FinTech Magazine - October 2020

– COVID-19 IS SUPERCHARGING DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE FINANCE SECTOR

www.fintechmagazine.com

OCTOBER 2020

CIG CAPITAL

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FOREWORD

T

he financial services landscape is

Elsewhere, we had the privilege of inter-

changing rapidly, and, in these turbu-

viewing some of the leading financial institu-

lent times, there can be inclination for

tions around the globe, including Afore

investment companies to focus solely on

XXI-Banorte, Visions Federal Credit Union

the bottom line.

and Quontic Bank. Patricks Sells, CIO at

However, Charles D. Carey, serial entrepreneur and Managing Partner of CIG Capital, reminds us in our lead story that investment is about more than just money

Quontic and an industry-recognised innovator, describes his vision of the modern digital bank and why workplace culture is essential in finance.

and describes why funding desperately

Our editorial stories feature a host of dis-

needs to modernise.

tinguished guests this month, including Eli

“In terms of modernisation, investors need to change the way they address funding. I’m an entrepreneur: I love to teach and provide a message that will solve problems,” he says. “Finance is just

Rosner, CPO/CTO at Finastra, on digital transformation; Laurén Robbins, VP at ServiceNow, on lean and agile thinking in banking; and Ethan Beard, Snr VP of Xpring at Ripple, on blockchain.

a tool, and, although it’s an important tool,

Also, we count down our Top 10 picks

you don’t need to be an expert. All you

for the most successful digital banks

need to know is, ‘What’s the money going

in the world today, arranged by capital

to do’ and ‘How’s it going to come back to

raised in funding rounds.

us in a return’. That’s the most important part.” In essence, CIG Capital’s approach emphasises finding the individual value

Enjoy the issue.

in each prospective venture and working tirelessly to develop it; recouping invested funds occurs simply as a natural consequence of this success.

Will Girling william.girling@bizclikmedia.com f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

03

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PUBLISHED BY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Will Girling EDITORAL DIRECTOR

Scott Birch

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

PROJECT DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Andrew Stubbings Jake Megeary Jordan Hubbard

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Owen Martin DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

James White

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Leigh Manning

CREATIVE TEAM

Oscar Hathaway Erin Hancox Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell Hector Penrose

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

Kieran Waite Sam Kemp

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Billy Kabubi

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Lewis Vaughan

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

Shirin Sadr

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Evelyn Howat fintechmagazine.com

contents

CIG Capital: Making Investment About More Than Just Money

10

24

36

48

62 62 Digital Banks

74

92

104

Rapid7

Quontic Bank

126 Visions Federal Credit Union

142 Afore Banorte

156 Vitality

174 Commercial Bank of Dubai

222 192

148

Centili

FBN Bank Limited

FBN Bank Limited

206

Truevo Payments

240 PIB Group

256 ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

10

OCTOBER 2020

CIG Capital: Making Investment About More Than Just Money WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAMES WHITE

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

11

CIG CAPITAL

Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner of CIG Capital, describes the company’s ‘100% funding’ approach and why investment needs to modernize

L

earning to move with the changes in the global market has always been a cornerstone of successful investor strategies.

However, few companies were prepared for the dynamic, highly-creative and innovative thinking that is now a necessity in the post-COVID-19 world. As the ‘tried and tested’ methods give way 12

to digitally-enhanced, flexible and data-driven operations, Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner of CIG Capital, is emblematic of the new guard that is seeking to overturn prior conceptions of best practice in investment. A serial entrepreneur since his early twenties, Carey has held a considerable number of executive positions at companies within the technology, finance and healthcare sectors, in addition to founding two of his own: Venture 101 (in 2010) and Carey Holdings (2011).

Founded in 2016, CIG Capital is a group that aims to deliver alternative project investment, lending opportunities and a broad range of expert advice, courtesy of its component partners. Reflecting on the genesis of the company’s conception, Carey says, “When it comes to helping businesses, I’ve

OCTOBER 2020

13

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CIG CAPITAL

“ When it comes to helping businesses, I’ve always started from the beginning and then gone on to see how we can scale businesses” — Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner, CIG Capital

always started from the beginning and then gone on to see how we can scale.

That’s how I got into the finance world; I focused on how to help businesses, not just on the funding side, but with support too.” Believing that leadership means more than simply ‘status’, Carey takes a proactive approach and an indiscriminate attitude when it comes to helping clients achieve their best, regardless of the project’s scale or subject. “That’s really what gives me an advantage: I believe in a set of

14

principles and I don’t change them, no matter what the product or sector is.” Treating everyone from renowned business leaders to up-and-coming startup CEOs with the same level of respect, CIG Capital strives to foster each project’s individual journey.

This aspect, which has been termed ‘100% funding’, is ultimately what helps differentiate CIG Capital from its competitors. Rather than simply fund one stage of a project’s development, the company opts to provide the capital stack with one loan capable of sufficiently covering any seed money, equity or short-term debt. This subsequently allows CIG Capital to OCTOBER 2020

How is CIG Unique?

CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:13

15 coherently understand any associated

It’s a strategy that appears to have

risks and implement mitigations from

paid dividends: as of August 2020, CIG

the onset of the funding cycle. “We

Capital currently has a portfolio valued

want to bring the whole capital stack

in excess of US$10bn and Carey

under one roof, but we also want to

himself was recently accepted into the

solve problems when it comes to the

exclusive Forbes Finance Council.

organization as a whole. Funding is

When he considers the economic

only one element,” Carey explains.

upheaval that the pandemic has

“CIG Capital also offers support ser-

brought about, Carey stresses the

vices for executive leadership, which

importance of establishing a vision for

can create new revenue streams, as

the modernization of investment. If the

well as business consulting, go-to-

sector is to thrive in this new paradigm,

market strategies, and more. We don’t

he argues, a technologically savvy

just make sure a project is successful,

approach enabled by a cultural read-

we also lower the risk to our money.”

justment to ‘big picture’ thinking will be f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CIG CAPITAL

16

DI D Y O U K N O W?

•C harles D. Carey accepted into the Forbes Finance Council •A nnounced on 10 August 2020, Carey describes his admission to the invitation-only Forbes Finance Council executive community as “really exciting” and an honor.

• Scott Gerber, Founder of Forbes Councils, stated that the organization’s mission is “to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social

OCTOBER 2020

capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”

• Selected and vetted by a review committee to ensure he met strict knowledge and expertise parameters in his field, Carey added, “I look forward to sharing my insights into the financial industry and how my team and I set out to change the financial lending industry.”

crucial. Automated data streams and

obtain a unique score which subse-

analytical capabilities are gaining trac-

quently informs the terms of each

tion in several data-rich industries, yet

individual venture. However, despite

the widespread application of these

this, Carey insists that half the battle

technologies remains diffuse. In this

to improve modern investment actually

aspect, he reasons, larger companies

lies in adopting new cultural frame-

should take note of fintechs in the

works. “In terms of modernization,

space, which generally have a more

investors need to change the way they

sophisticated understanding of mod-

address funding. I’m an entrepreneur:

ern tech, or else face technological

I love to teach and provide a message

irrelevancy. For its part, CIG Capital

that will solve problems. Finance is just

boasts one of the fastest underwriting

a tool, and although it’s an important

models in the modern industry, with

tool, you don’t need to be an expert.

seven project elements measured to

All you need to know is, ‘What’s the

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Charles D. Carey Title: Managing Partner

Industry: Financial Services

Location: Michigan, United States As the ‘tried and tested’ methods give way to digitally-enhanced, flexible and data-driven operations, Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner of CIG Capital, is emblematic of the new guard that is seeking to overturn prior conceptions of best-practice in investment. A serial entrepreneur since his early twenties, Carey has held a considerable number of executive positions at companies within the technology, finance and healthcare sectors, in addition to founding two of his own: Venture 101 (2010) and CIG Capital (2011). f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

17

CIG CAPITAL

18

money going to do’ and ‘How’s it going

the company ensures that its high

to come back to us in a return’. That’s

standards, collaborative problem-

the most important part.” Therefore,

solving capabilities and focus are

CIG Capital’s approach emphasizes

maintained. According to Carey, the

finding the individual value in each

company’s unique culture also ena-

prospective venture and working tire-

bles it to fund demanding projects

lessly to develop it. For the company,

that generally could not be serviced

recouping invested funds occurs

by traditional lenders, such as banks.

simply as a natural consequence of

“CIG Capital can solve problems

this success.

creatively because we’re not in a

CIG Capital has codified this

restrictive ‘box’,” he states, in refer-

culture into three parts: hunger,

ence to the regulatory frameworks

humility and zeal. By adhering to

of other funding institutions. “We’re

these words as guiding principles,

not gambling with other people’s

OCTOBER 2020

“ That’s really what gives me an advantage: I believe in a set of principles and I don’t change them, no matter what the product or sector is” — Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner, CIG Capital

Stating that he doesn’t like to feel that he is “the smartest person in the room”, Carey emphasizes that having exceptional employees, colleagues

money; we’re providing 100% fund-

and partners is a strong component

ing, wherein the investee simply puts

of CIG Capital’s success, as well as

up collateral towards a project.” This

having the determination to find the

means that CIG Capital could, in

recipe for success in failure. “When

theory, fund a $5bn project by itself -

you work as a serial entrepreneur or a

a significant and rare advantage.

venture capitalist, you’re going to have

Workplace Culture CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:34

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

19

CIG CAPITAL

CIG’s Vision for 2021 CLICK TO WATCH

20

OCTOBER 2020

|

2:16

“ Finance is just a tool [...] All you need to know is, ‘What’s the money going to do’ and ‘How’s it going to come back to us in a return” — Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner, CIG Capital

21

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CIG CAPITAL

a percentage of failure. However, I believe that achieving what we have today has been through those experiences,” he says. CIG Capital’s culture and pioneering approach are helping it establish a foothold in an industry beset by challenges, not least from more established competitors. However, when asked about the one near-universal challenge being experienced by the market (COVID19 disruption), Carey, on the contrary, states that the pandemic has actu22

ally brought several opportunities.

“Where others have shut their doors, we’ve actually opened ours because we look at the future, not just today.

CIG Capital is realistic and we know that business will make a comeback.”

“ The financial world needs to realize that investment is about more than money” — Charles D. Carey, Managing Partner, CIG Capital

In that spirit, Carey considers 2021 to be a year of opportunity, one which could lay the foundations for a larger and better economy. With plans to develop several projects in the US and grow its broker network into the thousands already underway, CIG Capital is launching itself wholeheartedly into finding new ways of putting ‘money to work’. “The financial world

OCTOBER 2020

23

needs to realize that investment is

and drive to forge a revolutionary,

about more than money,” Carey con-

new, culture-based approach to

cludes. “We all need to understand

investment will be crucial.

that money is a tool and how we use it for our clients and the projects that we’re investing in makes all the difference.” As CIG Capital continues to create the business opportunities of tomorrow in a rapidly shifting economic landscape, Carey’s leadership f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

ACCELERATING THE CHANGE IN FINTECH WRITTEN BY

24

OCTOBER 2020

WILL GIRLING

25

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

ELI ROSNER, CHIEF PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICER AT FINASTRA, DESCRIBES HOW COVID-19 HAS SUPERCHARGED DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE FINANCE SECTOR

P

rior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the topic of digital transformation was on the agenda

for most companies as they developed a

strategy for 2020. The myriad benefits, efficiency enhancements and cost savings made possible by reimagining how people, technology and processes

26

interact on a daily basis were alluring and innovative, but, at that time, not wholly essential to ensuring business continuity.

Coronavirus was the random economic test which no-one could have fully anticipated and as social distancing, remote working and lockdown rules became the norm around the world, companies which had seen the writing on the wall and already adapted to the digital era were the early winners.

Eli Rosner, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Finastra, one of the world’s largest fintechs in the world, shares his views on why digital transformation remains one of the core industry trends in modern business.

Officially founded in 2017 through a merger between D+H and Misys, Finastra specialises

OCTOBER 2020

27

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“ [ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION] IT FEELS LIKE THE FAST FORWARD BUTTON HAS BEEN PRESSED” — Eli Rosner, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Finastra

no ‘equilibrium’ as such for Finastra to reach, only an increasingly better standard it strives to meet.

in developing innovative tech-based

“Our product roadmap features

solutions using its Fusion software

that were supposed to go out a year

architecture and cloud ecosystem.

from now are getting developed much

Currently serving approximately 8,600

faster. In a matter of just two or three

customers around the globe, including

weeks, Finastra went to market with a

90% of the world’s top 100 banks, the

set of products to improve liquidity

company’s mission remains to unlock

for businesses and consumers look-

greater value from financial services

ing for a PPP programme (paycheque

for its clients.

protection program).”

Speaking to us from his home office, Rosner is emphatic that the effect of COVID-19 has been to put digital transformation into overdrive.

“It feels like the fast forward button has been pressed,” he says. “I think it was burgeoning even before COVID19 hit us, but the pandemic has just taken it to a whole new level; it’s forced everybody to think differently about their business.”

Despite being a fundamentally tech-savvy company, he states that the accelerating pace at which digital transformation moves means there is f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

29

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

“ SINCE THE PANDEMIC,

EVERYBODY HAS BEEN DISCUSSING THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ AND HOW THINGS AREN’T GOING BACK TO THE WAY THEY WERE. AS SUCH, R&D AND AGILITY ARE TAKING PRECEDENCE INSTEAD” — Eli Rosner, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Finastra

30

In terms of the key technologies which provide the engine for digital transformation itself, Rosner identifies cloud, IoT (internet of things) and data analytics as the core trinity. “IoT can basically be considered all the devices that we interact with, so it’s very diverse. The cloud provides a ‘virtual centre’ for all these distributed devices to connect and data analytics helps to extract value from the information.”

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Eli Rosner Title: Chief Product and Technology Officer Industry: Financial Services Location: Suwanee, Georgia

Company: Finastra

Eli Rosner joined Finastra in 2018. Holding a BSc in Civil Engineering and a BA in Computer Science, both from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Rosner has held a variety of executive roles at tech companies, including Autodesk, Solera and NCR Corporation.

Based in the UK, he says that his role at Finastra is a balanced combination of business and technology: “I’m accountable for the overall product strategy of the company and managing our portfolio of products.

This includes product management as well as going into the technical realms of architecture, engineering and operations.”

OCTOBER 2020

Retail banking digital transformation is happening CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:17

31 IoT and data analytics have been

(virtual reality), NLP (natural lan-

applied in numerous ways throughout

guage processing) and more. It’s

FinTech, as well as usage in InsurTech

truly very powerful.”

(IoT wearables for health insurance

Right now, it seems that there is a

purposes) and RegTech (data analyt-

hunger in the finance industry for ‘eve-

ics to detect fraud), but it is arguably

rything digital’, but this isn’t to say that

cloud that has distinguished itself as

companies are only focused on strictly

among the top tech enablers of the

technology-based solutions like the

last 10 years.

cloud. On the contrary, Rosner states

“The cloud has provided us near-

that cultural changes and shifts in opera-

infinite computing power,” Rosner

tional philosophy have come to define

continues. “The quality, variety and

the contemporary approach to digital

velocity of data being controlled in

transformation in equal proportion.

one location has enabled all kinds

“The notion of open partnership

of advanced technologies like VR

ecosystems has been growing over f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

the last two or three years,” says Rosner.

“As a matter of fact, one of Finastra’s taglines is ‘collaborate to innovate’. However, what I’ve witnessed over the last four months is the recognition of how strong open partner ecosystems can be.”

Without technology like cloud making information easily and securely exchangeable, these ecosystems could not exist. Also, Rosner reports that SMBs (small-medium businesses) have gained recognition in the wake of the pandemic as essential to the stability of 32

economies, therefore spurring on efforts to empower them with the ability to operate on a “remote-hybrid” model, giving employees flexibility in the work schedule (i.e. remote working).

Another aspect which must always

‘new normal’ and how things aren’t going back to the way they were. As

be considered is ‘a goal’; before embark-

such, R&D and agility are taking prec-

ing on a potentially long and expensive

edence instead.”

journey, what does a company wish to

Traditional and legacy companies in

achieve through its digital transforma-

the finance industry, where the intro-

tion? An obvious aim might be cost

duction of a new product could take up

efficiencies and indeed this is what many

to two years, are now competing with

in the finance sector were initially drawn

FinTechs that can develop exponentially

to. Even if this was initially true, how-

faster. Cost efficiencies might still be

ever, Rosner doesn’t believe that it will

important, but without a similar level of

continue to be so: “Since the pandemic,

capability and speed, non-FinTechs risk

everybody has been discussing the

losing customers for failing to innovate.

OCTOBER 2020

“ THE CLOUD HAS PROVIDED US NEAR-INFINITE COMPUTING POWER [...] IT’S TRULY VERY POWERFUL” — Eli Rosner, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Finastra

33

Finastra provides solutions for a

in corporate banking, for example,

comprehensive spread of the finance

the ability to provide liquidity evolved

sector and we were curious as to

immediately when supporting the PPP

whether Rosner thought a specific

programme in providing loans to SMBs.

area – retail, banking, payments, lending,

The automation of the front office and

etc – had been particularly affected by

the back office has become really criti-

digital transformation. His answer was

cal; things are developing in terms of

straightforward: “All segments have

RPA (robotic process automation), it’s

been impacted. The difference is that

just not visible to everybody.”

anything to do with consumers has the

However, despite the importance of

highest visibility because of transac-

technology and processes in creating

tion volume and the fact that there are

a cogent strategy, it should be remem-

individuals involved in it. However,

bered that without factoring in ‘culture’, f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

M C KI N S E Y ’S R OA D M AP FO R DI GI TAL T R AN SFO RM AT I O N 34

In its article ‘A roadmap for digital transformation’, consultancy company McKinsey outlines ten guiding principles for establishing a successful strategy:

(short-term, clearly defined and easy to measure) 5. C reate a launch team comprised of top-tier talent

Stage one: Define value

6. L ay the cultural foundations for new and agile processes

1. S ecure the commitment of management

7. F oster digital culture within the company

2. S et clear yet ambitious targets to achieve

Stage three: Scaling up

3. M ake sure that investment can back your goals Stage two: Launch and accelerate 4. Initiate ‘lighthouse projects’

OCTOBER 2020

8. S equence initiative for quick returns 9. Develop capabilities 10. Adopt a new operating model

“ ALL SEGMENTS HAVE BEEN IMPACTED. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT ANYTHING TO DO WITH CONSUMERS HAS THE HIGHEST VISIBILITY”

increased the quality of discussions: “We’re now forced to hold weekly oneto-ones for the whole company across different interest groups to communicate strategy.”

Finally, Rosner concludes by stating

— Eli Rosner, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Finastra

that attracting and recruiting talent to

digital transformation is likely to struggle

company. “The war on talent is rag-

at best or fail at worst. There is a good

ing and the best way to get people

reason for this: unless a company has

engaged is to give them challenges

an exceptional in-house tech develop-

they’ve never experienced before.

ment team, the ‘tools’ enabling change

Nobody likes to get bored, but even

will essentially be the same for everyone.

the biggest innovators in the world

Where individual companies can make

experience it sometimes. At Finastra,

a difference is in asserting a corporate

we always provide employees with

culture which unifies staff, attracts top-

technological challenges and it’s

tier talent and wins over customers.

by combining them with diversity

power a digital transformation strategy should be a high priority in order to provide an enduring impact on the

“We have acknowledged the fact

& inclusion practices, a flexible work

that we have to be more flexible in how

environment and cutting-edge tech-

we interact with our employees,” says

nology that we get the best talent.”

Rosner. “The biggest change, I feel, is the capacity for agile thinking and the ability to quickly shift, adapt, manoeuvre and work in this new environment.”

Paradoxically, he even intimates that the limitations of communication under remote working conditions have actually f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

35

LEAN & AGILE THINKING

36

Connecting the Front and the Back Office in Banking WRITTEN BY

OCTOBER 2020

WILL GIRLING

37

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

LEAN & AGILE THINKING

With insights from Laurén Robbins, VP at ServiceNow, we explore how banks can escape the ‘innovation trap’ and enable true technological agility

W

ith the rising popularity of digital-native banks such as Monzo, Nubank and

Revolut, traditional banking institutions

have realised that digital transformation and its

ability to introduce lean and agile business practices is essential. Important not just for optimising the efficiency of an organisation itself but also for 38

driving a better overall customer experience, a thorough and intelligently actioned reimagining of a bank’s processes does not need to alter a bank’s front office image or sacrifice security to enable fluidity in the back office. True lean and agile thinking should encompass the totality of an organisation’s operations in a technologically practical way, without sinking into an unproductive ‘innovation trap’. Using exclusive insights from Laurén Robbins, we explore how banks can best achieve this goal.

