money laundering regulations all intersect, this may take time but it simply has to happen.

“I'd say very few land-based operators truly understand what digital transformation means for the business”

“I believe blockchain technologies will transform the global financial infrastructure. Smart contracts fundamentally offer a way for trustless, permissionless, contractual engagements for getting financial services executed globally in seconds. This, in turn, will allow Everi to enable our customers to offer our patrons more intuitive, trusted, secure, and seamless experiences across their enterprise – wherever that may be – and to be the bridge between the legacy systems they have invested in today and the future this technology promises.”

“Technologically, for example, we have already seen how crypto and blockchain are moving from the fringes to the centre.

VICTOR NEMSON SVP PRODUCTPAYMENTMANAGEMENT,SOLUTIONS,EVERIHOLDINGS fintechmagazine.com 133

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technologythroughmanagementassetTransforming fintechmagazine.com 135 PRODUCED BY: MICHAEL BANYARD WRITTEN BY: JOANNA ENGLAND

A s the fourth largest asset manager in the Nordics and the largest private asset manager in Norway, Storebrand Asset Management is a robust name in the asset management space. The company, which is a subsidiary of Storebrand ASA, launched in 1981 and has been involved with sustainable investment since the late 90s.

As the biggest private asset manager in Norway, Storebrand is transforming asset management through technology

With a core aim to support Nordic enterprises and initiatives, Storebrand Asset Management (SAM) manages the captive funds (pension schemes) from its life company, provides a wide range of funds and also has multiple strategies that that enlists local Nordic partners.

In keeping with its forward-thinking philosophy, Storebrand began its digital transformation journey seven years ago, and it is now one of the most technically advanced asset management companies globally.

Moen, who has a 16-year career in the finance industry, heads up Investment Operations and Technology in Storebrand Asset Management, says the core aims of the company involve generating international exposure to the Nordics and providing

“We have a truly Nordic focus,” says Arne Martin Moen, SAM’s Chief Operating Officer. “In terms of our asset management, we want to be a local Nordic partner. We also want to be what we call, ‘a gateway to the Nordics’.”

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ARNE MARTIN MOEN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER,

Digital transformation

services that are relevant for both European and UK customers, as well as supporting ESG initiatives. “We have a long history in the ESG space,” he says. “We've been working on sustainability for more than 25 years, and we want to be a sustainable pioneer. Those are the three positions that we take as a company.”

At the outset of the transformation, SAM had a very clear strategy in terms of consolidation.

The team was also aware of the fact that legacy systems were not geared up to keep up with the data and changes in the business environment. “By introducing more standard types of systems, it was easier to attract the knowledge that we needed and the people we needed. Gradually, we came “Our main goal is to give our clients or any interested parties the insight into our data and our analytics”

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Moen describes the move as a massive but deliberate shift for SAM. “If we were going to buy a third-party system, it had to be a well defined decision. So we decommissioned a lot of systems and migrated everything into one place, which now gives us an advantage in terms of data consistency and data integrity.”

SimCorp Dimension operated as the core platform, as the team wanted to avoid using third party ‘best of breed’ systems and, instead, utilise the functionality in SimCorp Dimension as much as possible.

I have had my own business focusing on IT concultancy for Dental Organisations. Mainly implementing dental practice management systems, including medical records libraries, digital x-ray systems and intraoral cameras.

BIOEXECUTIVE ARNE MARTIN MOEN TITLE: CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER INDUSTRY: FINANCIAL SERVICES LOCATION: OSLO, NORWAY fintechmagazine.com 139 STOREBRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT

I started in the Portfolio & Benchmark Data team at Norges Bank Investment Management. I was responsible for the daily and monthly production of Net Asset Value (NAV) figures for the Fixed Income investments. I built an internal Performance Measurement solution in the internal Data Warehouse.

I was the Workstream Manager for the Data Migration part of the SimCorp Dimension implementation project at Norges Bank Investment Management. I was also the Product Owner for the internal Enterprise Data Warehouses and responsible for Investment Data Management.