As with any significant change to an organisation’s operations, the first important consideration for the implementation of an agility-based tech strategy should be focused on structure and culture: what is the bank’s current state and how can

OCTOBER 2020

39

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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changes be made most effectively?

‘Shaping and safeguarding the banking

“It’s really about looking at the talent,

workforce after COVID-19’, McKinsey

tools and processes already in place and

& Co is of the opinion that “microskilling,

figuring out the gap between how they’re

upskilling, reskilling, and hiring new tal-

operating and what they would consider

ent” should all be considered; the ‘war

to be agile,” states Robbins. Appended

on talent’ is becoming one of the most

to this point is the consideration of staff

prominent themes of business in the

skill; do new employees need to be hired

digital era. Thirdly, establishing strong

to drive the bank’s new vision of digital

partner ecosystems which can drive a

operations or can the existing workforce

bank’s innovation and shape its mindset

be re-skilled in order to meet the require-

are crucial for keeping the changes

ments of the changing role? In its article

on-course.

41

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Laurén Robbins

Title: Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services Industry: Computer Software

Location: New York

Laurén Robbins is a Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services at ServiceNow, one of the foremost enterprise software developers in the world.

“I lead an organisation of industry experts across the different sub-verticals of financial services, banking, asset management, insurance, risk and compliance. We’re responsible for creating and executing services for the industry by collaborating closely with our customers and partners to build specialised solutions that solve the most pressing challenges experienced in the market today.”.

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

LEAN & AGILE THINKING

“ The first wave of digital transformation has unleashed productivity and innovation at the front end, but banks are now realising the next frontier” — Laurén Robbins, Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services, ServiceNow

42

that they are at a decision point: they have to decide whether they want to become very IT literate and compete with the best FinTechs in the mar-

Contrary to those who might view

ket, or if they’d rather focus on what

the matter as a binary choice between

they’re already strong at, i.e. serving

developing in-house solutions or col-

their customers. The reality is that

laborating with/acquiring FinTechs,

the best IT environments we’ve seen

Robbins takes the stance that, while

within financial services tend to be a

both have merit separately, the best

hybrid of both; I’m in favour of incorpo-

approach actually lies in the middle

rating higher IT standards into industry

and is often circumstantial. “Banks feel

solutions to enable a faster ‘plug and play’ approach.”

Examples of this include Starling Bank’s collaboration with Currencycloud and its integration of the latter’s Spark platform. Capable of facilitating multi-currency transactions across 30 countries, Spark is nonetheless a background process, meaning that Starling (and others) can easily incorporate powerful third-party system architecture while still owning the customer relationship and experience.

Thought Machine’s ‘Vault’ – deployed

OCTOBER 2020

Workflow is the big idea CLICK TO WATCH

|

6:25

43

by Atom Bank – operates on a similar

agility unlocked by cloud or even the

principle: replacing monolithic services

more sophisticated aspects of AI (arti-

with seamless microservice APIs, its

ficial intelligence). “The first wave of

cloud-native suite of back office ser-

digital transformation has unleashed

vices can help to keep modern banks

productivity and innovation at the

flexible, scalable and highly secure.

front end, but banks are now realising

According to Robbins, these notable

the next frontier. Now, I expect to see

collaborations by leading financial

modernised operations focused on

institutions are on-trend with a shift in

mid to back office,” she says.

the market’s attitude towards digital

Indeed, the aforementioned advances

transformation and, by extension, lean

in AI could soon permeate several core

and agile thinking. With aspects of cus-

aspects of essential bank processes,

tomer service now capable of being

enabling human workers to refocus

automated (RPA or chatbots) readily,

their efforts on value-adding ser-

banks can begin fully exploring the

vices and therefore creating further f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

LEAN & AGILE THINKING

opportunities for leaner, more efficient

Ultimately, a bank’s goal for leaner

services. “I even think things like fraud

and more agile operations should be

detection, if you look at how fast the

to achieve better outcomes for its

industry is digitising, could soon be

customers. Doing otherwise, Robbins

able to detect fraudulent transactions

posits, could lead to an ‘innovation

with a set of AI-based rules,” continues

trap’: a scenario wherein an organisa-

Robbins. The value of automation

tion spends too much time and too

is particularly clear to ServiceNow

many resources on digital ‘improve-

itself with the creation of its Workflow

ments’ which have no effect on

product, which streamlines operations

performance. As with many things in

and mitigates bottlenecks through the

business strong customer-centricity

elimination of manual processes and

will often indicate the optimal route

legacy systems.

for development and this is certainly

44 R O B B I N S ’ F O U R KE Y DELI VER ABLES FO R EN HAN CED D I G I TA L S O L U T I O N S WI T HI N FI N AN CI AL SERVI CES:

The following were listed by Robbins as ServiceNow’s core deliverables for its Workforce product. However, when applied generally, they form a concentrated roadmap for any bank or software provider seeking to upgrade existing IT capabilities in banking.

1. Offer front-to-back process solutions which create efficiency, productivity and workflow resilience.

OCTOBER 2020

2. Full system integration without the subsequent need to invest in additional middleware or services.

3. Produce easy to set up or ‘out-of-the-box’ workflows built around the finance industry’s particular standards.

4. Integrate risk management capabilities and policy compliance so that customers can receive efficiency gains from the process without sacrificing security.

45

“ Greater agility means faster product R&D and for the customer that translates into quicker turnaround times” — Laurén Robbins, Vice President and General Manager of Financial Services, ServiceNow f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

LEAN & AGILE THINKING

46

what Robbins advocates. “Greater

protection programme (PPP) as an

agility means faster product R&D,” she

example of inflexible bank operations

explains, “and for the customer that

having slow and costly outcomes,

translates into quicker turnaround

an opinion seemingly borne out by

times.” Robbins goes on to cite the

MIT Economics’ evaluation which

US’ COVID-19-related paycheque

estimates that $518bn has been spent

OCTOBER 2020

technologies in place, that allows for greater front-to-back conductivity, which, in turn, translates to better turnaround times for customers.”

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause financial anxiety for people around the world, banks owe it to their customers to re-evaluate how they operate on a day-to-day basis in order to meet the challenges of today’s economy. “Banks and financial institutions can get stuck at the ‘proof of concept’ stage and therefore have a myopic view of the problem, only focusing on siloed issues,” Robbins concludes. “Instead, they should look at things holistically with an integrated, cloud-based, endto-end tech solution. It will enable the agility that banks are looking for without the need for investing potentially millions of dollars in granular core system modernisation projects.” on it so far. Had the banks employed lean and agile thinking, Robbins intimates, the figure could have been much lower while still providing Americans with the support needed.

“When you have these more agile f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

47

BLOCKCHAIN

48

BLOCKCHAIN: OPTIMISING PAYMENTS OR DISRUPTING THEM? WRITTEN BY

OCTOBER 2020

WILL GIRLING

49

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

BLOCKCHAIN

WE EXPLORE WHETHER BLOCKCHAIN SHOULD BE A TOOL TO REFORM THE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS STATUS QUO OR IF IT SIGNIFES SOMETHING MORE REVOLUTIONARY

A

foundational technology in the last 10 years of development within financial services

(FS), blockchain is essentially an inte-

grated network of individual, immutable records of information called ‘blocks’. The ‘chain’ refers

to a publicly accessible network through which the data contained in the blocks can be utilised.

50

Fundamentally, blockchain records basic transaction details such as currency and the amount exchanged, the date and time of transaction, and who participated in an exchange. Furthermore, each block receives a unique identifier code, meaning that, although transaction details may appear similar in some instances (repeat orders throughout a month or similar orders placed in quick succession), each will still exist as an independent and easy-to-identify record.

THE BLOCKCHAIN ‘JOURNEY’ OR ‘PROCESS’ CAN BE SUMMED UP AS FOLLOWS: • A transaction takes place • Details of the transaction are recorded and verified • Once confirmed, the data is stored as a dedicated block OCTOBER 2020

51

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

Driving insurers

digital future into a

At Cognizant, we’ve invested in the end-to-end capabilities needed to help insurance organizations not just do digital, but be digital. We partner with our clients to unlock new value and through the power of digital technologies and new ways of working, we help them evolve into more competitive, progressive versions of themselves.

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Copyright Š 2019 Cognizant

• Finally, the created block is given a

PwC’s ‘Financial Services Technology

unique identifier and added to the chain,

2020 and Beyond’ report found that

where its record cannot be altered

57% of those it surveyed were unsure or unwilling to make use of it, despite

BLOCKCHAIN: EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION?

an almost equivalent amount (56%)

As a highly secure, transparent and

nificance. The dissonance of these

decentralised public ledger, blockchain

conflicting viewpoints appears to

stating that they recognised its sig-

has the capability of producing truly disruptive results in the payment solutions arena. In fact, some of the biggest challenges facing this aspect of FS, such as data integrity, fraud and tech integration, can be significantly addressed by blockchain. However,

“ BLOCKCHAIN IS ESSENTIALLY AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF INDIVIDUAL, IMMUTABLE RECORDS OF INFORMATION CALLED ‘BLOCKS’”

Harnessing the Power of Blockchain | BCG CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:47

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

53

BLOCKCHAIN

“ PWC’S REPORT FOUND THAT 57% OF THOSE IT SURVEYED WERE UNSURE OR UNWILLING TO MAKE USE OF [BLOCKCHAIN], DESPITE AN ALMOST EQUIVALENT AMOUNT (56%) STATING THAT THEY RECOGNISED ITS SIGNIFICANCE”

54

indicate that, although its value is clear,

costs: “Blockchain systems could be

the majority of companies cannot find

far cheaper than existing platforms

a practical use for blockchain.

because they remove an entire layer

Whether this stems from percep-

of overhead dedicated to confirming

tions of it being an ‘untested’ quantity

authenticity. In a distributed ledger

or simply owing to widespread legacy

system, confirmation is effectively per-

IT systems which cannot integrate

formed by everyone on the network,

with it, PwC appears certain that those

simultaneously. In FS, that includes

who do not explore utilising blockchain

those who move money, adjudicate

will reap negative outcomes, particu-

contracts, tax transactions, store

larly in terms of higher operational

information and so on.”

This view is partially corroborated by McKinsey’s analysis, which found that 70% of blockchain’s short-term value could be derived from “cost reduction, followed by revenue generation and capital relief”, although it clarified that this aspect is less significant for FS than other industries. Therefore, it can be inferred that blockchain, applied exclusively within a short-term strategy, is not necessarily a value-adding approach. Indeed, this may account for

OCTOBER 2020

RIPPLE

Ethan Beard is Senior Vice President of Xpring at Ripple, which provides blockchain technology for global payments.

“You can think of Xpring as Ripple’s open-source developer platform for money that allows all developers to more easily integrate payments into their applications,” he states.

For Ethan Beard, Senior Vice President of Xpring at Ripple, the most exciting aspect of blockchain is its ability to transform and even create entirely new economic models. “The application of blockchain technology in payments, for example, has allowed businesses to facilitate faster transactions while fostering instant trust between parties,” he explains. “Xpring, for example, is helping gaming companies like Forte provide more payment options for gamers. Gaming is made

the FS industry’s apparent reluctance

up almost entirely of digital micro-

in PwC’s report. It could subsequently

transactions where users purchase

be inferred that the true value of block-

in-game items such as skins, power-

chain lies not in this limited capacity

ups or specific items. By integrating

but rather in its potential for disruption;

crypto into its platform, Fortnite users

as an instrument of future innovation

can easily purchase in-game currency

and a company’s long-term vision.

in small amounts instead of having to

The World Economic Forum considers

purchase large amounts at one time.

that the answer could lie in between:

Blockchain can also allow users to buy

“Blockchain will fundamentally alter the

and sell digital goods, creating a new

way financial institutions do business

in-game economy and business model

around the world. However, the effects

for game developers.”

will be hidden, coming from new processes and architecture based on blockchain rather than radical fintech innovation or new currencies such as Bitcoin.” f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

55

BLOCKCHAIN

USE CASES

processing or transaction fees while also mitigating dependency on banks and

Bitcoin

governments to guarantee their value.

Arguably no discussion on blockchain

56

within the payments sector can be

Ripple

complete without considering Bitcoin.

FinTech startup Ripple was founded in

Among the most disruptive use cases

2012 with a view to overhauling global

of blockchain in the last 10 years, Bitcoin

payment infrastructure. Comparing

is a cryptocurrency built on the same

the legacy global transaction frame-

basic principle: data regarding each

work to an “outdated postal system�

bitcoin is immutable (there are 21 mil-

as opposed to a 21st century, digitally-

lion in total) but the information can be

driven system, the company uses

freely recorded and transacted, i.e. the

blockchain in conjunction with digital

transferral of ownership when buyers

assets to create a network capable

exchange bitcoins for goods and ser-

of enabling FS providers to carry out

vices. Entirely peer-to-peer (P2P) and

international payments quickly, reliably

with no intermediaries or third-party

and cheaply. With a payment network

participants, Bitcoin represents a secure,

encompassing 300 customers spread

transparent and decentralised alter-

across 40 countries globally, Ripple is

native to the fiat currencies currently

one of the leading examples of block-

circulated worldwide. Essentially, block-

chain being successfully deployed for

chain enables Bitcoin and other similar

commercial use. However, despite its

cryptocurrencies to practically eliminate

transformational service capabilities,

OCTOBER 2020

“ THE APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN PAYMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ALLOWED BUSINESSES TO FACILITATE FASTER TRANSACTIONS WHILE FOSTERING INSTANT TRUST BETWEEN PARTIES” — Ethan Beard, Senior VP, Xpring at Ripple

57

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

BLOCKCHAIN

58

the company does not seek to under-

Ethereum’s technology enables indi-

mine the role of centralised institutions.

viduals and enterprises to transfer

Instead, Ripple uses its technology

cryptocurrency anywhere in the world

to innovate from within and provides

using accessible yet highly secure

tech alternatives in a bid to encourage

applications. “Ethereum is open

improved services. Furthermore, it is

access to digital money and data-

willing to seek out partnerships with

friendly services for everyone – no

other FinTechs in order to help shape

matter your background or location,”

the new industry it wishes to see, such

says the company website, which

as its 2019 collaboration with Finastra.

also lists the following benefits of the platform:

Ethereum Taking the concept of Bitcoin and

• A democratised banking experi-

democratising the back end technol-

ence (users only require a digital

ogy underpinning it, Ethereum is an

wallet to use it)

open source platform for creating

• Enhanced user privacy

cryptocurrencies and controlling

• Greater commerce assurance

digital value on a global scale. Calling

• A P2P network which circumvents

itself “programmable blockchain”, OCTOBER 2020

the need for third-parties

Enabling a whole new generation

STARTING A BROADER CONVERSATION

of secure and incorruptible data

Although the technological sophistica-

platforms, the disruptive potential

tion of blockchain and its potential to

of Ethereum’s technology and

fundamentally alter the nature of pay-

by extension blockchain itself

ments solutions seems well founded,

is summed up by the following:

there clearly remains industry uncer-

“Ethereum is for more than payments.

tainty about how the technology is

It’s a marketplace of financial

best used. If a company prides itself on

services, games and apps that can’t

delivering exceptional customer ser-

steal your data or censor you.”

vice and building trust with its clients, what tangible benefit does it gain from

P WC ’S F O U R S T R AT E G I E S F OR BLOCKC H A I N S U C C E S S

the transparency of blockchain, surely best employed when trust between parties is limited? After all, if an FS

1. Emphasise the ‘evolutionary’ rather than ‘revolutionary’ aspects.

2. Prepare for a potential culture shift as collaboration becomes more important to solving blockchain-related industry challenges.

3. Recognise that blockchain can be deployed in different ways and carefully consider which approach would fit best.

4. Keep the business agile to accommodate regulatory changes and avoid being hesitant or indecisive – “Watch, but don’t wait.”

provider neglects its responsibilities in a highly regulated sector the potential repercussions are generally sufficient to prevent infraction. Similarly, blockchain’s removal of the ‘middle man’ can serviceably act as a rallying call for greater digital efficiency generally, without the need for actual investment in the technology.

Furthermore, Beard states, the problem is compounded by blockchain still being in its infancy in many ways. “At Xpring, one of the most significant barriers to entry we’re seeing is having a one-size-fits-all solution.

Developers don’t want to get locked f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

59

BLOCKCHAIN

60

“ T ODAY’S PAYMENTS NETWORKS ARE SILOED AND PROPRIETARY. BECAUSE BLOCKCHAIN AND DIGITAL ASSETS CAN HELP ALLEVIATE THIS ASPECT, PRIORITISING ITS DEVELOPMENT BY PROVIDING DEVELOPERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED WILL BE AN IMPORTANT STEP ON THE JOURNEY TOWARDS DIGITISING MONEY” — Ethan Beard, Senior VP, Xpring at Ripple into proprietary technologies where

more solutions that are encouraging the

they are stuck paying fees in a dead-

widespread adoption of blockchain tech-

end environment, which is why they

nology across industries.”

turn to open-source technologies.” He

Blockchain’s potential, then, may

relates that at the beginning of 2020,

increase simply as it is made easier for

the company introduced its Interledger

developers to use; a clear demonstra-

Protocol STREAM on the Xpring SDK to

tion of its power and utility could be the

enable the faster integration of stream-

deciding factor. “Among the industries

ing payments within developers’ apps.

where blockchain’s potential can be felt

“While this is just one example of the

most immediately is payments,” Beard

problems developers are facing when

continues. “Today’s payments networks

integrating blockchain, we are seeing

are siloed and proprietary. Because

OCTOBER 2020

E T H A N B E ARD O U T LI N ES PAY I D At the cutting-edge of developing new payment solutions, Xpring recently collaborated on PayID to simplify global payments. Beard elaborates: “PayID was launched in collaboration with more than 40 partners to save global payments from further fragmentation and make it easier to connect crypto and fiat currencies by providing a single standard that brings traditional finance into the modern era.

“With digital payments expected to increase by 15% in 2020 due to the global pandemic, more payment platforms will be used, and as a result, we’re going to see even more strain across networks. With PayID, both consumers and businesses can benefit from a simplified payments process. Users can easily send and receive any form of money, whether fiat or digital thanks to PayID’s open, ledger-agnostic nature.”

blockchain and digital assets can help

At the same time, Gartner forecasts

alleviate this aspect, prioritising its devel-

exponential increases in global busi-

opment by providing developers with the

ness value generated by blockchain

tools they need will be an important step

over the next 10 years: $175bn by

on the journey towards digitising money.”

2025 and $3trn by 2030. While these

The relative merits in favour of ‘optimis-

figures are encouraging, they should

ing the current system’ versus all-out

not cause the payment sector to be

‘disruption’ continue to be debated, yet

complacent. As the conversation con-

one thing remains clear: blockchain

tinues as to whether collaboration with

simply cannot be ignored either way.

financial institutions (Ripple) or dis-

PwC relates in another report that 84%

ruption (Bitcoin and Ethereum) is the

of 600 surveyed executives across

best method for unlocking next-gen

15 territories have investigated the

payment solutions, decision makers

technology to a degree, although the

and tech strategists must boldly enter

level of attainment remains mixed (for

the conversation and help shape the

example: 20% are researching; 32%

transformation underway.

are in development; 15% are live; etc). f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

61

RISK MANAGEMENT

62

OCTOBER 2020

Risk Management: Funding an Optimal Vision of Fintech WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING 63

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

RISK MANAGEMENT

Market, technical and regulatory factors are integral to good risk management in Fintech. Here, we explore best-practice for venture capitalists

V

enture capital (VC), whether conducted by individuals or firms, can provide opportunities for some of the newest and most exciting

tech-based companies in the world to get a foothold in the market and drive fast-paced expansion across the globe.

64

Companies like Alibaba and Chinese FinTech Qudian break the mould by driving both anticipation and engagement with their platform and subsequently delivering significant returns to investors within a relatively short time frame – Qudian managed to raise USD$900mn after going public in 2017, an impressive feat for a company founded only four years prior. However, while FinTechs can sometimes exceed all expectations, this isn’t to say that VC doesn’t carry inherent risks.

After all, startups by their very nature are often helmed by inexperienced entrepreneurs, initially have little to no market recognition or sales traction and usually require careful guidance to lead their product or service from conception to implementation.

Despite this, VCs can still be captivated by an enticing idea or proposition and commit potentially millions OCTOBER 2020

65

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“ After all, startups by their very nature are often helmed by inexperienced entrepreneurs [...] and usually require careful guidance to lead their product or service from conception to implementation” of dollars to developing it. As such,

company operates stands the investor

strong risk management practices are

in good stead to anticipate larger issues:

essential to ensure that firms deploy

“Geopolitical uncertainties alter business

their funds in the most optimal way.

conditions and challenge the footprints of multinationals. Corporate reputa-

KNOW OPERATIONAL REGULATIONS

tions are vulnerable to single events,

“For us, no idea is too early: our door is

as risks once thought to have a limited

always open. We want to be your partner

probability of occurrence are actually

in the first round. Then be there for mul-

materialising.”