I currently work as Chief Operating Officer | COO & CTO | Head of Investment Operations & Technology at Storebrand Asset Management

In my previous job, I was a Project Manager in the Integration Services team at Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Barra in London. I worked with automation and integration tools for Multi Asset Class enterprise financial risk management solutions. I was also managing support for a performance attribution application called Barra Enterprise Performance (BEP). Day-to-day work included exposure to both financial risk management practices and various programming languages/platforms including Excel VBA, C#, .NET, COM, C++ and Java. As well as database technologies including MSSQL, Oracle, MS Access and ObjectStore.

Prior to that, I was an Application Specialist in the Technical Services team at Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Barra in London. I was mainly supporting an enterprise-wide financial risk management solution called TotalRisk.

Innovative solutions for investment managers since 1971 Learn how your peers overcame challenges, and realized opportunities: www.simcorp.com/en/clients Our solutions and services for investment management, data management and client communications help you navigate dynamic markets. They give you access to the data and insights that open up new opportunities and drive outcomes that shape your success.

“

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“We spent 2020 – and half of ‘21 –migrating all of our funds and all of our systems, which was a thousand billion Norwegian kroner, into the cloud. It’s been a great success, and great working together with our partner, Microsoft and our vendors,” he says. “We managed to migrate without any big issues. There were certain hiccups, but we managed to gradually take them on as they came.”

Nurturing a culture of digital development

“It's very important to have that culture; I don’t think it’s even possible to change if it’s not part of the organisation’s philosophy. Embracing change needs to be anchored with the top management, and SAM has that. It’s also important to have pioneers who are interested in new technology, and who want to explore and develop new things to help the company move forward. It’s a long process though, and we need to balance the risks and the rewards.” It's been high up on our agenda for decades. It is an integral part of the whole group and the company.whole ESG is part of everything we do”

While SAM has completed much of the heavy lifting on the platform side of transformation, the company is now starting to focus more on the client space, the client interface, the internal client's interface, and the actual processes of client servicing. The entire journey has required a culture of open mindedness towards innovation, according to Moen.

ARNE MARTIN MOEN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, STOREBRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT to a point where a lot of the functionality was on the platform and we could work on enhancing that.” By 2020, the team started working on the IT infrastructure, which is when they made the decision to move the entire infrastructure – including all the SAM servers – to the cloud. The shift was a complicated process, and it was not without its challenges, but the end result has been worth the journey.

Insights is another area that has seen a big shift, with clients requesting deeper

Sustainable investing as a strategy

ARNE MARTIN MOEN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, STOREBRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT

“Tailored products and services are now an expectation”

Trends in the asset management space

The asset management industry, as well as transitioning globally, is experiencing a number of disruptive trends. Moen believes that, front and centre in these trends, is the collection of data. And it is just as important to both sides of the business, with more customers than ever before requesting more structured data.

While the global focus on ESG and green investing is a relatively new movement, Storebrand have been involved with the space since 1995. Sustainability has been a priority for the whole group, which has focused more recently on launching new products focusing on solutions, renewable energy, fossil free, equal opportunities and smart cities - all of which are geared towards ESG-specific investing.

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He continues: “It's been high up on our agenda for decades. It is an integral part of the whole group and the whole company. ESG is part of everything we do – for example, in our sourcing processes, ESG for the vendor selection is an important part. We focus on internal carbon footprint and make sure we take all the measures we can to move in the right direction."

As part of the strategy, SAM works closely with the companies it invests in, voting at the AGMs, working directly with the companies, exclusions and transitions. In 2020, the company collaborated with other investment companies to approach the Brazilian government address the issue of deforestation in the Amazon. “We believe that our size, and the funds we invest, can be used as a vehicle to push things in the right direction when it comes to sustainability.”

Accessibility is another area he believes will shape the asset management industry moving forward. “I think people want things that are very easily accessible. Because customers can get anything whenever they want it in their personal lives – on their phone or on their laptops – this sense of immediacy carries over from other areas. Companies therefore need to turn around quickly and deliver fast.”

information on assets – especially when it is related to ESG. “I think environmental and social governance is a good example when it comes to looking at disruptive trends, because people want better transparency and authenticity. They want to see that what you claim you're doing, is what you're actually doing. Companies need to display that now using data in a much better and more efficient way than was previously possible.”

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Forging a strategic partnership is key in making sure a number of technologically complicated procedures can be carried out quickly and efficiently.