67

tiple rounds. We’re long-term, patient

Regarding the latter point, policy

partners. With you through the cycles,”

and necessary operational changes

says Australian VC firm AirTree, which

resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

recently provided startup Open with

could be cited as an example. In such

AU$3.1mn (US$2.2mn) in top-up funds.

eventualities, BCG cites the importance

Getting involved with prospects at an

of capturing and analysing market data

early stage and in a holistic manner can

constantly in order to gain insights into

be an effective method for stymieing

what new products and services are

elements of investment risk, particularly

experiencing positive gains. Such an

in the highly regulated finance and insur-

approach could require additional VC

ance sectors.

investment in AI (artificial intelligence)

Moreover, in its article ‘Value and

or ML (machine learning) data analytics

resilience through better risk manage-

tools, which, although initially incurring

ment’, McKinsey & Co adds that a

upfront costs, could ultimately save

comprehensive understanding of the

money through better market forecast-

regulatory framework within which a

ing and less negative investment. f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

RISK MANAGEMENT

BC G ’S ‘ 1 0 P R I N C I P L E S OF RIS K M A N AG E M E N T ’

In July 2019, ‘impact investment’ startup

1. Risk management should start with senior executives

Swell Investing officially announced that

2. Risk management is a collaborative process

ation. The company’s official statement

3. Avoid overreliance on complex metrics or models 4. Strategy and risk management should be interchangeable

68

SCALE APPROPRIATELY

5. Far from just being corporate policy, risk management should be crystallised in a company’s culture 6. Information should be freely available to facilitate a fast response 7. Active discussion is better than reliance on ‘reports’ 8. Rather than seeking an end goal, risk management should be viewed as a never-ending journey requiring constant development 9. It is possible to prepare for unknown risk factors 10. Plan for the worst but hope for the best – i.e. don’t be entirely dissuaded from an investment specifically because there exists some element of risk

OCTOBER 2020

it was closing after just two years in operdeclared that it had failed to “achieve the scale needed to sustain operations in the current market.” Investors were subsequently given until mid-August 2019 to withdraw their funds. According to CBInsights, VC Pacific Life Insurance had already invested $30mn into Swell prior to its closure. Given the company’s own admission that scaling issues were at the heart of its problems, VC firms should consider the principle value drivers of their investment, such as products addressing a common FSI (financial service institution) tech problem, services of relevance to changing market conditions, or the ability to provide an exceptional customer service experience.

Recognising opportunities for collaboration and developing partnership networks within FinTech can redress the balance for those experiencing issues with scaling. PwC’s 2017 Global FinTech report, which it revisited in 2019, highlighted that symbiotic collaboration within different elements of

Global Fintech Report 2019 – The Workforce of the Future CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:39

69

“ G etting involved with prospects at an early stage and in a holistic manner can be an effective method for stymieing elements of investment risk”

UNDERSTAND THE TECHNICAL RISKS Although a desire to invest in the latest technology and digital tools is often what motivates most VCs, they must nevertheless be careful to thoroughly understand the methodology and application of innovations instead of just their

finance has grown because “startups

potential benefits. Has the tech startup

realised they didn’t have the scale

created a product or service which fulfils

or customer trust to compete with

a core need in the market or is it simply

long-established FS (financial ser-

working with an exciting but currently

vices) organisations head-on, while

impractical technology? Additionally,

FS looked to FinTech partnerships to

when innovations are genuinely disrup-

help strengthen operational efficiency

tive they can fundamentally alter FS

and boost innovation.”

norms and therefore must be scrutinised f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

RISK MANAGEMENT

70

for weaknesses, regulatory compliance

targets for cybercriminals, VCs must

breaches or implementation issues.

consider that banking startups need

This has particular relevance to bank-

solid system architectures.

ing, specifically digital banks (neobanks,

McKinsey states in ‘’The ghost in the

challenger banks, etc) like Revolut, N26

machine’: Managing technology risk’:

and Monzo, although it is also invariably

“Many banks now find that [new soft-

true of traditional banks upgrading their

ware and systems] are involved in more

tech infrastructure. Posing enticing

than half of their critical operational

OCTOBER 2020

71

“ Recognising opportunities for collaboration and developing partnership networks within FinTech can redress the balance for those experiencing issues with scaling� f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

RISK MANAGEMENT

72

“ [Optimal risk management] not only protects the firm and saves money from being lost but ultimately ensures that consumers are receiving optimal financial services experiences�

OCTOBER 2020

risks.” When attacked, the consequences can be severe for the bank, its customers and stakeholders; common targets include “the disruption of critical processes outsourced to vendors, breaches of sensitive customer or employee data, and coordinated denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.”

No investment is without risk; in fact, it is the ‘untested’ nature of some FinTechs which makes them such an exciting prospect. However, VCs must always be cautious and thoroughly consider the appropriate technical, regulatory and market considerations before funding commences. Doing so not only protects the firm and saves money from being lost but ultimately ensures that consumers are receiving optimal financial services experiences.

VCs can be pivotal in shaping the trends of the FinTech landscape as it gradually adjusts to a post-COVID-19 world. Adequate VC risk management will help ensure that, whatever techenhanced vision of financial services emerges, it is a profitable venture for everyone.

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

73

T O P 10

74

Digital Banks Arranged by the amount of capital raised (in USD) in funding rounds, FinTech Magazine examines 10 of the world’s leading digital-only banks WRITTEN BY

OCTOBER 2020

WILL GIRLING

75

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

T O P 10

2015

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

NORRIS KOPPEL

UK HQ

76

10

Monese

Capital raised: $80.4m

A relatively ‘up-and-coming’ entry on this list, Monese is certainly no less innovative than other digital banks in its quest to offer users financial service alternatives. Covering current accounts and money transfers and available in 31 EEA countries, the company offers online-only services dealing in Pounds Sterling, Euros and some regional European currencies such as Romanian Leu. With accounts capable of being opened in a matter of minutes without an associated credit check or proof of address confirmation, Monese is a platform championing financial wellness and a seamless digital experience at all times. The bank is currently in talks for future investment which would see it granted ‘unicorn’ (£1bn+ valuation) status.

OCTOBER 2020

09

WeBank

Capital raised: $173m

Owned by Chinese conglomerate Tencent, which holds a 30% controlling share in the company, WeBank is one of Asia’s largest neobanks.

Arranged strictly in terms of market valuation, WeBank is among the largest digital banking unicorns in the world, with a formidable valuation of $21bn according to Euromoney. Despite this, true to form, the company has no physical branches and maintains a strictly online platform.

Utilising cutting-edge tech, WeBank employs an innovative system of facial recognition capabilities combined with big data credit checking when generating loans. Its reputation already well-established in China, the company has reportedly been considering expanding into international markets like Australia since 2019.

2014

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO DAVID KU

China HQ

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

77

From Inspiration

to Innovation

To know more, visit us at www.capgemini.com.au/insurance or email us at capgemini.marketing.au@capgemini.com

T O P 10

2014

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

ANNE BODEN

UK HQ

08

Starling Bank

79

Capital raised: $363m

Founded by FinTech pioneer Anne Boden in 2014 (who featured in our recent Top 10 Women in FinTech List), Starling Bank made history in 2016 with the largest single funding round at that time: £48m ($56.3m).

Since then, the bank has gone on to expand its product portfolio with business accounts, forge partnerships with UK institutions such as the Post Office and diversified its products by offering customers euro debit cards. On 20 July 2020, Starling announced that it was adding Penfold to its marketplace, a pension scheme for self-employed workers. “The integration with Penfold will encourage [self-employed workers] to invest and benefit from the government contributions and tax relief which can make savings go so much further,” said Boden.

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

T O P 10

2017

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

ERIC WILSON

Australia HQ

80

07

Xinja

Capital raised: $456.8m

One of Australia’s most successful 100% digital banks, Xinja has been specifically optimised to meet the needs of today’s customers through its thoroughly-designed app. Xinja makes the case that its digital format combined with the latest technology is a winning formula consisting of low operating costs, competitive rates and no hidden fees. Offering a simple sign-up process which negates the need for paperwork, the company supports users through best-in-class customer service agents made available through the in-app chat. Currently gaining significant traction in terms of investment, Xinja announced earlier in 2020 that it had received AU$433m (USD$310m) in funding from a United Arab Emirates (UAE) wealth fund.

OCTOBER 2020

06

Monzo

Capital raised: $493m

One of the first digital-only banks on the market and certainly among the most popular in the UK, Monzo has over 4m customers. A top-up funding round in June 2020 added £60m ($78.5m) to the company’s coffers and brought its total valuation to £1.24bn ($1.62bn).

In more recent news, Monzo announced the creation of its new premium account Monzo Plus. Billed as “a whole new way to experience Monzo”, the product allows customers to earn 1.00% AER/Gross (variable) on account balance and regular savings pots up to £2,000, withdraw £400 in fee-free cash while abroad and finance consolidation services via the bank’s app.

2015

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

TOM BLOMFIELD

UK HQ

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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Pack the essentials for your business trip: Laptop Charger Business insights Payment solutions

From T&E expertise to business insights to payment solutions, the American Express Corporate Program gives you all the tools and services you need, so you’re fully prepared for business wherever you are.

To learn more about the American Express Corporate Program, visit www.americanexpress.com.

T O P 10

2014

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

MARK MULLEN

UK HQ

05

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Atom Bank

Capital raised: $562m

So far, Atom Bank has managed to raise just under $600m in funding since it was founded in 2014. Located in Durham, UK, the company is regularly considered to be one of the country’s best examples of FinTech located outside of London. The bank seeks to make its digital customer experience as intuitive as possible, even opting to do away with passwords in favour of biometrics (face and voice recognition software).

A tech pioneer in the mobile-only banking space, Atom Bank offers fixed saver accounts, mortgages, business loans and more, always looking for an opportunity to innovate and prove its superior customer service.

f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

T O P 10

04

Chime

Capital raised: $700m

Based in San Francisco, California, Chime is a bank with no hidden fees and free overdrafts to give customers financial peace of mind.

Launched publicly in an episode of the American TV show Dr. Phil, the company seeks to offer Americans an enticing alternative to traditional banking. It currently offers three types of account: spending, credit builder and savings, as well as innovative features such as ‘Get Paid Early’, mobile banking and ‘Automatic Savings’. So far, Chime’s digital-only platform has proved to be popular: it currently has over 8m members in the US and was valued at $5.8bn following a Series E 84

funding round in late 2019.

2013

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

CHRIS BRITT

USA HQ

OCTOBER 2020

2013

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

VALENTIN STALF

Germany HQ

03

N26

85

Capital raised: $800m

After it managed to raise $100m in its May 2020 Series D funding round, N26’s valuation now stands at an impressive $3.5bn. A German neobank headquartered in Berlin, the company currently offers its customers a basic free-to-use account, Debit Mastercard and Maestro card. In addition, N26 offers two premium products - N26 You and N26 Metal - which are available for a monthly maintenance fee. Now serving over 5m customers spread across 25 markets through its more than 1,500 employees, the bank continues to expand its global presence. Most recently, it partnered with TransferWise to offer foreign currency transfers to over 30 countries within Europe.

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E M E A | A P A C | | APAC N O R T H | A EMEA MERICA AMERICAS FIND OUT MORE

FIND OUT MORE

T O P 10

2015

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

NIKOLAY STORONSKY

88

02

UK HQ

Revolut

Capital raised: $917m Currently valued at £4.2bn ($5.51bn) following the completion of its $500m Series D funding round in late July 2020, Revolut is the UK’s most valuable FinTech startup and one of the leading digital banks globally. Founded only five years ago, the company has managed to capture the imagination of the industry and users alike. Upon being informed that making multi-currency cards work wouldn’t be possible, CEO Nikolay Storonsky founded the company with CTO Vladyslav Yatsenko to prove the industry wrong. Remarkably, Revolut attained ‘unicorn’ status (a valuation in excess of $1b) just three years later in early 2018.

OCTOBER 2020

89

The Making of Revolut Metal CLICK TO WATCH

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1:01

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T O P 10

2013

YEAR FOUNDED

CEO

DAVID VÉLEZ

Brazil HQ

90

Cadê o meu cartão Nubank?

CLICK TO WATCH

OCTOBER 2020

|

1:39

01

Nubank

Capital raised: $1.1bn Earning the distinction of being the largest FinTech currently operating in Latin America, Nubank’s story began in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2013. The company offers a comprehensive range of products and services, including current accounts, credit cards, loans and business accounts. Nubank also boasts an easy-to-use reward programme for customers to get the most out of their money. Currently serving over 20m customers throughout the continent, the company also holds a Guinness World Record for most ‘unboxings’ of a single product simultaneously, which it acquired when it launched its new credit card in 2018.

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OCTOBER 2020

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Rapid7 NICER – starting a conversation on internet security WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

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RAPID7 – NICER

Tod Beardsley, Director of Research at Rapid7, outlines the company’s recently released NICER report and why everyone can do better on online security

T

here has never been a more opportune moment than now to discuss internet security: the COVID-19 pandemic has

forced many companies and individuals to reconsider their basic operations, reimagine manual processes and also vindicated the effectiveness 94

of remote working. A consequence of the modern world’s reliance on digital technology is the nearconstant vigilance required to ensure its integrity; far from being a static issue which can be addressed satisfactorily with yesterday’s tech, a spirit of innovation and honest critical evaluation is required to understand and remedy the underlying problems which threaten to disrupt us. To spur on a debate and engage developers, regulatory authorities and the wider community, security specialist Rapid7 has released NICER 2020 (National / Industry / Cloud Exposure Report), the most comprehensive census of the modern internet risk landscape ever completed.

Speaking to us on Zoom with a background representing a visualised ‘map’ of the internet,

OCTOBER 2020

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RAPID7 – NICER

Confessions of a Former CISO: Shaming People for Bad Security CLICK TO WATCH

|

5:40

96 Tod Beardsley, Director of Research

the effect of the global pandemic on

at Rapid7, emphasises that NICER is an

internet security, which, Beardsley

attempt to spur the world into affirmative

states, was surprising. “We were plan-

action, “We’re hoping that this report

ning things out in January and February

helps people make informed decisions

and then the world came crashing

about what they should be putting on

down. I thought, ‘Hang on, let’s redo

the internet, what they shouldn’t and

all our scans; surely has fundamentally

what their local ‘neighbourhoods’ might

changed’. However, we found no effect

look like. NICER is being released for

at all.” In fact, the results showed a

free; Rapid7 wants everybody to pick

reduction in dangerous services, most

this up and peruse it.” A comprehensive

notably Windows SMB (service mes-

document split into 16 sections and three

sage block) network protocols.

appendices, NICER is the result of four

However, this unexpected good

years’ worth of research, although it

news shouldn’t lull people into a false

starts with a relatively modern focus:

sense of security – the “myth of

OCTOBER 2020

the silver city”, to quote the report –

In terms of cyberattacks themselves,

Beardsley is adamant that vigilance

Beardsley states that they continue to

and proactivity are the keys to success.

include conventional ‘phishing’ scams

“The problem [with the perception that

as well as more advanced methods,

progress is being made] is that we’re

such as “exploiting known vulner-

not going in that direction fast enough,”

abilities and old software that’s on

which is re-emphasised in NICER: “...

the edge.” The report includes a sum-

the security of the internet still trails

mary of the ‘most exposed’ countries

the desire to just get things working,

by total attack surface, exposure to

and working quickly.” This sentiment

selected services, vulnerability rate

roughly encapsulates the challenge

and other metrics. While countries

faced by those endeavouring to bolster

such as the US and China might bring

internet security: to construct an effi-

no surprises for their high-risk factor,

cient operating model which doesn’t

NICER also includes some surprises

sacrifice integrity, with necessary

such as Canada (9) ranking higher than

updates and patches implemented in a timely and consistent manner. The report can help facilitate the achievement of this goal by providing hard data that developers can reference as they seek out solutions.

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RAPID7 – NICER

98

Iran (10), despite the former having

own ‘neighbourhood’ and measure

a population density almost 50% lower

its progress relative to others, but

than the latter. This is a perfect exam-

what about specific industries? The

ple of the report’s ability to correct

report also includes a graph measur-

potentially damaging preconceptions.

ing each sector’s vulnerable assets,

“Iran is very technically savvy but it is

revealing that highly essential services

more reliant on client-oriented internet

– telecoms, financial services, retail

(mobile phone networks, etc), whereas

and pharma – are amongst the most

Canada has a lot more in the way of

exposed, including some of the larg-

wired infrastructure and servers.”

est organisations on the FTSE 100,

NICER’s information about entire countries enables each to identify its OCTOBER 2020

Fortune 500 and Nikkei Index. “These companies have the resources to be

great at security, but, ultimately, it’snot

NICER will be developed further into

their job,” says Beardsley. “And a

a forthcoming report at the end

lot of these companies are over 10

of 2020.

years old and haven’t gotten around

Policymakers, too, have a crucial

to upgrading, particularly if everything

role to play – as stated in NICER:

still appears to be working fine.” The

“The pen Is mightier than the firewall.”

blight of legacy network protocols

Rapid7’s report aims to supply regula-

is also problematic, with some like

tors and legislators of all kinds with

FTP (file transfer protocol) dating

the necessary information needed

back to the 1970s and possessing no

to focus their attentions. “Legislators

inherent cryptographic assurances.

and even cyber insurers want to look

Maintaining patch and version man-

at this stuff to understand what’s

agement, therefore, is essential. With

acceptable and what’s not. I think

cloud also continuing to be adopted

policymakers have a pretty critical

more widely, Beardsley states that the

role, both in terms of understanding

information on this topic explored in

risk management and understanding

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Tod Beardsley Title: Director of Research

Location: Austin, Texas

Industry: IT & Network Security I’m an individual contributor on software engineering projects, a technical security researcher, a no good dirty hacker, an open source maintainer and advocate, a conference organizer, a podcaster, blogger, and all-around new media gadfly, and an often-quoted primary spokesperson — often several to all of these roles at the same time! f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

99

RAPID7 – NICER

like how the internet itself works.”

Citing their ability to find effective solutions to problems which are still economically viable, Beardsley also believes that policymakers ability to bring pressing issues to the forefront of people’s attention makes them an invaluable ally. “They can sound the national security alarm and people will listen,” he adds.

NICER explores in great detail two protocols still in widespread use: Telnet and SMB. Under analysis, 100

Rapid7 found that both were outdated and neither was particularly suited to modern internet usage; in fact, Telnet was originally specced out as a temporary solution in the 1960s.

“It is obvious from this RFC (request for commands) that [Telnet] was intended to be a temporary solution and that ‘more sophisticated subsystems will be developed in time’, but to borrow from Milton Friedman, ‘there

attackers did not exist, thus rendering

is nothing quite so permanent as a

its practical use limited. Alternatives

temporary solution’,” says the report.

such as SSH (Secure Shell) make for

This is not to say that old systems or

a compelling alternative, albeit with its

protocols cannot have value. However,

own drawbacks related to exposing

the antiquated nature of Telnet comes

console access to the internet. “With

from a time when active and passive

SSH, I can tell with certainty that the

OCTOBER 2020

101

computer I’m talking to is the one I

internet worms in history” using SMB

thought I was talking to because they

in some way, NICER advocates for

have cryptographic fingerprints that

HTTPS as an alternative. “SMB is very

are easily verified,” clarifies Beardsley.

opaque,” Beardsley summarises. “It

SMB, on the other hand, was found to

makes cryptographic guarantees that

be too complex, almost to the point of

it can’t keep. I’m not advocating for

obscurant. With “the most destructive

the end of SMB, but having it directly f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

RAPID7 – NICER

exposed to the internet is a pretty bad

great impact on the stability, safety

idea and it’s almost always accidental.”

and security of the internet as a whole.”

The conclusion of NICER provides

This is a sentiment that Beardsley

a mixed but ultimately encouraging

echoes: “At the moment, I feel like a cli-

takeaway, “Things aren’t great, but not

mate scientist saying global warming

disastrously bad and relatively small

is happening but everyone is respond-

changes in how we design, develop

ing, ‘But it’s fine right now’.” Indeed,

and deploy services will still have a

the problem with underlying issues

102

OCTOBER 2020

relating to internet security is how eve-

art and even society,” he continues. “I

ryday interactions with it (using social

don’t see a world where we’re licens-

media, watching videos, research, etc)

ing people to programme on the

appear unaffected, yet the potential

internet, but I would like us to reach a

for all these things to be disrupted

point where it’s normal for software

exists on a fundamental level. “Internet

developers or electrical engineers to

security is not a goal in and of itself:

learn new aspects of security in their

security enables culture, commerce,

professional development.” Rapid7’s NICER could play a crucial role in expanding global consciousness on the importance of internet security.

In fact, Beardsley hopes that it is the start of an ongoing and fruitful debate.

“If someone else out there has different stats or conclusions, we’re more than happy to have that conversation.

NICER is not a ‘one and done’ report; this is an entry point into what will hopefully be several conversations on what we want the future of the internet to be.”

Read Rapid7’s full NICER report here and watch Tod share the key takeaways in this webcast

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104

QUONTIC BANK: DEFINING THE CULTURE OF A TRULY DIGITAL BANK WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

OCTOBER 2020

PRODUCED BY

MICHAEL BANYARD

105

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QUONTIC BANK

Patrick Sells, CIO, explains why innovation shouldn’t stop at technology and why getting the right culture is essential in modern finance

2020

has been a difficult but transformative year for finance: COVID-19

has led to a shift away from old paradigms, remote working has been validated as a valuable tool and digital transformation is redrawing the industry’s roadmap for the future. Emblematic of this brave 106

new world, Quontic Bank is a disruptive banking platform which transcends the bank-FinTech divide and harnesses the best of both worlds to deliver best-in-class customer outcomes. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, the bank is a self-proclaimed champion of “underdogs, entrepreneurs, gig-economy workers, immigrants,” and all others currently not best served by the ‘legacy banking’ establishment. Quontic Bank believes in empowering its customers to take control of their finances, recognising that no person’s circumstances are the same as others and proving that better solutions are available to those who seek out innovation.

Leading this aspect of Quontic Bank’s business is Patrick Sells, Chief Innovation Officer. A true disruptive digital banking executive, Sells initially got OCTOBER 2020

107

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Successful companies.

Cohesive teams.

Engaged employees.

We can help you get there.

The Table Group is changing the world of work so more organizations can be more effective and less dysfunctional, and employees can be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Our approach is based on Pat Lencioni’s best-seller, The Advantage, which introduces four practical disciplines: build a cohesive leadership teams, create clarity, overcommunicate clarity, and reinforce clarity.

We help leaders master these disciplines resulting in healthy organizations that are marked by reduced politics, confusion and unwanted turnover.

Create cultural competitive advantages

The Table Group: creating cultural competitive advantages Rick Van Arnam, Principle Consultant at The Table Group, describes how he has helped Quontic Bank to unify its culture and focus its corporate vision “People today want to make a difference.

They want to know that the company they’re working for has a unique purpose to which they can contribute,” states Rick Van Arnam, Principle Consultant with The Table Group.

In 1997, this is exactly what the company set out to do: help executives and teams cohere, define their corporate vision, establish a unified identity, and encourage innovation through outstanding culture. With a diverse set of skills under his belt, Van Arnam found that The Table Group presented him with an interesting new challenge: “In addition to the consulting arm, the company is actually more of an idea factory around all things related to organisational health. It’s improving the world of work.”

Helping leaders across several industries, The Table Group’s consultants engage with them to master four core disciplines: build a cohesive leadership team, create organisational clarity, over-communicate that clarity and reinforce clarity through simpler and less bureaucratic systems and processes. Markedly a culture-focused approach instead of technological, Van Arnam says that there is a good reason for this: “ During the 2008 recession, we discovered that companies were investing a lot of time and effort in the ‘smart side’ of the business.

However, everybody actually has access to a lot of the same technology. Therefore, if you’re going to win, you’re going to have to do more; you need to transform the organisation itself and operate differently.”

One company which has truly taken this advice to heart is Quontic Bank. Having known Patrick Sells, CIO, for a decade, Van Arnam states that the company is uniquely positioned as an organisation attempting a method of operating which breaks away from industry preconceptions. “We helped Quontic Bank answer six simple but critically important questions: ‘Why do we exist?’ ‘How are we going to behave?’ ‘What do we do?’ ‘How are we going to succeed?’ ‘What’s most important right now?’ and finally ‘What are our roles and responsibilities?’”

Van Arnam believes that Quontic Bank’s wholehearted receptiveness to The Table Group’s ideas has distinguished it as one of its closest collaborations. “Quontic’s emphasis on culture is going to be really important,” he concludes. “I think it’s going to help them attract talent on the heels of what has been a war on talent. Continually revisiting the six critical questions, maintaining core values and onboarding people the correct way will help position it to meet the upcoming challenges.”

Rick.vanarnam@tablegroupconsulting.com

QUONTIC BANK

“ I sold most of my company (Sells Group Holdings) and went all-in on this idea of re-imagining what a bank could be - a digital bank of the future” — Patrick Sells, CIO, Quontic Bank 110

his start working on digital marketing for small companies whilst attending Taylor University. “This was right after the recession and it was an interesting time to get into business,” he recalls. “I thought banking was ripe to be done differently, especially community banks.” Sells’ connection to Quontic Bank started when he met CEO Steven Schnall, with whom he shares a mutual interest in the evolving cryptocurrency market. The two quickly established a friendship and developed some projects together and it was in late 2018 that Sells finally joined the team. “We had a lot of mutual interest: I had been wanting to get into the banking industry to try something new and Quontic needed to become a digital bank. I sold most of my company (Sells Group Holdings) and went all-in on this idea of re-imagining what a bank could be - the digital bank of the future.”

Recognised as 2020’s ‘Digital Banker of the Year’ by American Banker and also one of ICBA Independent Banker’s ‘40 Under 40’, Sells has managed to carve out a formidable reputation in the industry.

Possessing a talent for and enduring

OCTOBER 2020

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Patrick Sells Title: CIO

Company: Quontic Bank

Industry: Online Banking

Location: New York

Patrick Sells is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping transform community banking through culture and technology. As the Chief Innovation Officer at Quontic, Patrick is focused on drawing a new generation of talent to the banking industry and elevating Quontic as a destination employer. Sells blends together the desire to use technology to make the world a better place and change the perception of banking. He is an award-winning leader who has been recognised for digital innovation in banking earning American Banker’s Digital Banker of the Year Award and also named in Independent Bankers 40 under 40 list for emerging community banking leaders in 2020. The bank is headquartered in New York City and has earned the U.S. Department of Treasury certification as a CDFI. Currently, Patrick is an advisor of the Mizen Group and is on the faculty at the first ever graduate program for Digital Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Prior to joining Quontic, Sells served as the CEO/Owner of the Sells Group, a marketing and technology agency based in Indianapolis that helps clients with digital customer acquisition. In addition, Sells is active in the not-forprofit space helping lead and advise several different organisations. He helped start and build the Super Service Challenge into a national program that raised and gave away over $30,000,000 alongside their national spokesperson, Drew Brees.

He currently resides in New York City and graduated from Taylor University with a degree in Political Science. f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

111

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Congratulates Quontic’s Chief Innovation Officer Patrick Sells on being named American Banker’s “Digital Banker of the Year.”

Hunton Andrews Kurth’s fintech team is recognized as a leading law firm in Chambers & Partners 2020 FinTech guide. Our firm’s reputation as a financial services powerhouse, combined with our world-class capabilities in matters of technology and privacy give us a distinctive advance in the fintech market.

According to Chambers, “Hunton Andrews Kurth is at the pinnacle of data privacy and data security within the fintech space.”

In addition to advising nearly a quarter of all BaaS banks, we also represent start-ups and established fintech companies, banks, investors, loan servicers and securitization sponsors. We also represent private equity firms, hedge funds and purchasers of marketplace loans, retailers, software companies, payment processors and other vendors in connection with lending, financing and purchasing activities with respect to loans and fintech products and services.

For more information, visit HuntonAK.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube.

HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH: NAVIGATING DIGITAL FINANCE Peter Weinstock, Partner, describes the law firm’s close collaboration with Quontic Bank as is it attempts to re-define digital banking.

Originally founded in 1901 as Hunton & Williams and then subsequently rebranded following a 2018 merger with Andrews Kurth Kenyon, Hunton Andrews Kurth is an international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 20 offices spread around the world, including the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. “Approximately 30% of our revenue derives from financial services,” Peter Weinstock, Partner, explains. “We provide services to fintech companies, as well as to what we think of as partner banks and those advancing towards digital transformation. Hunton Andrews Kurth tends to think of these banks as being more like technology companies with banking ‘wrapping around’ them.”

Although he considers his interest to lie with finance first and technology second, it is really the interaction between the two that stokes Weinstock’s passion for digitally-enhanced banking, “I can’t think of any aspect of the economy that experiences more change; financial services are such a big part of the economy and they’re forever evolving.”

Although change in the legal sector is generally (and necessarily) a slow process, he acknowledges that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for accelerated, unprecedented developments. In this climate, Hunton Andrews Kurth strives to exemplify the same high-quality service it has maintained for over a century. According to Weinstock, this rests on two key pillars: responsiveness to the client’s needs and a creative approach that often ‘reverse engineers’ a particular need and then forms an actionable framework through analysis.

This attitude, in combination with the firm’s far-reaching experience in the industry, has stood it in good stead for helping Quontic Bank as it attempts to re-define digital banking. Working closely together on a daily basis has led to a strong

Hunton Andrews Kurth

mutual understanding between the two companies, “Part of helping the bank achieve its goals has been to think of Quontic Bank as friends and family,” Weinstock says. “Patrick Sells (CIO at Quontic Bank) has got a lot of energy and ideas. Our job is to help him channel those into the most productive avenues available.”

In an industry which is becoming increasingly digital in its outlook, Quontic Bank, in Weinstock’s view, is on a sure course of not just joining the trend but actually leading it. “It’s pushing the envelope on what’s doable from a digital standpoint and what it means to be a digital bank. Hunton Andrews Kurth doesn’t consider that the pace of digital transformation will slow down; we foresee it continuing to accelerate.” The company is proud to be a true partner to Quontic Bank as it pioneers this exciting change and praises the integrity, intelligence and savvy of the executive’s leadership.

“They’re wonderful at including us at an early stage,” Weinstock concludes. “In the legal field, it’s much more expensive to correct a problem than to avoid it in the first place. Quontic Bank is very wise in that regard: it’s happier spending an ounce on prevention than a pound on cure.”

QUONTIC BANK

“ So many companies have ‘core values’ that are simply, what I call, ‘permission to play values’. They’re not unique to them and so they don’t become a shared language” — Patrick Sells, CIO, Quontic Bank 114

interest in innovation which befits his

itself; it was recently ranked as one of

role at Quontic Bank, he states that

Bankrate’s 2020 ‘Top Online Banks’.

early experiences taught him the value

When asked what he attributes this

of trying to imagine operations from

success to, Sells claims that Quontic

different perspectives. “When you’re

Bank’s culture and mission to redefine

in the middle of doing something it’s

what a ‘digital bank’ is has been pivotal

really hard to reimagine things. But,

to its acclaim with customers and the

when you are able to truly step back

wider industry.

and reframe the world around you,

Corporate culture could be Quontic

you can easily find innovation. A lot of

Bank’s most important quality. Based

what I’ve done at Quontic Bank has

on a four-pillar philosophy, Sells

been saying, ‘Okay, what if we thought

makes a clear distinction between his

about it very differently?’” Indeed,

organisation’s approach to culture

the Bank is no stranger to accolades

and others: “So many companies have

OCTOBER 2020

Navigating the Home Loan Process with Quontic Bank CLICK TO WATCH

|

4:52

115

‘core values’ that are simply, what I call,

Know the goal: before embarking on a

‘permission to play values’. They’re

new direction or endeavour, the Bank

not unique to them and so they don’t

coordinates with its teams to establish

become a shared language.” Instead,

a singular vision; and 4) Say cheese:

Quontic Bank allows the following

Sells explains, “When someone puts

principles to guide its daily operations:

a camera up in front of you and says,

1) Progress not perfect: a steady state

‘Say cheese!’, what happens? You

of constant improvement is favoured

smile and the person taking the picture

over rapid quests for unattainable

smiles too. Imagine a bank that you

perfection; 2) Try it on: emphasis-

actually smiled when you talked to.”

ing a fast-paced decision-making

Sells adds that the need for remote

process, Quontic Bank is willing to

working as a result of the pandemic

try new ideas, retain the ones that

has indirectly added to the Bank’s

work and discard those that don’t; 3)

culture too: “Before COVID-19, we’d f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

Are you meeting your customers where they are?

THINK OUTSIDE THE CORE

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MANTL: enabling a digital vision of community banking

MA NTL Mike Bosserman, VP of Growth at MANTL, explains how the company is empowering Quontic Bank and other financial institutions through technology

Founded in 2016, MANTL is an enterprise Software as a Service company based in New York with a singular mission: ‘empowering financial ecosystems through technology’.

It does this by modernising core back-office tasks like account opening with an integrated, omnichannel platform. “MANTL serves community and regional banks and credit unions exclusively,” says Mike Bosserman, VP of Growth. “The reason we’re here is because these organisations haven’t had the tools to grow online.”

Making community banks competitive in the modern finance market is MANTL’s main task.

It’s a service that the company has already rendered for some of the fastest-growing banks in the US, and Bosserman claims that the success it has reaped stems from a focused strategy combining technological sophistication with customer-centric ease-ofuse. “The average time to open an account on MANTL is approximately two minutes and 37 seconds,” he says. This is important in the context of contemporary customer expectations, which are heavily influenced by experiences not necessarily related to banking. “If you’re a community bank or credit union, customer expectations for bank onboarding flows are going to be influenced by other online platforms like Amazon, Netflix, or other fintech apps.”

One client that has taken on this challenge is Quontic Bank. In an industry where opening an account takes an average of 30 clicks, Bosserman says, “Quontic Bank takes 24 clicks. When it comes to figuring out where

Mike Bosserman @ Mantl

MANTL fits into the ecosystem of modern tech products, we’re right there at the cutting edge.” The company’s tech-savvy is equalled

by Quontic Bank’s ambition, which, even from its early stages, was to achieve nothing less than a new concept for digital banking. “Both Patrick (Sells, CIO) and Steven (Schnall, CEO) have been exceptional to work with and so has the team. Quontic Bank is a great example of what’s possible in community banking with the right attitude and the right technology paired together.”

When asked what major trends will continue to affect and develop MANTL’s relationship with Quontic Bank, Bosserman believes that banking’s future will be determined by the acquisition of tech talent, increased automation and fraud prevention, enhanced regulatory compliance, and instant account verification. As mobile technology continues to proliferate and reshape customers’ everyday interactions with banks, MANTL will play an important role in levelling the terrain between the mobile and desktop experience.

QUONTIC BANK

usually only hire people from the New York area. However, during this time, we’ve hired 30 or 40 people from outside and it’s enabled us to work with and find great talent further afield.”

When it comes to Quontic Bank’s ‘true digital bank’ concept, Sells states that a fallacious dichotomy between traditional banks and modern FinTechs has obscured the true vision for what the idea could achieve. “In many ways, when banks hear the term ‘digital bank’, they assume it means 118

empowering FinTechs and not playing an active role in their customers’ lives anymore. I don’t think that’s a good thing for the industry.” On the contrary, Sells argues, it is only by combining the best aspects of both that banking can meet the challenges of the postCOVID-19 ‘new normal’. “A true digital bank would actually use technology to provide a better experience and add meaningful value to the customer beyond just being a list of debits and credits behind the scenes,” he continues. “We should also be building technology that solves our problems, selling it to other banks and helping them become truly digital too. imagine OCTOBER 2020

“ When banks hear the term ‘digital bank’, they assume it means empowering FinTechs and not playing an active role in their customers’ lives anymore. I don’t think that’s a good thing for the industry” — Patrick Sells, CIO, Quontic Bank

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building technology that actually helped our customers accomplish the things in life that they want; that’s at least partially what being a true digital bank means.” In fact, Quontic Bank receives daily enquiries from other banks seeking advice on how to adapt.

Sells adds that the organisation is currently adapting this aspect of the business into a more scalable solution to help others across a wider scale.

Quontic Bank’s approach to certain aspects of digital transformation, such as data utilisation, correlates with contemporary industry trends: “Data f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

STRONGER TOGETHER Alloy Labs is a consortium of community and mid-size banks working together to drive innovation. Working as a collective makes us more effective and more efficient in building partnerships. We also operate The Concept Lab for earlier stage companies to develop the business case and establish a commercial relationship with partner banks and a venture fund that invests in partners, graduates of The Concept Lab, and areas of strategic interest to banks and credit unions.

Learn more today

Alloy Labs: driving innovation within banking Jason Henrichs, CEO and Co-Founder of Alloy Labs, describes how the consortium is facilitating collaboration between banks through tech and innovation Formed in 2018, Alloy Labs is a consortium of over 40 leading community and mid-sized US banks working together to adopt new technology, drive innovation and shorten the path between the conception and implementation of ideas. Jason Henrichs, CEO and Co-Founder, informs us that, by combined assets, Alloy Labs ranks as one of the top 25 banks in the US. At the moment there is a digital arms race taking place, where the largest banks and some of the more specialised or most profitable banks are noticeably further ahead in their digital transformation,” he explains. “However, the small and medium sized banks are at a disadvantage: they haven’t raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital to fund their development and they don’t have the balance sheet, tech teams and incubators like larger players do. By working together, they can be both more efficient and effective at what they do.”

Digital transformation is taking hold in the banking sector; what was once viewed as a purely cosmetic process undertaken by a few now holds revolutionary potential.

This is in no small part, Henrichs points out, because of the COVID-19 pandemic which illustrated how all-pervasive digital technology in finance could be. As the first wave focused on user interface gives way to a second phase overhauling back office processes, Alloy Labs is helping to foster the greater utilisation of data through AI (artificial intelligence) based automation

Jason Henrichs @ Alloy Labs

and embedded financial experiences.

“If you look at even the challenger banks of today, they are mobile and technology first but they still look and feel a lot like traditional checking, savings and spending accounts,” he continues. “When we get to the third wave - business model transformation - we’re going to see some very interesting things.”

Frequently working side-by-side with Quontic bank, members of Alloy Labs have been able to help Patrick Sells, CIO, navigate specific industry and technical requirements as Quontic Bank develops its ‘true digital bank’ concept. Conversely, Quontic Bank’s experience with APIs, contactless payments and cultural transformation adds significant value to Alloy Lab’s other members. The cornerstone of Alloy Labs’ approach is ‘understanding’: what are the challenges of the modern banking sector, what is the customer’s perspective and how can things be better?

QUONTIC BANK

Quontic Bank Partnerships Quontic Bank’s partners play a crucial role in its development of new tech, products, competitive advantages and more. Sells chose to highlight four for their particularly important contributions:

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Mantl: “When COVID-19 first happened, we wanted to roll out a new product called ‘Drawbridge Savings’ - an account to help people do social good wherein Quontic Bank will match the monthly interest credited for each account and donate it to the #BeTheDrawbridge relief fund.

Mantl helped us build that product and launch it in three days, which would be unheard of with other providers. Mantl represents the type of true Fintech-bank partnerships that are needed.

Banks need to move beyond treating partners as ‘vendors’ and have real relationships with them. It’s a great relationship and partner of ours.”

OCTOBER 2020

Table Group: “Table Group is focused on helping companies build a competitive advantage. It was critical in helping us refine our mission statement, who we are, what our core values are and how we make decisions. Table Group and our consultant there, Rick Van Arnam, have taught us and many other companies that the only true competitive advantage today is that of being healthy. That means the whole organisation needs to be aligned, clear on ‘who’ it is and working together seamlessly.”

Alloy Labs Alliance: “Alloy Labs is a new consortium of banks. There are probably between 40 and 50 banks in there, all with different stories than ours but similar objectives. The organisation provides a platform for us to work together and collaborate.”

can be used to help customers gain a better financial life and empower them financially. Every bank is trying to figure out how we can begin to harness and leverage data better.”

Hunton: “It’s a great law firm but it’s more than just a law firm advisor: they are friends that have helped us as we’ve started to do new and innovative things.

Hunton helps us understand how we can do it in the safest and best way. Peter Weinstock has been our sherpa, if you will, guiding us every step of the way.”

However, Quontic Bank’s exceptional customer-centricity shines through in its philosophy towards tech innovation. “I think the most important thing to consider is the customer’s experience,” Sells explains. First and foremost, the bank tries to gain perspective on how its customers interact with it and learn what improvements can be made through first-hand experience. This could involve something relatively simple like app/website performance or the ease of opening an account, or it could be more

“ Banks need to move beyond treating partners as ‘vendors’ and have real relationships with them” — Patrick Sells, CIO, Quontic Bank

complex like the transactions process.