The digital ecosystem

SAM has two key partners: namely SimCorp and BMC, both of which provide invaluable services. SimCorp has been an integral part of SAM’s development, with the company using their product since 1998. “It's at the core of our investment operations,” says Moen. “And also it's a front-to-back system whereby the portfolio managers

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Personalisation of services as well as the ability to scale fast are two more trends Moen and SAM are working to fulfill. These will define successful asset management and investment companies in the near future, with automated technology becoming a crucial part of any developing entity. “Tailored products and services are now an expectation and, because of that, you need to give people customised reports without the manual labour. Therefore, to be both successful and error-free, it must be done automatically.”

He adds that one of the most exciting things about advances in technology is that the process of digital transformation will never be complete, because there will always be newer and better ways of doing things emerging.

Meanwhile, BMC has been instrumental on the scheduling side of things. Moen describes it as an orchestrator tool for all asset management tasks and procedures. “We receive and send a lot of data every single day. We've built this around the Control M solution, which helps us pull in data from a lot of different vendors. Then we do all our calculations and massaging of the data, and then we send data back out to different sources and to different systems.”

will typically manage their portfolios. It handles all the day-to-day transactions, the accounting, the broker records, the reconciliation where we get data for reporting, performance, risk and more. We use it every single day, and it's a very important system for us.”

Asset management and fintech

Finally, during the digital transformation process, SAM partnered with Microsoft Azure, which provides the company with its cloud solution. “We also use their reporting tools, such as Power BI, along with data tools that they have.”

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ARNE MARTIN MOEN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, STOREBRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT

“I don't think we're going to get to a point where we're done. I think there's always something new, so we will keep up the pace and hopefully end up in a place where we have even better scalable processes, as well as end-to-end digital processes. Our main goal is to give our clients or any interested parties the insight into our data and our analytics, so we can communicate with people using technology and using data sets in a much more efficient way.”

“Environmental and social governance is a good example when it comes to looking at disruptive trends, because people want better transparency and authenticity”

Moen is clearly proud of SAM’s progress, attributing the successes to a team that consistently embraces the latest innovations and isn’t afraid to change the way they do things. This, he says, hasn't always been a common attitude within the investment industry – which is why it's a sector that is seen as lagging behind other fintech sectors. Nevertheless, the future is, he says, looking bright, with an increasing number of innovative disruptors influencing change in the“Therespace.have been other industries that have been frontrunners in terms of technology and fintech. But, I think we now see a shift where there are a lot more players in the market. There are also far more companies providing specialised tools, services and setups that help the investment community and the investment management industry to take the next step in terms of digital advancement.”

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roviding a wide range of products and services, Grupo Ageas Portugal is an economic Group, mostly focused on insurance, but with a wider ranging vision. The entity provides services to agents, bancassurance and direct cover. Its offerings include personal and commercial lines, in addition to all lines of business, including life, non-life, health and pension funds.

The company is also exploring new avenues beyond insurance, concentrating on health, ageing, pets and household markets. As part of this exploration, digital transformation has been critical in expediting change, increasing agility and providing customers with the best services possible.

As one of Portugal’s best established insurance providers, Grupo Ageas is leading the way through innovation and new marketplace offerings

Ângelo Guerra Vilela is the Director of Digital Assets & Journeys for Grupo Ageas Portugal and is responsible for managing a multi-disciplinary team, which is focused on providing users with an exceptional experience. The scope of his role includes managing all the digital assets used by the company’s stakeholders. There are 11 brands in total and 18 digital assets that fall under management, public websites, mobile apps and distributors’ fronts.

“We see ‘digital’ and ‘digitisation’ as two different things,” says Vilela. “Though the two are strongly linked, and complementary – ‘digital’ is what the outside world sees, ‘digitisation’ is what the outside world does not see and which enables ‘digital’; in other

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“It’s been a very enriching experience,” he says, “because I’ve been involved in doing things from the ground up. Before launching our first digital department, I spent around four years as a Strategy and Performance Management Director. It

For Vilela, who joined Grupo Ageas Portugal 27 years ago with a background in teaching literature and Latin, the most recent changes have been the most groundbreaking. During his tenure at the company, he’s worked across many areas, from commercial and marketing to financials, reengineering and strategy. The scope of his experience with the company also includes launching new products, processes and brands.