Although considerations surrounding regulations, security and data integrity should always be paramount, Quontic Bank prides itself on delivering a quintessentially tech-optimised service designed with its users in mind. “If you look at our roadmap, we are going to be rolling out some new products that have never been seen before in the industry to provide a f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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QUONTIC BANK

124

new type of experience,” Sells states.

“The reason why people need online

from the click of a button.”

When he considers the progress

banking is because mobile apps

that Quontic Bank has managed to

aren’t good enough yet. Quontic

accomplish throughout 2020 despite

Bank wants to build a mobile app that

the difficulties of the pandemic, Sells

allows you to do everything easily

is proud to say that 2021 will not be a

OCTOBER 2020

2009

Year founded

$35M Revenue in US dollars

160

Number of employees

Bank has still managed to go from strength to strength. Indeed, with Sells’ visionary leadership and the bank’s celebrated conception of the ‘true digital bank’, why should it not have? Innovation courses through the organisation, yet it doesn’t stop where most companies would choose to leave it: technology. “The word ‘innovation’ has become synonymous with technology,” he says. “In doing that, the wider banking sector has failed to truly understand the other opportunities for innovation, from culture to training, recruiting and how

case of addressing ‘unfinished busi-

people work.” Quontic Bank is refus-

ness’. “We’ve kept up with what we

ing to fall in line with this trend, safe in

wanted to achieve in the sense of

the knowledge that cultural change,

overall progress towards our mis-

though difficult, is ultimately the only

sion and vision. We never would have

genuine way to usher in a new era for

guessed that, in partnership with

banking. “Innovation isn’t a problem

Intuit and other Fintech platforms,

that can be solved by buying some-

Quontic Bank would have facilitated

thing; you have to change who you

over one billion PPP (Paycheck

are and what you do.”

Protection Program) loans to small businesses.” It could be argued that the bank has actually managed to gain momentum during this time rather than lose it. 2020 might have been a year no-one expected, but Quontic f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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Visions Federal Credit Union: 126

Member-Driven Digital Solutions WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

OCTOBER 2020

127

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VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Thomas P. Novak, AVP/Digital at Visions Federal Credit Union, discusses member-centric digital transformation during COVID-19

T

echnology lies at the heart of every organization today. But, when that technology has a singular purpose that

transcends the business strategy itself, it can be truly transformational. For Visions Federal Credit Union, technology exists to improve its members’ 128

lives. “Whenever we start any new business endeavor, it always begins with the member as the central focus,” states Thomas P. Novak, AVP/ Digital at the US-based leading credit union. “The technology is out there to achieve almost anything, but unlike some organizations, we consistently approach it with consideration for the member – the person – that will be impacted by the innovation.”

Novak is a highly experienced leader who specializes in digital transformation, specifically in relation to member-facing technology platforms.

At Visions, he is directly responsible for the organization’s digital strategy. When we spoke in late 2019, Novak was in the midst of implementing an indepth and innovative digital transformation strategy across the organization, one which he described as a central tenet for its success. Six months on, the OCTOBER 2020

129

1966

Year founded

$25m+ Revenue in US dollars

650

Number of employees f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

“ Whenever we start any new business endeavour, it always begins with the member as the central focus” — Thomas Novak, AVP/Digital, Visions Federal Credit Union

adoption and application of new and inventive technologies continues in line with the company’s mission of “Making Visions matter to all its members, employees, and communities”.

To achieve this, he remains resolute in the power of technology to transform members’ lives. “The technology has to meet a member need and a business need, not just technology for the sake of new technology,” he states. “The typical technology development or the adoption process may

130

start with research or implementation modeling, but the defining factor is how that process or that piece of technology changes the member experience, as well as the experience of our employees, and how it aligns with our overarching mission. And that does not always have to be complex or over-engineered. If we can save, for example, a member $200 per month on a monthly payment for their loan based on our interest rates against the solutions already on the market by digitizing the process end-to-end, or being top of mind in a moment of need for that member, that’s what really matters.

OCTOBER 2020

Money for What Matters Visions Federal Credit Union CLICK TO WATCH

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0:30

131 “We’ve carried out a lot of analysis

aim to acquire those new members

to set our strategy, particularly in

primarily through digital channels. Now

terms of how decisions position the

that the first phase of our digital strat-

organization, its members, and our

egy is complete, we are focused on the

communities,” he continues. “It allowed

next level. That means creating a digital

us to establish four key pillars for the

ecosystem throughout the organization

first phase of our digital strategy: online

that fosters digital transformation; from

banking, mobile banking, consumer

the creation of an internal Digital Center

lending, and consumer new account

of Excellence to supporting all member

opening. That has since grown and

needs digitally, we are striving to act on

evolved into a broader strategy for

our advocacy mindset.”

a full-blown digital transformation,

Novak has experience as a leader

through which we aim to grow our busi-

across several areas of the financial

ness by at least 100,000 members over

services industry. And, while work-

the next five years. More than that, we

ing with Visions enables a greater f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

Don’t fear the FinTech.

Use their playbook, and run your own race.

Extractable has helped over 40 of the largest credit unions and community banks effectively compete in today’s digital landscape.

Find out what we can do for you.

READY, SET, GO

Extractable: delivering data-driven and user-centered digital strategy The financial services industry is evolving at pace, driven by new and innovative technologies and a focus on delivering customer-centric, personalized experiences that add value. In order to remain competitive in such an environment, businesses— whether they are incumbents, fintechs, credit unions or insurers—need to develop and implement a robust and forward-looking digital transformation strategy.

Extractable, a San Francisco-based digital consultancy helps companies to do just this. The business works closely with clients in financial services; from banking, investment management and insurance, to accelerate transformation and provide tailored digital experiences to customers. It does this across three core areas: digital strategy, data analysis and experience design.

“Our work is really around applying our actual research, knowledge and experience to ensure that those FSIs we work with get the most out of their digital channels,” explains Craig McLaughlin, Extractable’s CEO. “For us, customer experience and user centricity are essential. So, we look to bring together first person user research in terms of who the FSI’s customers are, marry that to the overarching business unit goals and holistically manifest that into an actionable digital strategy.

A lot of the time, what ‘digital’ is trying to do is not necessarily the same as what the organization is looking to do more broadly,” he continues. “So, we typically spend a lot of time with CEOs and others in the FSI to understand what the traditional strategy looks like and then develop ways in which we can manifest that into the digital realm. It’s about bringing all the disparate teams and departments together into a unifed strategy that is shared and laser-focused on measurable outcomes. This has never been more important for banks and credit unions as fintechs are entering their markets.”

The need for such a strategy, says McLaughlin, is being driven by the broader trend in the sector that sees customers shift from using brick-and-mortar financial services, such as bank branches, to their digital counterparts. This has been accelerated by the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, he explains. “People have been shifting away from visiting branches for some time, but we’re now seeing that they just can’t do that even if they want to. So, for companies in the industry, whatever their learning curve was around switching to a digital-first strategy that’s being pushed and accelerated.

A lot of us, as a result of COVID, will adapt to and adopt the digital world, and that really changes things for organizations.

“With that in mind, I couldn’t imagine being a CEO of a bank today and saying ‘our strategy hinges on the building of branches’ in lieu of the digital experience,” says McLaughlin.

“Really, they should be considering how they stand for something unique, how they manifest that uniqueness into a digital experience that can be delivered at scale, and which is centered around product and UX design.”

Craig McLaughlin, CEO at Extractable, discusses the development of a member-driven digital strategy with Visions Federal Credit Union

Among Extractable’s customers is Visions Federal Credit Union, a New York based financial institution that offers a host of services including savings, checking, loans, mortgages and investments, and online banking. Visions is currently in the midst of a member-focused digital transformation, working with Extractable. “It’s a fantastic credit union with a very clear vision in terms of growth,” says McLaughlin. “One of the great things about the company is its culture and leadership, which is instrumental when you’re driving a strategy of growth.

“Where we come into that process is carrying out the first person research into the organization’s members and prospective members, with a view to developing that cohesive digital strategy,” he adds. “Every credit union we work with has something different or unique, and Visions has a great opportunity for growth. We’re impressed with the organization’s ability to prioritize and focus on good leadership and using the information we provide to guide the transition. It also has an environment where every department is focused on the ‘whole’ or the singular goal, which is really important.”

The transformation at Visions is still in its early stages, with Extractable focused on the discovery and research that informs the development of the strategy. This, shares McLaughlin, includes developing an understanding of each department’s role and the specific areas of focus for growth.

“It’s really about ensuring we can better serve the needs of the organization and its members,” he says. “Then, how can those experiences be supported with the right digital technologies. Technology never comes first, regardless of what it is or how innovative - understand the goals of the organization and what its members or customers want and go from there.”

VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

134

dedication to members, he recognizes

light on delivering digital with a human-

a general trend towards human-centric

centered focus – it’s about having

digital solutions. “I’ve certainly seen

empathy, being able to balance what is

a heightened need industry-wide

best for a business in terms of efficiency

for visionary leadership over the last

or specific technologies with how that

decade when it comes to digital trans-

is impacting the broader landscape and

formation, and that’s increasingly about

community that you serve. We strive to

the culture or mindset that underpins

have digital solutions in place that are

that transformation. I think the impact of

ready when our members experience a

COVID-19 has accelerated digital trans-

moment of need.”

formation roadmaps and highlighted the

The global COVID-19 pandemic

thoughtfulness needed in the approach.

has impacted every business sector.

From our perspective, it’s really shone a

For financial services – and Visions

OCTOBER 2020

in particular – it has reinforced the

is the physical and digital parity that

human-centric trend. “We’re in the

a retail leader such as Wal-Mart has

age of the consumer right now,” says

done. With e-commerce sales up, it is

Novak. “You have some stellar com-

now planning to convert the parking lots

panies and industries that, because of

of 160 of its stores in August to drive-in

where they are on their digital journeys,

movie theaters, where it can sell prod-

were able to react and thrive very

ucts from the store for the patrons to

quickly amidst the disruption. In my

snack on while watching the movie.

view, it’s very difficult for any business

Thanks to Novak and his colleagues’

to truly succeed if they haven’t made

work on its digital transformation strat-

significant headway in putting mem-

egy, Visions has been able to respond

bers first, and we’re seeing that being

rapidly to the disruption brought by the

played out as a result of the pandemic.”

pandemic. “An example is the emer-

A great example of this, says Novak,

gency loans we offered at the onset

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Thomas Novak Title: AVP/Digital

Industry: Financial services, credit union

Thomas P. Novak is a vastly experienced financial services leader. Today, he is AVP/Digital at Visions Federal Credit Union, where he is directly responsible for the digital strategy of the organization and overseeing all digital banking, digital payments, and the operations of public and secure digital platforms. Thomas leads on digital transformation in relation to member-facing technology platforms. At Visions, he actively works with marketing, business development, IT, lending and branch administration to assess automation needs and initiatives that include: UI/UX, SEO, digital analytics, voice of the customer, content management, vendor management and strategic planning. f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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Digital is essential.

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Today, digital is playing a bigger role than ever in how you support your members. Onboarding, banking, lending, and engaging with your account holders—digital has untapped potential to reinvent your members’ experiences.

It’s time for digital to do more—to meet new challenges and deliver necessities when your members need them most—to live up to its potential and help you realize yours.

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of the crisis,” he explains. “With that

simplicity for members and employ-

human-centric approach in mind, we

ees. At the same time, we created

developed a 0% APR personal loan

various digital processes, supporting

for up to $5,000 over a 12-month term

over $79m in residential mortgage

that was offered to any of our members

forbearances, over $150m in com-

in need. At the same time, we ensured

mercial mortgage forbearances,

that, even though we had to roll this out

19,280 consumer loan skip-a-pay-

quickly to help those in need, it was an

ments, $15m in SBA PPP loans, and

entirely digital process. Because of our

almost $2m in 0% emergency loans.

previous digital transformation efforts,

“The digital transformation efforts

this meant very little operational work

we have in place have served us really

and leveraging the same infrastructure

well. Even some of the ad hoc decisions

as we do for our other consumer loans.

we made along the way about how we

In turn, that created familiarity and

set up remote working capabilities for

OCTOBER 2020

“ Four key pillars defined the first phase of our digital strategy: online banking, mobile banking consumer lending, and consumer new account opening” — Thomas Novak, AVP/Digital, Visions Federal Credit Union

better, and therefore will take our customers. Through COVID, we learned that we can absolutely compete at that level. By working collectively towards objectives, we can compete against the biggest tech companies and financial institutions in the world.”

With members in mind, Novak explains that the impacts of COVID will be far reaching for people’s financial well-being. For many, he explains, sur-

our employees and the various enter-

vival mode has been the immediate

prise collaboration tools have really

new normal, and their job was to give

made the difference. Quite simply, we

them the tools they needed to succeed.

had the right infrastructure in place at

“We’re here to partner with them, and

the right time,” Novak adds. “From an

the benefit and joy they receive from

employee perspective, we were able

succeeding is the same that we get

to scale up very quickly regarding the

from being a successful cooperative. All

overall remote working rollout, and on

of the technology implementations we

our member side, we just accelerated

have carried out, such as modifications

the adoption of technologies that we

to our ATM fleet, a general increase in

had already been using. Having that

digital services like machine learning

bedrock in place has been a real dif-

powered interactions, and taking a multi-

ferentiator for us in comparison to other,

channel and empathetic approach to

similar organizations that may have

communicating with our members digi-

more manual processes in their back-

tally, have allowed us to help shepherd

end operations. There is a common

them through a challenging situation.”

misconception in the financial services

Naturally, Visions would not be able

sector that big tech companies like

to guide its members without adopt-

Google and Amazon can do technology

ing the latest technologies. One area f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

137

VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

“ We developed a 0% personal loan for up to $5,000 over a 12-month term that was offered to any of our members in need” — Thomas Novak, AVP/Digital, Visions Federal Credit Union

138

OCTOBER 2020

of interest, says Novak, is payments and how a member can access and move their money whenever they need.

Visions’ focus on digital banking has been around improving its money movement capabilities, he explains. “We’ve made several UI/UX improvements to the bill pay experience and changed our limits on debit and credit cards. Similarly, on our public-facing website, we’ve rolled out the option for members to pay their loans with a debit card or ACH from another financial institution.”

Other initiatives include the Business Performance Department and the use of robotic process automation (RPA), which Novak says have seen a continuous rate of adoption within the business. While not always directly evident to members, he explains that RPA has streamlined and improved processes to enable better member service and an environment where employees can more readily focus on the highest value work.

When it comes to messaging, Novak highlights a concerted effort to increase the use of digital marketing to communicate with Visions’ members. “We’ve had tremendous f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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VISIONS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

success with our COVID-related communications, ensuring that messages were personalized, focused on members’ real issues, and targeted specifically to them. Getting those messages out has allowed us to enhance the overall experience for members at a crucial time and align with our mission.”

Such success has been enabled by close collaboration with technology partners, says Novak. SWBC, for example, has been instrumental 140

in powering Visions’ payments and digital applications. For digital banking, Visions collaborates with Q2.

“ Through COVID, we’ve learned that we can absolutely compete at that level, and against the biggest tech companies and financial institutions in the world” — Thomas Novak, AVP/Digital, Visions Federal Credit Union

This partnership, Novak explains, has proved particularly beneficial during COVID as Visions has had to implement swift and ongoing changes to help members. The massive increase in digital banking adoption and active usage was exponential. Q2 played a key role in Visions being able to seamlessly support the growth in the channel and educate members about convenient functionality, such as Card Controls and FinSavvy, Visions’ personal financial management tool.

OCTOBER 2020

payments strategy which is instrumental for ongoing money movement use cases. Because of our partnership with Extractable, we are focused on growing a fully digital organization – not just a financial institution. There is a new normal because of COVID, and so we have to be ready for it.”

There is little doubt that Visions will be ready. In terms of digital banking and the broader digital organization, under current leadership the organization is several years into its plan. “Accelerating digital usage and enhancements across the other areas of the business is in the early stages, but that’s where that full, comprehen“One other critical partner in our suc-

sive digital business plan comes in. We

cess is Extractable, a San-Francisco

realize that ‘digital’ is synonymous with

based digital strategy and UX design

‘business’ – it’s not enough to rely on

agency,” Novak continues. “We’ve

one digital arm or business unit, we

been working with them on a com-

must plan, execute, and deliver as an

plete digital transformation strategy

agile organization to a greater degree

to build our digital business roadmap

than any fintech or tech company, and

beyond our first-generation strategy.

that’s an immensely exciting proposi-

This will include a fintech collabora-

tion because of the trust we have

tion framework that allows us to more

earned with our members.”

readily partner and do business with fintech’s as member needs evolve. It will also let us install a fully defined f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

141

142

Afore XXI-Banorte: delivering on the promise of services WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

OCTOBER 2020

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AFORE XXI-BANORTE

Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno, CDO/ CIO, explains why technology can improve customers’ lives and how Afore XXI-Banorte became one of the best funds in Mexico

T

here are many paths to reaching the distinction of being among ‘the best’ in a given industry: some favour customer-

centricity, others opt for a more technological approach or one that emphasises outstanding company culture. However, an elite species of 144

organisations have the vision and temerity to wed all three together and Afore XXI-Banorte is unmistakably part of this distinguished class.

It was with pleasure that we welcomed back Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer, who last spoke with us whilst still at PEMEX. Having joined XXI-Banorte in 2019, Mizuno says that he was looking for an opportunity to put his considerable technical experience in the public and private sectors to new use.

“At the start of my career technology was still seen as a ’back-office function’,” he explains. However, as digital transformation continues to redraw the landscape of so many industries, the world of finance has naturally undergone some changes of its own and amongst these Mizuno saw the chance to make a positive impact. “It’s a highly regulated OCTOBER 2020

145

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AFORE XXI-BANORTE

Digital Transformation Roadmap CLICK TO WATCH

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3:08

146 environment, so there are parameters

“ By [...] investing in the right technology, we hope to create comprehensive protection programmes for our employees” — Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno, CIO, Afore XXI-Banorte

OCTOBER 2020

that we need to follow whilst also factoring in engagement. In my opinion, we have to present a customer experience similar to retail and it’s been a lot of fun doing that.”

Mizuno’s credentials as a tech expert are attested by his previous tenure as an executive at Microsoft, a valuable experience which he says continues to influence his vision and leadership at XXI-Banorte. “I heard a very famous quote from Bill Gates: ‘We need banking. We don’t need banks anymore’.

What that means to me is that the idea

of financial services or banking has

of technological innovation, Mizuno is

changed after a long time of remain-

confident that the future of finance will

ing static.” As regulatory restrictions

belong to those who are willing to shape

become more flexible as old operating

it themselves. “You make the role, the

paradigms are reevaluated because

role doesn’t make you,” he emphasises.

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno Title: Chief Information Officer

Company: Afore XXI-Banorte

Industry: Pension Management

Location: Mexico

Mr. Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno served as Chief Information Officer and Corporate Vice President at PEMEX. He led one of the largest digital and business transformations in Latin America. This highly visible initiative allowed him to be awarded with the 2018 HITEC 50 and to be recognised two consecutive years as one of the Top 100 CIOs in Mexico by CIO Magazine for his outstanding performance in Pemex. He has held various senior leadership roles at Microsoft Corporation including Global Public Sector Manager, Managing Director Global Government Industry, and Public Sector Director Asia based in Singapore. Since October 2019 he serves as Chief Digital Officer for Afore XXI-Banorte, the largest fund in Mexico and Latin America. In 2001, he served as Advisor to the Finance Minister of Mexico. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and International Relations from Boston University and an MBA in General Management and Strategy from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

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Copyright © 2020 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.

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It also takes creating those ever-important moments of customer delight. Our holistic approach considers those pillars to position companies for sustainable growth through a compani unique and tailored digital transformation roadmap.

With our combined experience at their fingertips, companies can transform the user experience, reduce costs and improve their operational agility to adapt to today’s disruptive trends.

Yes, digital technology has redefined the entire business landscape, blurring the lines between structures, products, and services.

And it has also created a vast opportunity for companies to generate new revenue streams by embarking on their digital transformation journey.

Transforming a business is complex. There will be barriers. If it were easy, every business would have tackled it by now. But the risk of lagging is greater still: digital capabilities are critical to companies’ competitiveness and relevance and represent a strategic investment in their future. By relying on Accenture and Microsoft’s combined service Accentu capabilities, companies can unlock a globally scaled, joint solution to their obstacles and lead with a future-minded vision in their industries for growth and success. © 2020 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.

AFORE XXI-BANORTE

Cloud and Data Analytics CLICK TO WATCH

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150

In line with this thinking, Mizuno has

In addition to XXI-Banorte’s cultural

refocused XXI-Banorte’s IT department

agility, the core tech enabler for this

from its previously “reactive” state to a

swift transition was incontestably

far more strategic and ROI (return on

the cloud. It is this aspect, Mizuno

investment) focused entity. This, in turn,

argues, that is and will continue to

has made the entire company much

change the shape of finance to come.

more agile, which became invaluable

“Cloud is transforming XXI-Banorte; it

when the COVID-19 pandemic reached

is the cornerstone of what allows our

Mexico and introduced the now all-too-

information to be stored, processed

familiar operational challenges of social

and delivered, while also allowing new

distancing. “We were able to digitalise

applications to flourish. In terms of

and enable practically everybody to

cost efficiency, it was not practically

work from home in less than 48 hours,”

viable to do the things we can do now

states Mizuno.

with the cloud, because before that

OCTOBER 2020

2012

Year founded

$379M+ Revenue in US dollars

their strengths, reconfiguring project work from “marathons” to “sprints” (reflecting the more fast-paced structure of the company) and exploring the use of technology to benefit both employee and customer processes.

Moreover, Mizuno hopes to explore tech innovations which have yet to be fully realised in banking, such as

150

Number of employees

unlocking the full potential of data analytics and developing even greater cybersecurity capabilities. Regarding the latter point, he notes that Mexico has only recently made the presence of a Chief Security Officer mandatory,

we used huge national data centres that were highly expensive.” Its utility has given cloud an important place in XXI-Banorte’s ongoing digital strategy, but that isn’t the end of the story; since October 2019, Mizuno has been developing what he calls a ‘3.5-year digital roadmap for transformation’, something which he hopes will achieve a more unified future for the company, “You could look at it as working towards one vision and a singular platform,” he explains. In practice, this meant consolidating teams based on f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

151

AFORE XXI-BANORTE

A F O R E X X I B A N O R T E PA R T N E R S

152

Success in any field does not belong to one individual or entity alone. XXI-Banorte realises this and only seeks collaborators which are as productive, technically savvy and hungry to learn as itself. Three companies have earned distinction in XXIBanorte’s view as contributing particularly valuable services: Accenture, Microsoft and Telmex.

Accenture: ”Accenture is one of the only companies which has a truly holistic approach; it doesn’t just master technology, it also masters processes and what it takes. For us, its been a great partner: it helps us be diligent and plan how to bring things together through data management and enabled Banorte to be a data-driven organisation.”

OCTOBER 2020

Microsoft: “We run all of their productivity applications and they’re our cloud provider too: Azure. One of the key capabilities we need is to outreach potential customers and having those tools is essential. Microsoft provides these.”

Telmex: “We’ve had the opportunity to work with Telmex on our infrastructure. XXI-Banorte has been on a learning curve to make sure that we spot the right things together whilst also ensuring operations are not being hampered by too much security or too little.

Also, on the infrastructure side, we’ve started migrating our data with them. Overall, Telmex has been a fantastic collaborator, both in terms of security and structure.”

but that XXI-Banorte is already ahead

this, Mizuno makes it clear that a

of the curve in bolstering its cyber

well-developed workplace culture

defences. “We’ve been spending a lot

remains one of XXI-Banorte’s primary

on training people and we’re going to

concerns and singles out CEO Juan

continue to do so: we want to have the

Pablo Newman for special praise in

right people with the right certifica-

this regard. “He’s also an extremely

tions. By also investing in the right

approachable person and very driven

technology, we hope to create com-

by results. I think it’s especially impor-

prehensive protection programmes for

tant to have that vision in the company.”

our employees.”

Deftly handling the COVID-19-related

However, when it comes to digital

disruption with an always people-

transformation, an often overlooked

centric attitude, Mizuno states that

aspect can be the accompanying

Miguel has successfully conveyed

cultural shift which it entails. Despite

the message that XXI-Banorte is

Cyber Security CLICK TO WATCH

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153

AFORE XXI-BANORTE

truly a company that cares. “He has been very protective of people and we are still delivering some of the best results in the industry; it’s that fantastic combination which gives people a lot of trust.” Indeed, with the company maintaining its status as one of the country’s most beloved financial institutions, some might question how XXI-Banorte can maintain its competitive edge. For Mizuno, it comes down to a simple formula of quality, care and staying true to 154

the organisation’s proudly Mexican roots: “Providing a great service and making sure that you differentiate as

“ Technology is a never ending journey and, in times of crisis, that’s when we need to develop it the most” — Rodrigo Becerra Mizuno, CIO, Afore XXI-Banorte OCTOBER 2020

a Mexican company that it cares not only for the business but also the citizens of Mexico is important,” he says.

Reflecting on the challenges that 2020 has presented, Mizuno states that the difficult conditions have actually enabled XXI-Banorte’s IT department to thrive as creative, techbased solutions became a necessity to maintain business continuity. “We’ve had to move faster in our digital transformation to deliver services on the web or in the mobile applications,” he

155

explains. “XXI-Banorte has strived to

actually removed a lot of mental block-

deliver better apps for our employees

ers for some leaders. People can work

to do their job easier and better, which

effectively from home now and that’s

consequently means there is less traf-

deeply changed the conversation on

fic and customer needs are met faster.”

how offices and work days should be

When he looks ahead to 2021, Mizuno

structured.” And this reaches the crux

can proudly say that it won’t be a year

of what technology in banking is for

of ‘unfinished business’; COVID-19

Mizuno, a ‘conversation’: “Technology

has not dented the bank’s resolve

is a never ending journey and, in times

to transform into a truly 21st century

of crisis, that’s when we need to

operation. In fact, the pandemic may

develop it the most.”

have been the catalyst for change that IT has been waiting for. “COVID-19 has f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

156

OCTOBER 2020

Delivering a Valuable Experience for Customers WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

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VITALITY

Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, explains why delivering value and a superlative customer experience remains Vitality’s core focus

I

n an insurance market beginning to take stock of the potential for digital transformation to improve the tradi-

tional business, Vitality is a shining example of a company approaching a centuries-old industry from a refreshing new angle. Founded in 2004, 158

the company’s enduring focus has been not only to provide first-class health and life cover but to actively improve the quality of its customers’ lives.

Summarising this approach as “good for them, good for us, good for society”, Vitality has even set the ambitious target of encouraging 100mn people to get 20% more active by 2025. Helping to explain how the company is achieving this and so many other impressive developments, Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, spoke with us on why driving value and a superior customer experience is so vital.

Priestley started with Vitality early on as a Sales Director for a joint project launched between South African company Discovery Ltd and Prudential PLC, one of the UK’s most established insurance companies. Now in his 16th year at Vitality - taking on the role of CDO in 2017 OCTOBER 2020

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f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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Dynatrace: unlocking the science of operational performance Dave Anderson, Brand and Digital Evangelist, describes how Dynatrace can optimise company performance in an increasingly complex IT landscape A specialist in accelerating digital transformation, Dynatrace is a software solutions provider founded in 2005 and headquartered in Massachusetts.

“As cloud environments become more complex, the underlying software needs to work flawlessly,” says Dave Anderson, Brand and Digital Evangelist.

“Dynatrace provides intelligence into the performance of a company’s operations and critically applies a layer of AI to enable DevOps teams to work more efficiently.” The company facilitates this by enabling the fast comprehension of where performance issues in an environment are, either automatically or through direct investigation.

Recognising that digital transformation is no longer a choice but rather an inescapable and exponentially growing process, Anderson considers Dynatrace as essential providing its clients with “intelligence and confidence to ensure that these complex applications are working the way that they should.”

One of its partners in particular, insurance company Vitality, understands the value of Dynatrace’s technology and is taking it in exciting new directions.

“Vitality is a great client because it’s using our platform not just to understand their singular applications, but rather their entire digital experience.” After all, while insurance companies might be comparable in terms of products, it is by offering a superior customer experience that they

Dave Anderson @ Dynatrace

can truly differentiate and this is what Dynatrace helps them to achieve.

Stating that Vitality’s emphasis on insurance fused with incentive-based health and wellness resonates strongly with him personally, Anderson compliments the company for “really understanding how the performance of every system, API connection and call” factors into its success. It is by working closely with clients like Vitality that Dynatrace is able to determine how best to improve its own services, “Our culture is predicated on not settling for the status quo and continuing to innovate,” Anderson continues. “Dynatrace thrives on exactly the same transformation that our customers are undergoing.”

With a platform based on AI (artificial intelligence), one of the fastest growing enterprise technologies in the market, both in terms of adoption and development, Dynatrace’s proven services are likely to evolve concurrently, “You’re not going to see an end to the improvement of AI and automation.”

However, Anderson also acknowledges that an important portion of any digital transformation is actually strongly rooted in culture. “It’s not about tools or platforms,” he emphasises. “[Vitality] has a fantastic culture and that will allow them to continue to innovate. I’m really excited about what they’re going to do next.”

VITALITY

“ When I joined the company it was clear right away that Vitality had a very different proposition for health insurance” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

- Priestley says that what inspired him about the organisation was its aspiration to do something fundamentally different within insurance. “The industry had remained relatively unchanged for a long time,” he recalls. “It was an uninspiring marketplace with very similar product offerings. When I joined the company it was clear right away that Vitality had a very different proposition for health insurance.” That proposition was integrating insurance with wellness, something which he remarks has

162

started to scale exponentially since 2004. “Now, almost all of the players in the market have some kind of wellness component in their proposition.

However, at the time, I would say we were amongst the first to introduce it.”

More recently, the evolution of technology is another key development that Priestley has observed, specifically the ability to monitor peoples’ health remotely, conduct video consultations, utilise AI-powered diagnosis tools, symptom checkers and more. Far from being simply restricted to a GP surgery or hospital, modern healthcare can be brought directly to people’s homes and the OCTOBER 2020

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Dave Priestley Title: Chief Digital Officer

Company: Vitality

Dave has worked within healthcare insurance for the last 24 years, where he has held a number of executive management positions with CIGNA Healthcare, PruHealth and now Vitality. Dave was a member of the executive management team which launched PruHealth in 2004. Over the last 14 years, Dave has played a key role in shaping the strategy from a start-up business to becoming established under the Vitality brand as the 4th largest player in the market with 10% market share.

Dave began his career as a pricing underwriter before moving into sales and distribution and was the Sales Director at CIGNA healthcare where he helped to grow the client portfolio to in excess of ÂŁ100M API and broaden the distribution strategy into new channels and markets such as sickness absence management and dental insurance.

Dave joined PruHealth to help launch the business and establish the distribution strategy and operations. After driving rapid new business growth, he assumed overall responsibility for distribution at Vitality following the acquisition of Standard Life Healthcare. More recently, Dave has assumed executive responsibility for digital acquisition and customer retention and is now Vitality’s Chief Digital Officer with responsibility for digital strategy and product management as well as the wider change portfolio.

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163

Future-Proofing Insurers by building Resilient and Adaptable operating model Through our innovative framework and methodologies, TCS has aligned to the evolving priorities of Insurers to help them stay lean, nimble and finding newer ways to create value and ensure they stay ahead in the market.

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TCS is helping customers prepare for business 4.0 Vinay Singhvi, Business Unit Head of BFSI for the UK and Ireland, describes TCS’ commitment to helping clients navigate digital transformation

Vinay Singhvi @ TCS

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is a company that almost requires no introduction: one of the largest

started what has become more than a 10-year partnership with the brand, which now, according

and most innovative companies in India with a global reach and almost 450,000 employees, it is a true leader in IT and consulting services. “TCS is

to Singhvi, “has got one of the best brand recalls within the UK market.” Furthermore, their close integration goes beyond a simple supplier-client

one of the world’s largest and most recognised brands in its field. Our focus has always been to help customers drive their growth and transformation journeys,” states Vinay Singhvi, Business Unit Head of BFSI (banking, financial

relationship, as Singhvi describes, “We do not see ourselves as separate from Vitality. It’s about us working together to understand and implement their strategy and help them in achieving their purpose. Our teams that work as part of Vitality

services and insurance) for the UK and Ireland.

see themselves as more Vitality than TCS, that’s how deeply integrated they are.”

“The way we work is primarily about keeping customers at the centre and planning everything

A strong believer in preparing for the next

around them to ensure we are aligned to both their strategy and their business goals,” he explains.

generation of digitally-inflected business (business 4.0), TCS is prioritising a three pillar framework for

Fundamentally, TCS champions an approach that is cutting-edge without sacrificing the human touch, something that Singhvi considers will only become more important as technology keeps evolving. “It’s not about machines replacing

its customers to help them lead in the new normal based on ‘purpose-centricity’, ‘building resilience’ and ‘being adaptable.’” Singhvi also details the company’s ‘25 by 25’ vision: “25 by 25 illustrates that, in our view, by the year 2025, all our systems

humans; it’s about the augmentation that needs to happen and how hyperautomation and AI (artificial

and ways of working will be aligned, so that only 25% of TCS workforce will work out of TCS

intelligence) will enrich the entire human experience.”

facilities at any time. In this regard, we are very excited that TCS is taking a leadership position on new ways of working, not just in the UK but

Recognising early on that Vitality’s incentivebased health and wellness insurance platform held revolutionary potential for the industry, TCS

globally.

VITALITY

insurance industry has followed suit.

are consolidated into one easy-to-

The balance in incorporating these

manage platform for customers.

exciting new possibilities at Vitality,

166

Digital transformation has not been

he continues, lies in the unification

without its challenges; established five

of its digital and overall business

years before the ‘digital native’ era of

strategies. “It’s less about delivering a

businesses, Vitality initially began at

digital strategy in isolation and more

a disadvantage but quickly recovered:

about considering how the digital

“We were established on a more tra-

team can support the company in

ditional technology model with legacy

achieving its goals.” One of the sig-

systems in place,” Priestley states.

nificant journeys that this mindset has

“One of our most important challenges

led to is the creation of “one Vitality

has been reconciling our culture with

experience”, wherein health insur-

the digital world.” Investing time and

ance and life insurance investments

resources in building trust amongst its

OCTOBER 2020

Vitality - Digital Strategy CLICK TO WATCH

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167 stakeholders by hiring teams of digital

implement relatively small changes

specialists to help accelerate trans-

in the experience,” he says.

formation, Vitality has succeeded in

One of Vitality’s core innovations

marrying tech advances with its core

is its member’s app. Available on both

purpose: making people healthier. The

iOS and Android, Priestley claims that

company’s new Advisor Hub, utilising

the app “really gets to the heart of

microservices instead of monolithic

what’s different about Vitality from tra-

alternatives, is a prime example of

ditional insurance products.” Serving

the new agility and efficiency being

as the company’s primary interface

unlocked. “Our strategy is aimed at

with its customers, policyholders are

breaking up those back end legacy

able to link their other health track-

systems into multiple components.

ing apps, Fitbits, Garmins, Apple

This allows us to iterate rapidly on the

Watches and other IoT (internet of

front end at lower cost by not needing

things) devices to it. The app then

to return to the back end in order to

converts physical activity data into f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

VITALITY

“ It’s less about delivering a digital strategy in isolation and more about considering how the digital team can support the company in achieving its goals” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

not have been able to implement such a rewarding programme without the help of its many suppliers and partners.

One partner, TCS (Tata Consulting Services), has been instrumental in helping Vitality deliver its new services.

Based in Mumbai, India, TCS is a multinational IT and consulting company with a truly global reach of 149 locations spread across 46 countries.

‘Vitality Points’ and provides access to

Regarding Vitality’s special relationship

incentive-based rewards when they

with TCS, Priestley had this to say: “We

achieve certain point-based targets.

don’t have the scale as a business to

168 “The app will show how your points are accumulating and what rewards you’ve unlocked. We’re increasingly building more and more reward fulfillment into that interface,” he explains. For example, if a customer earned a certain amount of ‘Vitality Points’ for working out a pre-set number of times per week, they would be entitled to a free coffee, movie download or more. “It also holds your policy information,” continues Priestley. “If for any reason you need to quickly access your policy details, renewal day or something else, it’s all in there.”

Conceiving such an innovative way of encouraging people to stay healthy and active is impressive, but Vitality would OCTOBER 2020

be efficient at some of the technical

D I D Y O U K N O W?

Vitality has announced that Coronavirus (COVID-19) tests will be available to its health members as of 29 July 2020. The test will be able to accurately tell whether a patient has the virus currently or ever did in the past.

All tests will be provided though its partnership with DocTap, a face-to-face GP provider. “DocTap are proud to be working with Vitality in the fight against COVID-19. Our ambition is to provide the most accurate, convenient, affordable and fastest COVID-19 tests on the market, backed up by our outstanding team of doctors,� said Dan Faber, founder of DocTap.

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169

VITALITY

Vitality - Challenges CLICK TO WATCH 4:48

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OCTOBER 2020

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“ Philosophically, Vitality focuses on the outcome we’re looking for and then works out what technology solution would be best” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

delivery skills necessary; we’ve found it far easier to find a partner to supply those skills. TCS is a partner that really understands our business: Vitality’s fast and dynamic culture is different to other insurance companies. TCS realises this and that’s allowed it to embed within our teams; we don’t call on it simply when we’ve got a big project; TCS helps us to continually improve our customers’ experience across the board.”

Vitality’s commitment to providing its customers with the stellar level of service it has become known for was thoroughly tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our number one priority was the welfare of our staff,” Priestley declares, “but we also had to make sure that they could still deliver first-class service to our members.” Mobilising its IT operations department to quickly find a workable solution, he reports that the company managed to accommodate its full complement of staff (1,500) with remote working capabilities within a period of approximately 10 days, a significant logistical achievement. In parallel, Vitality rapidly innovated its customer proposition by adding a new category of benefits under the banner f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

171

VITALITY

“ If you just concentrate on trying to deliver value for your customers and creating an exceptional experience, more often than not, you’re going to do the right thing” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

users. “Philosophically, Vitality focuses on the outcome we’re looking for and then works out what technology solution would be best.” Not allowing the technology itself to guide his approach, Priestley says that the current applications of blockchain would not benefit the company’s customers at this time, although explorations of AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) had revealed their potential for ‘proactive servicing’. “You can then

172

of ‘Vitality at home’. This involved nego-

reach out to customers and ask, ‘How

tiating commercial arrangements to

can we help?’ We’re also using ML

provide members with discounts linked

models to power personalisation in the

to physical activity and integrating with

experience, as well as RPA (robotic

these partners so that a fully digital end

process automation) to speed up

to end experience was up and running

admin and allow our staff to focus on

within three weeks of lockdown starting.

value-adding work instead.”

“That was a big success for us; we

Although 2020 has been a cata-

were still able to provide comprehen-

lyst year for change across so many

sive wellness benefits to our members

aspects of life globally, Vitality retains

by capitalising on our cultural assets.”

the same level of commitment to

In many ways the achievement encap-

making people healthier that it always

sulated the thoroughness of Vitality’s

has. There can be no mistake: the

strategy and demonstrated its adept

insurance industry is changing, with

digital skills. It also demonstrates

or without COVID-19, but the desire

Priestley’s insistence that any tech

for digital transformation which

innovation introduced has a functional

the pandemic’s restrictions have

purpose in delivering quality service to

introduced is here to stay. “Things

OCTOBER 2020

Vitality - AI + Robotics CLICK TO WATCH

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4:46

173

will be different to how they were,”

to achieve their goals. That’s

says Priestley. “For Vitality, that’s a

what keeps Vitality so grounded.”

good thing because we’ve always

Ultimately, Vitality demonstrates

thrived on evolution.” When asked to

that an insurance company’s worth

summarise what has enabled him to

is derived from its ability to improve

spearhead such a successful digital-

the quality of its customers’ lives and

business strategy, he emphasises

devoting itself wholeheartedly to

that customer-centricity is always at

that goal. “If you just concentrate on

the forefront of his mind and always

trying to deliver value for your cus-

yields the best results. “People

tomers and creating an exceptional

always show a lot of interest in talk-

experience, more often than not,

ing about particular technologies,

you’re going to do the right thing.”

but what’s more important is focusing on how to support customers f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

174

Commercial Bank of Dubai: Leading Digital Customer Service WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

OCTOBER 2020

PRODUCED BY

MICHAEL BANYARD

175

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COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

Stefan Kimmel, COO, explains how COVID-19 created digitisation opportunities in banking and why customer-centricity is essential to CBD’s operations

A

lthough the COVID-19 pandemic is causing the banking sector to necessarily reassess so many of its core processes,

there is one focus that should always remain the same: good customer service. Formed in 1969, the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) was built on 176

a solid foundation of determination to improve the lives of the UAE’s citizens. Originally a joint venture between Commerzbank, Chase Manhatten Bank and Commercial Bank of Kuwait, CBD became a public company in 1982 and continues to be so to this day. The bank maintains a steadfast dedication to customer-centricity skillfully combined with visionary leadership, thereby allowing it to navigate the latest technological trends and produce optimal outcomes.