Grupo Ageas Portugal on the digital insurance revolution

“Our digital assets serve all customers, regardless of their channel of preference. On digital, we must be where customers are, with relevance, excelling in user experience,” Vilela says. A new era for Grupo Ageas Portugal

“OCIDENTAL (LIFE) IS ALSO ADVANCING WITH SOLUTIONS AIMED AT PROMOTING QUALITY OF LIFE DURING AGEING, HAVING AS A FIRST STEP THE LAUNCH OF SOLUTIONSDEACCUMULATIONPIONEERINGINPORTUGAL”

At Grupo Ageas Portugal, digital is a shared responsibility between various areas, namely marketing, commercial, corporate communication, innovation and technology.

ÂNGELO GUERRA VILELA

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ASSETS AND JOURNEYS, GRUPO AGEAS PORTUGAL

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words, ‘digital’ stands for experience while ‘digitisation’ stands for efficiency.”

Ângelo Guerra Vilela has a 22-year track record in leading high-performing teams working in agile environments. He is the Director of Digital Assets & Journeys for Grupo Ageas Portugal: Ageas Seguros, Médis (Health), Ocidental & Ageas Pensões (Pension Funds) which consists of 18 digital assets under management. He has also been a keynote speaker on Digital Strategy in international conferences. Previously Group Head of Strategy & Performance ManagementVilela was also responsible for new business development. He has robust field experience with corporate strategy, M&A, marketing & new business development. His past experience is in business development, strategic & operational marketing, corporate & marketing communication, project management & re-engineering, and product management. Vilela also has an MA in Literature, and a Postgraduate in Management.

ÂNGELO GUERRA VILELA TITLE: DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ASSETS AND JOURNEYS INDUSTRY: INSURANCE LOCATION: LISBON, PORTUGAL

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A unique design process

By the end of last year, Vilela and his team had launched the ADPA (Ageas Digital Project Approach) as a methodology and human centred approach that places design thinking at the heart of the development process. The methodology, he says, disciplines creativity by leveraging individual and team motivations and capabilities. “With ADPA, we fully consolidated the humancentric approach that we’ve been putting into practice for seven years. The process is inspiring and engaging the organisation on ‘Design Thinking’ to make it core to the development process, designing for delight (D2D) with the users, for the users. It is this methodology that enables the teams to operate in a much more structured Havas CX

Fullsix

Portugal We help companies respond to the challenges of the digital transformation in their industry. If you want to grow your business Talk to us 152 September 2022 GRUPO AGEAS PORTUGAL

Leading digital agency in

was a very challenging period – along with the sovereign debt crisis that severely hit Portugal – and we had to adjust quickly and change the organisation’s profile to cope with the challenges ahead.” That period enabled Vilela to develop a robust field experience in corporate strategy, financial analysis, reporting, M&A and business development. “Digital started as a small team of five people, concentrating essentially on ecommerce. But our vision was clear: we wanted to expand as we learned, in secure steps, towards a holistic practice aiming at providing great customer experience, leveraging on Digital. The team I lead is one of the five first-line technology areas of the Group in Portugal, reporting directly to the ExCo.”

Two vital changes for Grupo Ageas Portugal The pandemic wrought massive changes globally for all companies, many of them being launched into digital solutions for the first time by necessity. But, for Grupo Ageas Portugal, landmark changes have occurred at different times as the company has organically developed and embraced new innovations and technologies.

AND REMAINING INQUISITIVE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY”fintechmagazine.com 153

and transparent process of cross-functional and visualised co-creation, Vilela says. The process begins with in-depth stakeholder and market insights, with evidence-based iteration and progression, to push the limits while developing solutions that are emotional and desirable.