Joining the company in February 2020, on the eve of the global coronavirus lockdown, Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, says that the pandemic was a “curveball” at the start of his tenure to say the least. “I hadn’t even had the chance to meet all of my staff before everything was suddenly via

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COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

“ After many years of telling clients what to do, I figured I wanted to get my hands dirty. Of course, it’s far more challenging but it’s also a lot more rewarding”

178

— Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai

tory, trajectory and outstanding track

Microsoft Teams or Zoom,” he recalls.

and profitability that captured his atten-

Coming from a long-term career working

tion, as well as its promising commitment

at some of the world’s most renowned

to digital transformation. The latter, he

consulting firms, Kimmel recognised

explains, is a direct result of CEO Bernd

the opportunity of working at CBD as a

van Linder’s clear and committed long-

chance to put his consulting advice into

term strategy.

execution. “After many years of tell-

more challenging but it’s also a lot more rewarding.” It was the bank’s proud hisrecord of consistent revenue growth

Part of the new vanguard of ‘next-

ing clients what to do, I figured I wanted

gen’ COOs, those who maintain a

to get my hands dirty. Of course, it’s far

tech-focused outlook and holistic (non-siloed) team structures, Kimmel combines this with his outsider experience gained from working as a consultant. Having gained a solid understanding of what good performance means in a banking context, he is determined to achieve nothing short of the finest results for a bank in the Middle East. When considering how these outcomes will be achieved at CBD, Kimmel emphasises that technological advances will be crucial, although not, perhaps, in the way that

OCTOBER 2020

CBD Digi Account CLICK TO WATCH

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0:40

179 many people think. “There’s always

integrated into their cloud platforms

a lot of talk about everything that’s

is mind-boggling,” continues Kimmel.

going on in the market. However, I’d

“Regardless of whether it was AI (artifi-

say, in recent years, technology has

cial intelligence), DevOps, or any other

been far more ‘evolutionary’ than

cutting-edge technology, it would have

‘disruptive’,” that is to say: it has been

previously taken large investments

maturing and better applying emerg-

spread over several years to develop.

ing tech rather than creating new

Now, everything is an API (application

paradigms entirely. Part of the reason

programming interface) and you can

for this lies in banking’s status as a

just plug it in; you’re not stuck with a

highly regulated industry, but the other

10-year-old infrastructure, you can lit-

is a direct result of a core technology:

erally just switch one API for another.”

cloud. “If you look at the big platform

CBD is a bank wholly committed

providers – Google, Amazon, Microsoft,

to lean and agile thinking in its tech

etc – the number of capabilities they’ve

infrastructure, but Kimmel knows that f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

Partners in Possibility Collaboration drives business results and consumer value in commerce and financial services.

Proud to partner with Commercial Bank of Dubai

fiserv.com

Driving Transformation for Commercial Bank of Dubai Fiserv is one of the key partners facilitating Commercial Bank of Dubai’s modernisation campaign. Here, we explore how the company became a leader.

Fiserv is dedicated to helping businesses and individuals move money and information in a secure and reliable manner. A strong believer in the power of technology to enable solutions for daily challenges and conscious that innovation can take on many forms, the company’s approach is cogently summed up in its core aspiration, “To move money and information in a way that moves the world.”

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) is one client in particular that has been reaping the benefits of working with Fiserv. Partnered since 2009, CBD has benefited from using FirstVision™, a single platform, to support all their credit, debit, prepaid and merchant acquiring

Looking ahead and considering the constantly shifting financial services landscape CBD, and other clients in the region, will benefit from FirstVision facilitating fast-track deployment for new capabilities using high level parameter controls and advanced, real-time APIs. The platform will deliver operational and compliance efficiencies whilst ensuring CBD are able to provide a high level experience for all their customers.

Partners in Possibility Collaboration drives business results and consumer value in commerce and financial services.

Proud to partner with Commercial Bank of Dubai

fiserv.com

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“Money is a part of our everyday lives and we’re committed to enabling people to move and manage it with ease, speed and convenience.”

processing needs whilst also utilising fraud management and prevention capabilities.

This scalable, resilient and robust system ensures consistent service delivery and performance, coupled with localised support in the UAE.

“The potential for payments transformation in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is massive. It is a market with around 350 million cards in circulation (credit, debit and prepaid) and, at this stage, the MEA digital payments market remains highly underpenetrated because it is still heavily reliant (80%) on cash payments,” states Maalouf . “The MEA region has the lowest proportion of digital transactions with a ratio of 17% compared to 74% for North America and 51% for Europe. Therefore, the growth potential is significant in this region.” working, not just in the UK but globally.”

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COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

182

this is only half the battle. While most

and development of teams them-

executives in the banking space know

selves. “We bring in fresh talent when

what ‘good’ looks like, it is, neverthe-

it’s needed, but we primarily focus

less, fully realised by few because of

on training and upskilling. Doing so

numerous real-world complications

requires us to constantly stay on top

(legacy infrastructure, budget limita-

of our game and drive that transforma-

tions, sub-optimal team organisation,

tion along with them. I was blessed

etc). Where CBD makes the difference

to come into an environment that has

is in two key areas, both linked with

that top-level ‘buy-in’,” says Kimmel.

a superior cultural outlook. The first

A mid-sized bank with dynamic team

is maintaining a clear vision starting

structures and closely aligned man-

with senior leadership and permeat-

agement capable of making changes

ing the whole organisation, while the

fast, it has ultimately been these key

second involves consistent investment

differentiators which have seen CBD

OCTOBER 2020

surpass its competitors during the

its IT and operations teams, CBD was

challenging circumstances of COVID-

able to make the transition to remote

19: “Most organisations, not just banks,

working without any deterioration of

had to stop investment, stop hiring, or

its service levels. In fact, reflecting on

even let go of staff. Because CBD had

the effect that the pandemic has had

that clarity of vision and focus, we did

on banking generally, Kimmel goes

the opposite.”

on to state that coronavirus may have

However, despite its strong culture,

inadvertently spurred on the next

which allowed it to weather the onset

wave of both tech and customer ser-

of COVID-19, Kimmel makes it clear

vice transformation. “The commonly

that the challenge has been no less

agreed notion and sentiment now is

difficult, “It was very hard initially; no

that COVID-19 has been one of the

bank is naturally set up for a scenario

biggest digitisation boosters we’ve

like that.” Through the dedication of

seen in a long time, because, all of

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Stefan Kimmel Title: Chief Operating Officer

Industry: Banking

Location: United Arab Emirates Stefan has over 20 years of experience in digital transformation, technology management and innovation with a range of globally leading organisations, including BCG, Oliver Wyman and IBM. Prior to joining CBD, he was the Leader Digital Technology, Financial Services at PwC for the Middle East. Stefan holds a Master’s in Business Management from the University of Nuremberg as well as a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Georgia in the US. Joined CBD in Feb. 2020.

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

183

We are proud to be working with CBD to accelerate their payments modernization and digital To maintain its leadership position as the transformation programme region’s ‘bank of tomorrow’, CBD identified Grow your bank the world’s most in launching the need for with greater flexibility advanced cloud payments solutions new service propositions, higher straightthrough processing, API enablement, volantetech.com and real-time payments readiness as key payments modernization goals.

Compliance with global and regional crossborder initiatives, and easier integration to blockchain networks, were also important criteria. At the core of this modernization

The CBD and Volante Technologies Partnership effort is Volante’s cloud-native VolPay, providing unified end-to-end processing of domestic and international payments, including foreign exchange/FX, real-time and cross-border payments. By deploying VolPay in the cloud, the bank is able to achieve all its modernization objectives, while benefiting from increased business resiliency, reduced operational and infrastructure costs, and greater innovation for its customers.

We are proud to be working with CBD to accelerate their payments modernization and digital transformation programme Grow your bank with the world’s most advanced cloud payments solutions volantetech.com

“ There’s always a lot of talk about everything that’s going on in the market. However, I’d say, in recent years, technology has been far more ‘evolutionary’ than ‘disruptive’” — Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai

capabilities have received widespread industry praise, including ‘Most Innovative Bank’, ‘Best digital bank’, and ‘Best mobile app’. According to

a sudden, our clients couldn’t come

Kimmel, “the journey started in our

into the branches anymore.” In line with

digital channels – building capabili-

this, CBD subsequently announced in

ties and making them slicker. We will

a July press release that digital adop-

continue to add more and continuously

tion among its customers had risen

improve our customer experience

significantly. Kimmel states that this

and improve it. Digital transformation

migration provided the bank with a dual

is a never ending journey.” It is by

learning opportunity: learning how to

combining a digital interface with its

optimise functionality and convenience

customer-centric ethos that CBD

for the online platform, and also finding

strives to create value, something

out how CBD’s in-branch experience

which, Kimmel admits, is often no easy

can be improved to drive engagement.

Customer-centricity and digital transformation go hand-in-hand at CBD: a kind of conceptual möbius strip wherein each simultaneously develops and reinforces the other.

With developments already well underway prior to the start of Kimmel’s tenure, CBD’s digital banking f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

185

COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

1969

Year founded

AED1.412bn Revenue H1, 2020

186

AED 530m Net Profit H1, 2020

1,300+ Number of employees

OCTOBER 2020

“ The commonly agreed notion and sentiment now is that COVID-19 has been one of the biggest digitisation boosters we’ve seen in a long time” — Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai

187

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COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

task. “Every organisation these days gives that as their vision statement, but it’s difficult to drive that message through.” To accomplish this goal, the bank maintains performance management KPIs for every employee backed by operating procedures to ensure each customer interaction is quality controlled to a high standard. “After any changes, we ask our customers for real-time feedback,” he continues.

“If they don’t like it, we keep improving it. CBD is constantly investing 188

“ CBD is creating leadership in digital customer-centricity and digital customer services. For me, that is the mantra we are pursuing” — Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai

in the journey and driving customer

that it will increasingly do less and less

satisfaction.”

in-house, as that’s no longer sustain-

Pivotal to the development of CBD’s

able or competitive,” explains Kimmel.

digital transformation has been the

As such, he provided examples of two

establishment of strong partner

collaborators: Ingenuous and Fiserv.

ecosystems with trustworthy and

A decision-support company based

influential companies. “The direction

in Melbourne, Australia, Ingenuous

banking is heading towards means

distinguishes itself through extensive global experience in its field and specially-tailored strategies for its clients. “Ingenuous is working with us in the compliance space. As you know, compliance is an ever-growing field of increasing complexity and demand.

The company has been working with us on KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) to

OCTOBER 2020

189

C B D : D R I VI N G CU ST O M ER S A T I SFACT I O N When it comes to good customercentric operations, Kimmel believes that speed, quality of response, transparency and cost are important metrics for measuring success. He provides the following example of CBDs development protocol during its recent digital onboarding cycle:

“If it takes a customer 20 screens to open a digital account, that equates to about six minutes and will likely incur higher drop-off rates. CBD has managed to reduce the number of screens for the process on our digital app to five, meaning that it can be done in less than a minute. That’s a much better customer journey.” f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

“ CBD will continue to develop its alreadystrong channels like the retail space, but we have a pipeline of new and exciting capabilities lined up” — Stefan Kimmel, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai

in genuous

constantly improve and enhance our compliance capabilities.” Fiserv is a global leader in fintech and innovative payments experiences to suit the modern world. “CBD is working with Fiserv in the omnichannel space; it is an enabler that allows us to switch between ATMs and kiosks, which is an important aspect of driving a uniform experience across the different channels CBD operates in.”

Reflecting on what CBD has accomplished in 2020 despite the disruption,

intuition

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191 Kimmel states that he is proud. However,

starting with SMBs (small-medium

he quickly adds a caveat that, at least

businesses) and then scaling up to

in the new, tech-driven world of bank-

more complex entities, the bank will

ing, everything is always in a state of

be continuing its winning combination

‘becoming’. “In the technology space,

of tech-enabled customer-centric oper-

nothing’s ever finished because

ations as it moves into 2021. “CBD is

there’s always something new on the

creating leadership in digital customer-

rise. CBD will continue to develop

centricity and digital customer services,”

its already-strong channels like the

Kimmel emphasises. “For me, that is

retail space, but we have a pipeline

the mantra we are pursuing.”

of new and exciting capabilities lined up, including automation and AI-based controls and the constant renewal of our IT architecture.” Currently on the verge of facilitating full digital onboarding in the corporate space, f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

192

OCTOBER 2020

193

DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN BANKING WRITTEN BY

JONATHAN CAMPION

PRODUCED BY

JUSTIN BRAND

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

FBN BANK (UK) LIMITED

Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer of FBN Bank UK, tells us that by harnessing banking tech, his team is working better this year than ever

I

n the business world in 2020, as in all parts of life in this most testing of years, we all seem to be ‘looking for the posi-

tives’. It is clear that positivity to Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer of First Bank of Nigeria UK, is not an empty buzzword, but something that comes 194

naturally. Positivity is something that Castro has in spades – and, as we learn during a wide-ranging and animated interview, it has been the driving force behind FBN Bank’s success in recent years.

THE THREAT OF COVID-19 TO THE BANKING SECTOR Castro’s optimism is on show when the conversation turns to the turbulence of the last five months.

When he says that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced FBN Bank to adapt to a new reality, he adds that this has been welcome. “These challenges have allowed us to learn, and to eliminate the ways in which we are inefficient. This allows us to do more of what we are doing well, and actually to learn and evolve. Being under stress has allowed us to push our boundaries”.

OCTOBER 2020

195

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FBN BANK (UK) LIMITED

“ If you don’t push yourself, you don’t learn.

This is how our team felt at the beginning.

It was difficult, it was challenging – but now they are not just doing it; they are enjoying it” — Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer, FBN Bank UK 196

Discussing how the coronavirus crisis will change the banking sector in the long-term, Castro is similarly bullish: “The future is going to be different to what we used to. There is no doubt we are not coming back to what we had. But if we take the opportunity to eliminate our inefficiencies, we can learn, we can become much more collaborative, and much more data and technology driven”.

HARNESSING NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGY Castro joined FBN Bank two years ago, tempted by an ambitious new project after a successful 17-year career in consulting. He was tasked with overseeing the bank’s digital transformation, at a time when adopting the latest technologies was becoming ever more crucial for the finance

OCTOBER 2020

Digitising FBN banks operations CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:10

197 industry. In light of what has happened

customer experience to our institu-

to in-person banking in 2020, making

tional clients in the UK and Europe.

sure that FBN’s remote banking keeps

As Castro talks about spinning

its clients happy is now a matter of life

various unfamiliar plates – AI machine

and death for the organisation.

learning, cloud systems, 5G, automa-

With the investments made in

tion, data analytics – with the margins

Oracle’s next-generation banking

for error shrinking by the day, his

solution, FBN Bank is now at the

innate positivity shines through once

forefront of payment innovation.

more. “Before you needed to create

With an ISO20022 based data model,

the data warehouses, for people to

SWIFT gpi, PSD2 and open banking

self-serve. Now we have intelligent

technology leadership, modern tech-

algorithms, machine learning, like an

nology architecture, and machine

enterprise Google Search function-

learning for STP improvements,

ality Io-Tahoe, where our business

FBN is now able to offer a superior

users can search for the type of data f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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The bank upgraded its Oracle FLEXCUBE Core Banking system, introduced a new work�ow from Oracle, revamped its online banking system, and launched its mobile app, all within 9 months.

compliance. With Oracle’s best in class Digital Experience and a modern open API centric digital platform, FBN UK, is able to deliver a consistent and an enriched digital experience to its private banking and corporate clients across Europe and Africa.

Oracle’s open platform has also set a stage for the bank to take advantage of applications that can create e�ciencies.

The upgrade brought forth immense opportunities to digitize and innovate operations, while improving security and

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E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Santiago Castro Title: Chief Data Officer

Company: FBN Bank (UK) Limited

Industry: Banking

Location: London, UK

Santiago joined FBNUK in 2018 and has been in charge of directing and overseeing the digital transformation of the Bank delivering a robust data governance, and information management and automation of the Bank’s processes and services. He is also providing data, technology & business leadership to facilitate cultural change, communicating with diverse teams to take projects from start to finish by aligning people, processes and technology into one integrated vision. He has delivered several technology projects, supporting business governance with data and better reporting, creating automated risk management controls, and improving transaction monitoring analysis to ensure compliance.

Before joining the Bank, Santiago worked in various consulting firms for numerous clients in finance, insurance and other industries. He has 19 years’ experience in providing business leadership and overseeing transformational change, working in management consulting and stakeholder engagement. In addition, he has overseen extensive technology implementations, change management and project oversight.

Santiago has experience in communication focused on successful delivery, technical excellence and user adoption while developing relationships with diverse partners and clients. Santiago holds a Master in Decision Sciences from the London School of Economics.

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

199

FBN BANK (UK) LIMITED

200

OCTOBER 2020

“ It’s about being competitive and resilient. As you become efficient, you also become more resilient” — Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer, FBN Bank UK

201

Managing challenges within the workplace culture CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:01

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

Increase the visibility of unstructured data.

Improve security, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

Streamline data migration

Apply rich media analysis

Manage regulatory compliance

Respond to DSARs

Discover sensitive data

Clean up ROT data

Discover more ›

“ Augmented intelligence is bringing in technology as an ally. I think that is kind of my style: it’s really about helping people, empowering them to realise their own capabilities” — Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer, FBN Bank UK

example, automation. In bringing in machines as an ally to our people, we have created a lot of automation that has helped us to actually reduce

that they need. They can now leave

time on dealing with repetitive types

the machine to go discover the data

of tasks, and in doing so becoming

for them, which gives them more time

more efficient”.

for other things”.

Of all the technological solutions

FBN BANK’S DIGITAL STRATEGY

that FBN Bank has introduced, Castro

A topic that Castro keeps coming

is most keen to credit automation

back to is resilience; being prepared

and machine learning for improv-

for all scenarios. Under his leader-

ing efficiency. “Technology is key

ship, FBN Bank had the foresight to

because it allows us to collaborate

invest in digital solutions that enable

more. Now we can share the same

and simplify remote banking for its

data platforms, where we all interact.

clients – and remote working for its

With a little automation, we can actually communicate and help each other more easily”. In many companies, staff see automation at best as a hindrance, at worst as a threat; but at FBN, it creates harmony. As Castro puts it: “A lot is about trying to realise efficiency gains, trying to empower our employees to do more with, for f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

203

FBN BANK (UK) LIMITED

staff – before the coronavirus outbreak

yourself, you don’t learn. This is how our

forced consumers and employees out

team felt at the beginning. It was difficult,

of physical banks. Castro recognises

it was challenging – but now they are not

that the banking sector as a whole was

just doing it; they are enjoying it”. Castro

much better prepared for this situation

continues the metaphor: “Flexibility and

than it would have been five years ago.

collaboration only work because we

Becoming efficient five years ago has

empower our people with technology,

allowed them to be resilient today:

and with the right skills, to be able

“It’s about being competitive and

to always learn and jump in and help

resilient. As you become efficient,

their colleagues”.

you also become more resilient”.

He illustrates the point with a meta204

The biggest factor in the digital journey is the total commitment of top

phor. “Actually it’s a little bit like when

management. After this is invest-

you want to learn to swim. You need

ment in the right technology. Unless

to jump in the water. If you don’t push

the team owns and understands the

FBN banks way of creating a smart team CLICK TO WATCH

OCTOBER 2020

|

1:56

“ Being under stress has allowed us to push our boundaries” — Santiago Castro, Chief Data Officer, FBN Bank UK

because the fintech startups that are born into next-generation technology are already comfortable with this completely new model”.

FBN is at the forefront of digital technology. Its core banking technology partners have enabled the

technology and its benefits, they will

bank to deliver superior corporate

face hurdles in its implementation and

banking services that leverage

the outcome will be sub-optimal.

best of breed technology, such as

He also acknowledges that in the

microservices architecture, API first

banking world, companies pay a

approach, machine learning and

heavy price for standing too long

Artificial Intelligence.

on the diving board. “Now, if you stop, you will be left behind. And that’s kind of what has happened to the very big established companies.

Their life expectancy used to be hundreds of years – now it’s 20 to 30, f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

205

Truevo Payments: Driving Digitalisation and Innovation 206

WRITTEN BY

GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY

JUSTIN BRAND

OCTOBER 2020

207

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

TRUEVO PAYMENTS

Charles Grech, Chief of Operations at Truevo Payments, on the evolution of Truevo Payments and the digital transformation trends within finance

J

oining Truevo Payments in 2014, Charles Grech, Chief of Operations at Truevo Payments has been a part of the licensed

financial institution for six years. Grech began his career in finance in 1995 at the Bank of Valletta.