Vilela says: “I would underline two areas of change over a 25-year period, which are distribution and technology. On the distribution side, we’ve seen the consolidation of bancassurance accompanying EXPERIENCES

ÂNGELO GUERRA VILELA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ASSETS AND JOURNEYS, GRUPO AGEAS PORTUGAL “WE ‘DARE’ BY PUSHING BOUNDARIES, LEARNING FROM OUR

“INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF OUR PRACTICE, FROM INCREMENTAL TO DISRUPTIVE” ÂNGELO GUERRA VILELA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ASSETS AND JOURNEYS, GRUPO AGEAS PORTUGAL 154 September 2022

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He continues: “On the technology side, the industry change has experienced the consequences of an increased pressure on shareholder return. In the early 2000s, we saw the first race for cost reduction, with the emergence of workflows to reduce paperwork and BPO on production, claims and call centres. After the crisis of 20082012, we saw an increased digitisation of processes and the incorporation of cognitive systems into sales the operations. Also the digitisation of the agents' channels has gained enormous strategic relevance.”

the evolution of the banking industry, including four major game changers: the reduction of the branches, tight regulation, capital requirements and digital transformation. Additionally with distribution, there’s also been the emergence of direct channels from phone to digital. Agents have remained relevant, despite all early announcements that the channel would decline.”

In order to remain relevant, insurers face the enormous challenge of cultural change, which then impacts organisational models and technology. Technology, Vilela says, is instrumental in this cultural shift and is an essential facilitator of change.

But, more importantly, Vilela points to an increased focus on customer experience. He believes that developing technologies enhancing the customer experience are critical to success. “Having websites and apps is mandatory, but by itself a differentiation factor. Customer centricity has evolved significantly – from some good intentions in a corporate mission statement, to an actual tangible reality, leveraging on technology.”

“To be relevant and, consequently, sustainable, the insurance business needs to focus, and this is where the main cultural shift lies. On the one hand, partnering with distribution while focusing on the customer fintechmagazine.com

Teams are expected to ‘share’ by learning and teaching from their experiences, as well as by inspiring others, in a culture that thrives on the concept of continuous learning. “We believe in the importance of setting an example through our actions, but also on the benefit of working as a team.”

Changing the company culture

and, on the other hand, being at the centre of ecosystems that generate value beyond the traditional business,” he asserts.

Equally, there is an emphasis on ‘delivery’, because everyone is expected to deliver on

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The culture at Grupo Ageas worldwide, including Portugal, encompasses a number of areas. Leaders must adhere to and follow values that are core to the company’s philosophy. Those are listed as Care, Dare, Deliver and Share. Vilela explains: “We ‘care’ by respecting our colleagues and helping those around us, whilst staying true to who we are. That means listening and embracing different opinions, putting ourselves in other’s shoes, and building trust by doing the right things every time for our stakeholders.”

“TECHNOLOGY IS NOT A IT'SOPPORTUNITY.OPTIONSTRATEGICORANAMUST” their promises while remaining focused on their priorities. Finally, there is an expectation to challenge each other, take accountability and to strive for excellence. “We, as leaders, must ‘deliver’ on our promises, and we make things happen by staying focused on our priorities and keeping thingsVilelasimple.”saysthat challenging his team is “all part of that culture” and has helped to drive the company forward. “We ‘dare’ by pushing boundaries, learning from our experiences and remaining inquisitive about what we ÂNGELO GUERRA VILELA DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ASSETS AND JOURNEYS, GRUPO AGEAS PORTUGAL fintechmagazine.com 157

can do differently. As Ageas people, we aim to create new ideas and push ourselves beyond what we know today, towards what we should know tomorrow.”

On going digital When it comes to digital innovation and transformation, Grupo Ageas Portugal’s strategy and approach is an ongoing relationship with innovation. The company works constantly on API-ifying its practice and reaching beyond insurance. “Innovation is at the heart of our practice, from incremental to disruptive,” Vilela says.

“Technology is not a strategic option or an opportunity. It's a must. Relevance, a prerequisite for sustainability, is measured by the creation and maintenance of lasting, meaningful and emotional relationships with customers and partners; by the ability to attract, enhance and retain talent; by the efficiency in the management of shareholder capital and by the consistency of its remuneration; and by the return of value to society. This is the identity matrix of the Grupo Ageas Portugal.” He explains that focusing on the customer means exceeding expectations on every journey. Grupo Ageas Portugal pursues a customer-centric digital strategy, based on three pillars: being where customers are; providing them with an exceptional user experience; and being relevant. In pursuit of this strategy, the 158 September 2022

Meanwhile, Médis (health insurance company of the Group) is at an advanced stage of implementing solutions based on AI, including reimbursement of expenses via digital platforms, chatbots and clinical screening, with a high ambition for innovative deliveries in the coming years.

“This ecosystem will have new solutions to be launched soon, taking advantage of technology and in-depth knowledge of a market in which Ocidental (Life and Savings) and Ageas Pensões are historical leaders.

as the orchestrator of an ecosystem in which it will become a true partner in health.

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With a strong commitment to Portugal – a native market for Ageas – the Group is investing in the ecosystems that target the main challenges for the country in the coming decades: health, ageing and housing. Médis (health Insurance) is positioning itself AS LEADERS MUST ‘DELIVER’ ON OUR PROMISES; WE SIMPLE”KEEPINGPRIORITIESFOCUSEDBYTHINGSMAKEHAPPENSTAYINGONOURANDTHINGS

The digital ecosystem Grupo Ageas Portugal is in an accelerated process of developing new solutions for health and household, in which cognitive systems will play a central role in mitigating pain points and building increasingly Group's digital assets have undergone an accelerated transformational process.

“Médis customers can carry out the most relevant journeys only on digital platforms, or they can switch between the physical and digital worlds maintaining a consistent and distinctive experience,” he says.

“WE

To ensure relevance and sustainability, a further cultural shift is to be at the centre of ecosystems that generate value beyond traditional business. Within a few years, the income generated outside the traditional business could reach one third of the shareholder return, according to McKinsey studies.

“Ocidental (Life) is also advancing, with solutions aimed at promoting quality of life during ageing having, as a first step, the launch of pioneering deaccumulation solutions in Portugal,” explains Vilela.

“The corporate image of Seguro Directo (direct operator on Motor), whose value proposition is based on simplicity, is also expressed in their digital platforms, which allow customers to buy, consult and manage their policies on any device, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” A healthy approach to change Ageas Seguros (multi insurance products and services) is on a journey to provides a way to follow claims processes online and has many new developments in the digital landscape in the near future, which will make a difference for both customers and distributors.

There is still a long way to go in terms of data quality, information systems architecture and business processes. However, the biggest opportunity for transformation is not technical or technological: it is cultural. Evolving from legacy systems is critical, but it’s even more

The future is digital

“FullSix, due to the vision and commitment of the CEO Erik Lassche, has been a fundamental partner in our digital journey, especially in regards to customer experience,” says Vilela. “FullSix has helped us shape our strategy, has boosted our digital marketing capabilities, and has helped us develop one of our most valuable digital assets: our Design System. We’ve been transparent with each other, and we’ve always had lots of fun. Grupo Ageas Portugal is the only insurer in the valuable FullSix customer portfolio, which for both parties is, at times, both an honour and a Theresponsibility.”movehasbeen the backbone of Grupo Ageas Portugal’s digital transformation journey – and the biggest challenge of that process has been to meet customer expectations and demands. “We are always eager to innovate, to deliver and to improve. Our ambition is very high. Addressing barriers to digital transformation of the key moments in customer journeys is the most difficult step. With that step taken, what follows is execution.”

Grupo Ageas Portugal’s ethos is committed to digitisation, both for its processes and work force – and for the customer. But that doesn’t mean the human element will be erased from the process. Instead, more technology will enable staff to concentrate on different aspects of their work. simpler, more relevant customer journeys. Partnerships that generate value for all parties and, last but not least, that are relevant from a customer standing point, are always on the horizon. The organisation has collaborated with several companies on the way to provide a relevant and emotional digital experience, and one of the most significant has been FullSix – an industry digital leader that has been working with Grupo Ageas Portugal for the past nine years.

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critical to embrace a non-legacy management culture. “That’s what we’ve been doing for years at Grupo Ageas Portugal,” Vilela says.

between client and insurer. Only people are endowed with reason, which underlies ethics. Ethics and reason cannot be synthesised and transferred to machines.” He concludes: “Digital transformation is an opportunity for people to make a difference. Natural or artificial, there is no intelligence without people. At Grupo Ageas Portugal, that's what we believe in.”

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Vilela explains: “If digital transformation opens a window of opportunity for insurers to continue to create economic value in a consistent and continuous way, it also creates the opportunity to leverage the human factor as a distinctive feature, as well as to be a generator of value, both tangible and“Technologyintangible. makes it possible to free people from automatable tasks and re-allocate them to human relationships, bringing emotion to the relationship

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