208

Grech has also held positions and co-founded Agechecked.com and PNNY Consult prior to joining Truevo Payments.

“Our motto is simple,” explains Grech when asked about the evolution of Truevo Payments’ business strategy. “It’s everything for entrepreneurs. Our founder’s vision dates back 20 years ago, to try and make a significant difference within the payment industry. We have a very clear business niche in mind, which is to provide a supportive network for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The company itself has evolved over many years, taking one step at a time. First came the technology, then came the license, and now we are adding more and more products to create an ecosystem to facilitate the growth of businesses in a quick and cost-effective way.”

OCTOBER 2020

209

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TRUEVO PAYMENTS

“ Our motto is simple.

It’s everything for entrepreneurs” — Charles Grech, Chief of Operations, Truevo Payments

Truevo Payments has three core values which inspire everything they do.

1. Make a difference 2. Think BIG 3. Put your heart into it Founded in 2013, Truevo Payments first began operating under the name Swish Payments. In 2017, the financial institution rebranded to Truevo Payments. “There were a number of reasons why the company decided to rebrand,” says Grech. “The first one is like any other business would do,

210

OCTOBER 2020

An insight to Truevo’s challenges they have confronted CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:14

211 to ensure that there is not too much

grow is to drive digitalisation and

saturation on an existing brand name.

innovation within its operations.

The word ‘swish’ is not only a verb but

With this in mind, Grech details

is also used by a lot of other organisa-

that “being a fintech company, I

tions within the market. As a result,

believe we have a natural advan-

the company worked on creating a

tage because the technology came

new, bold brand name which would

before finance, not the other way

make a statement. We wanted a brand

around. Frequently, within this

which would continuously adapt, and

industry, fintech companies that

ride the evolution that is always taking

were primarily financial but in time

place within the industry. We strove

adopted the technical element,

for something that symbolized and

do not have the technical people

asserted our vision and value.”

required. At Truevo Payments our

Part of the company’s efforts to help entrepreneurial businesses

founder and CEO has a technical background. I, myself am a software f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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ANY PAYMENT, EVERY POSSIBILITY.®

Truevo, ACI: enabling cross-border merchant expansion Charles Grech, COO, Truevo, and Andrew Quartermaine, VP of Customer Success, ACI, on the importance of collaboration and partnership for merchant expansion Watch Here Payment solution company Truevo provides merchants an end-to-end offering from acquiring to payment processing across Europe. It’s a mission that, according to Charles Grech, the company’s COO, requires a strong partner ecosystem. “We realised that there was a lot of opportunity for us in expanding our offering, so that we could provide our customers with an end-to-end solution.

For this, we needed a gateway solution which could provide relevant local and cross-border payment options, as well as global connectivity to the ever-growing number of alternative payment methods.

We also needed it to be delivered in a fast and timely fashion by someone who could scale with us.”

ACI’s support for Truevo comes from multiple angles, as Andrew Quartermaine, VP of Customer Success at ACI, explains: “ACI provides the technology to support and enable customers such as Truevo.

Our global Secure eCommerce solution enables safe international business expansion for Truevo and their merchants, giving them the ability to deploy tailored payment and fraud strategies for each channel and market. We provide our global Secure eCommerce as a whitelabel gateway that carries the Truveo brand and supports their end-to-end solution offering to their merchants.”

ACI has worked with Truevo to understand its requirements. “ACI is a large company

with a lot of expertise and a long history in technology,” says Grech. “After going live, they followed up to make sure any problems encountered were efficiently dealt with.” That support means ACI delivers on the three main areas Grech identifies as key for its partners and the solutions they deliver: agility, innovation and flexibility. “I can firmly say that we have achieved these three factors in our partnership with ACI.” The strength of the relationship is further due to the mutual compatibility of the two organisations. “Truevo is the type of customer we enjoy supporting – innovative, global and growing rapidly,” says Quartermaine. “They wanted a secure gateway with global reach to support their rapidly expanding merchant base. They understand the importance of meeting their customers’ needs and we work collaboratively to make sure they have all the tools and payment strategies they need to do that.”

Both companies maintain an eye on the future and are dedicated to finding innovative ways to enhance the consumer payments experience, protect against the risk of fraud, while increasing conversion for merchants. www.aciworldwide.com

TRUEVO PAYMENTS

Truevo’s thoughts on new trends CLICK TO WATCH

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3:30

214

and electronic systems engineer,

offerings and continuous investment

not to mention our CTO and all of

in research and development (R&D)

our technical team. Nowadays I do

and technical innovation. “One of

not believe that you have any other

the main elements we are working

choice but to upskill or onboard

to roll out in the coming months is

talent that have technological

to significantly upgrade our fraud

knowledge, in addition to financial

management capabilities and

knowledge in order to embrace the

onboarding processes by adopting

speed in which technology is evolv-

machine learning technology. Over

ing, because it is changing so fast.”

the last few years machine learning

When it comes to innovation,

and artificial intelligence (AI) have

Grech highlights the importance

been a bit of a buzzword. However,

of finding a balance between being

I believe that many companies are

fast to market with its new product

starting to see the benefits now of

OCTOBER 2020

these technologies. While you can

adopting new opportunities such as

automate business functions, there

machine learning and AI.�

are limits. By harnessing the power

Alongside its adoption of machine

of machine learning, you can benefit

learning, Grech details that when

from optimisation and predictive

looking to enter new industries,

capabilities. Ultimately, when it comes

“one first needs to have certain

to innovation it comes back to that

knowledge and competence and

balance of being first to market when

the data set in that industry. Truevo

rolling out new products with the lat-

Payments has been operating since

est improvements in technology and

2016 and we are now in our fourth

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Charles Grech Title: Chief of Operations

215 Company: Truevo Payments

Industry: Financial services Location: Birkirkara Charles Grech is a seasoned payments executive with 25 years of experience in design, management and operation of payment systems and payment businesses. He has managed large scale projects such as migration to chip on both acquiring and issuing businesses, systems migration and migration of national currency. Charles is a software and electronics systems engineer. Previously, Grech managed various areas of the payment card business in Bank of Valletta plc. And was co-founder of the online age verification provider agechecked.com. Today, Charles Grech is Chief of Operations at Truevo Payments, a card acquiring and financial services company servicing European businesses. f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

TRUEVO PAYMENTS

TRUEVO PAYMENTS AND ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH ACI WORLDWIDE

At Truevo Payments the company has several partners at various levels which can be classified into three main areas: suppliers and vendors, customers and regulatory authorities. “There are many entities that we work with and over the years - since we have a large variety of products - instead of having different providers for different services, we have tried to stick with people who are there for the long term. ACI Worldwide is one of them,” commented Charles Grech, Chief of Operations at Truevo Payments.

216

Grech has worked with ACI Worldwide for 20 years and in that time he believes that when it comes to partner relationships “when everything is working fine, that is the easy part. It is the time when there are problems that I really appreciate our partners. When something goes wrong, when the reliability of the partner is put into question because we need backup, ACI Worldwide is one of our reliable partners. They join us in our ambitions to put the customer at the forefront and offer a best in class product. It is this common goal and reliability which has made such a relationship last this long.”

OCTOBER 2020

“ Being a fintech company, I believe we have a natural advantage because the technology came before the finance, not the other way around” — Charles Grech, Chief of Operations, Truevo Payments

amount of flexibility, because while you can invest in the best technical platforms in the world, at the end of the day those using the tools need to have a mindset that is willing to adopt the changes. I also believe that it is equally important to have a mentality where you are willing to

year of business operations, as a 217

result we are now trying to organise our data so that when the time is right - which is now - we can harness the data and use it for our machine learning. However, I think that there needs to be a certain transition time until a dataset is mature enough to be indicative of one’s business purpose, which, being in our fourth year, is where we are now and will continue to improve in the background.”

To successfully implement these strategies, it is important to have the right starting point. “In order to facilitate digital transformation, it takes a certain mindset, people need to be willing to change and have a large f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

TRUEVO PAYMENTS

218

OCTOBER 2020

“ Nowadays, I do not believe that you have any other choice but to upskill or onboard talent that has technological knowledge, in addition to financial knowledge” — Charles Grech, Chief of Operations, Truevo Payments make a continuous business transformation. There is no process that is set in stone because technology, business and customer requirements continuously change. This is something that we also integrate within our core business processes - the concept of continuous improvement, doing little changes but all the time.”

Reflecting on the payments industry as a whole, Grech details that “one of the biggest challenges within the industry is the evolution of a much more onerous regulatory landscape. If you go back even three years, there were fewer regulators and local governments wanting f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

219

TRUEVO PAYMENTS

220

“ In order to facilitate digital transformation, it takes a certain mindset. People need to be willing to change and have a large amount of flexibility” — Charles Grech, Chief of Operations, Truevo Payments

to control the industry. Therefore, companies like us needed to make a significant number of changes in the way we conduct our business processes and our systems.

Another major challenge for business is the onboarding process, which is why as part of our operations we are focused on trying to shorten the onboarding time as much as possible, which I believe at this stage we have laid the necessary foundations.

Currently we are working on providing

OCTOBER 2020

Truevo’s digital transformation process CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:31

221

entrepreneurs with the ability to build

Certain aspects of the industry, such

a homogenous set of components,

as document signing and meetings

instead of purchasing off the shelf

with regulatory authorities, had

systems that are disjointed.”

to be done in person. Now these

Contemplating the impact of

processes are forced to be done

COVID-19, Grech explains how the

remotely. Even authentication of

pandemic has brought about per-

individuals can be done successfully

sonal digitalisation for customers as

online now. From that perspective, I

they are more accepting of digital

believe it will help shape the future

payment methods that are contact-

of the industry by expediting it in a

less. In addition Grech explains that

digital direction.”

he believes “COVID-19 has removed earlier bureaucracy in payments. f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

222

Centili: monetising digital experiences WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

OCTOBER 2020

223

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CENTILI

Zoran Vasiljev, CEO, describes how Centili is continually assessing the market for its next opportunity for digital disruption

A

s the digital landscape continues to shift, companies can often spend so long fixating on the trends of today that they

forget about the potential innovations of tomorrow.

Centili is a company which manages to reconcile both perspectives; a fast-paced tech company 224

with its finger on the pulse and its eyes on the future. Founded in 2011, it is a business focused on global monetisation opportunities and driving growth through its superior customer experience and cutting-edge mobile payment solutions.

Helping its clients unlock heretofore unrealised revenue streams, customer opportunities and value, Centili is a driving force in the creative movement to monetise the modern digital experience.

Part of the digital investment industry for over 25 years, Zoran Vasiljev embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of a genuine thought-leader. Having secured several executive posts at several firms within the tech and telecoms sectors, and even founding his own (Affinitiv Consulting) in 2005, Vasiljev says that he recognised Centili as a “logical next step” in his career. “I’ve always felt that it’s OCTOBER 2020

225

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CENTILI

“ By understanding the frictions that exist in these industries and resolving them with our service offerings and platforms, Centili can build trust, relevance and become a ‘go-to’ company” — Zoran Vasiljev, 226 CEO, Centili

a company that has a great story and great potential. One way or another, I wanted to be involved with it; I actually first attempted to acquire the company at my previous firm. When that didn’t work out I decided, if I really believe in the organisation, then I’ll have to go and join it.” Never content to simply ‘play it safe’ throughout his career, Vasiljev states that he’s become used to taking chances and exploring the frontiers of the industry. Adept at finding new opportunities and developing value in emerging global markets, he finds the pursuit of overcoming challenges to be both enriching and rewarding.

Taking on the role of CEO in March 2020, Vasiljev’s disposition stood him in good stead to meet perhaps the most significant logistical challenge of the present century: the COVID19 pandemic. Refusing to cling to preconceived ways of operating, he says that his first few months of leadership have been exacting but that establishing a clear vision has seen the company navigate the most difficult aspects of disruption. “We have everything we need to take control of the situation and understand what

OCTOBER 2020

Centili — Potential for Change CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:31

227 is causing problems for the industry.

might need up to 12 months from

There will not be a time when busi-

now. Its credentials as a leading

ness will suddenly revert back to how

innovator are well established. In both

things were in December 2019; that

2018 and 2019, Centili was rated as

will never happen. However, Centili

a Tier 1 DCB vendor in an independ-

has developed a strategy to expand

ent annual survey conducted among

the company, motivate employees

MNOs (mobile network operators)

and demonstrate why our industry is

from around the world by the research

fortunate enough not to be affected as

company ROCCO. More recently, it

some others might be.”

came forward as the best rated car-

Centili itself is also well-poised to

rier billing company in its Innovators

meet this goal. After all, it is a company

2020 report. Regarding this industry

motivated by creating a difference

recognition, Vasiljev added, “It’s really

in the market and projecting what its

rewarding to see the curiosity and the

partners, customers and ecosystems

continuous conversation that is being f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

Advancing ICT solutions beyond imagination.

Learn more

21st Century Technologies Wale Ajisebutu, the founder and CEO of 21st Century Technologies, has an ambitious goal - to achieve the extraordinary. Fuelled by a passion for technology and guided by the firm belief that Africa can be better connected to the digital world, he founded the company to use state-of-the-art infrastructure to provide world-class solutions.

The vision is to become the foremost integrated ICT solutions provider in Africa.

21st Century Technologies has formed a beneficial partnership with Centili, borne out of the desire to rewrite the history of technology in Africa.

“Our combined experiences and knowledge of technology is legendary,” says Ajisebutu. “I have always believed that one of the key elements of success is partnering with esteemed organisations such as Centili, principally to leverage on both companies’ core competencies to build the most advanced digital services in Africa.”

Ajisebutu believes 21st Century Technologies and Centili are similar in many ways. He says they both started out from humble beginnings, have experienced rapid growth, and are now having significant impact on the region and beyond.

“21st Century Technologies is a regional powerhouse with huge infrastructure and a mission to provide world-class solutions to our valued customers through highly motivated talent and strategic alliances,” says Ajisebutu.

“Our partnership with Centili will bring digital transformation to Africa which many economic sectors deserve. More importantly, it helps create a sense of focus and determination to succeed.”

There is an African saying that goes ‘If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’. 21st Century Technologies has chosen Centili to go far enough to transform business in Africa.

Partnership with Centili Working with Centili has allowed 21st Century Technologies to build the most compelling aggregator platform in Nigeria. This solution will propel 21st Century Technologies to become the number-one aggregator VAS business operator on the continent.

The partnership sees both companies creating digital services that will revolutionise everything from online retail to gaming, logistics to financial services, e-commerce to entertainment.

As well as creating affordable access to technology and information, they are building new products and services that are deeply

21st Century Campus relevant to Africa. Together, they are using technology to solve complex problems for key industries as diverse as healthcare and aviation, as well as empowering people to use technology as a resource for liberty.

Digital transformation As the world adapts to the new normal, 21st Century Technologies is accelerating digital transformation.

“We aim to position 21st Century Technologies as a company with operations across Africa to take advantage of emerging opportunities,” |says Ajisebutu. “We sincerely believe our activities will move Africa’s digital economy towards a new era, with the internet and data at its heart.”

Ajisebutu believes the time is right for tech companies to grasp these opportunities, and building on infrastructure is key. Over the years, 21st Century Technologies has invested heavily in holistic infrastructure with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities.

The current infrastructure includes: - 36MW data centre across Nigeria - Technology park - Innovation centres - Cybersecurity centre - An Academy - Software Development Centre - Fibre Optics network - Green energy buildings 21st Century Technologies is building the most compelling ecosystem and infrastructure that will change lives, empower customers, and deliver the future.

Learn more

CENTILI

Centili — Challenges CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:44

230

triggered by customers themselves,

sections of the verticals we are serving.

both existing ones and potentially new

But, at this moment, we’re observing

ones, signaling that they would like to

and considering, ‘Where does this fit

do business with us.” However, whilst

and how does it really add value?’

certainly an innovator, Vasiljev clarifies

Driving the future of the company

that any new developments are always

is its ‘Shifting Gears’ growth strategy,

tempered with intelligent consideration

launched shortly upon Vasiljev’s arrival.

as to whether it will benefit customers

An ambitious reimagining of Centili

directly. Blockchain, for example, is

aimed at progressing the company

seeing some interest in the payments

beyond being a payment gateway

sphere, yet Centili has not explored its

and towards being a true digital

use because, at least for the moment,

orchestrator, Vasiljev says that this

the technology is not ready. “There’s a

new roadmap also serves the purpose

lot of potential for blockchain in some

of gaining expertise in the industries

OCTOBER 2020

which Centili serves every day. “What

use of personal electronic devices

are the pain points in gaming, video

(smartphones, tablets and comput-

and music?” he asks. “What are the

ers) by customers means that data

pain points in entertainment, FinTech

analytics has grown in importance as

and ePublishing? By understand-

the company strives to achieve opti-

ing the frictions that exist in these

mal digital monetisation, as has using

industries and resolving them with our

AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms

service offerings and platforms, Centili

to help anticipate market changes

can build trust, relevance and become

at a faster pace. “We truly believe

a ‘go-to’ company.” The frequent daily

that a combination of conversations

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Zoran Vasiljev Title: Group CEO

231

Company: Centili

Industry: Mobile Payments Location: London, UK Zoran Vasiljev is the Group CEO of Centili. He is an executive with extensive knowledge and legacy in building and running successful digital ventures. He is specialized in telecommunications, investment strategies, M&A, organizational transformation, marketing and product development, channel strategy and business development.

Zoran has more than 25 years’ international experience in digital media, telecoms, and management consulting. Before joining Centili, he led projects in the EU, MENA and APAC, holding top executive and leadership roles with Apigate, Axiata Digital, StarHub, Arthur D. Little, Value Partners and Peppers & Rogers Group. He joined Centili in March 2020.

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CENTILI

and payments is something that will

micropayments. “A lot of transactions

explode technologically. People

happening through Centilli are micro-

use their phones for two reasons:

payments,” continues Vasiljev. “In the

entertainment and conversation. If

gaming environment, for example,

you are able, in those conversations,

the whole industry revolves around

to actually embed monetisation

micropayments.” The company is also

and payments with instant booking,

cognizant of developing emerging

instant betting, instant buying, instant

markets where large swathes of the

redemptions and so forth, all in one

population might not even have a bank

experience, I think that could be huge.”

account; micropayments can help

Another innovation championed

232

create an ecosystem within which

by Centili is the move away from

the “unbanked” can be empowered

monolithic payment structures

and looked after. “There’s a great

and towards smaller, more flexible

role for us in the industry because we

“ Growth is one of our key words and digital monetisation is a playground” — Zoran Vasiljev, CEO, Centili

OCTOBER 2020

0000

Year founded

$X.bn+ Revenue in XX dollars

Centili — Fusion CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:47

0,000 Number of employees

recognise and cater to these niches

becomes apparent: “We’re just getting

with services. Real financial inclusion

started; there’s still 400 operators that

is about being part of the process and

we aren’t connected to yet.” Indeed, it

recognising that maybe we can jump in

could be argued that growth is Centili’s

and lend somebody a hand.”

raison d’etre; if it stopped being hungry

Currently partnered with over 280

for further expansion, the company

MNOs, operating in 80 countries and

would probably cease to exist. As

connecting with over 4bn mobile users

it continues on its quest to achieve

globally, Centili has already made a

an entirely frictionless payments

significant impact just under a dec-

experience, Vasiljev makes it clear

ade since it started. However, when

that Centili doesn’t dwell on its latest

asked how the company intends to

achievements for too long (such as

maintain a roadmap for further suc-

being featured in the ROCCO 2020

cess, Vasiljev’s boundless ambition

Innovation Report), rather it simply f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

233

CENTILI

Centili Partnerships No company is an island and it’s often who it partners with that can make the difference between success and failure. Centili has the pleasure of working with some of the top digital trailblazers around: 21st Century Technology Ltd, Tencent, Infobip and iTaxi. Regarding how they are helping Centili to achieve its goals, Vasiljev had the following to say: 234

21st Century Technology Ltd Based in Nigeria, 21st Century was founded in 1997 with a vision to become the foremost IT solutions provider in the entirety of Africa. Owner of one of the most extensive fibre optic networks in its area, the company’s dedication to quality and innovation make it ideally suited to working with Centili.

“21st Century is a very interesting

OCTOBER 2020

example of a company that has great leadership. It’s a company that has recognised what else it can do with Centili above and beyond even our current roadmap and our offerings; it’s challenging us on a monthly basis with new ideas.”

Bigo Technologies Singapore-based Bigo Technologies is a fast-paced, agile company serving over 400 M users. Their Bigo Live, Likee and imo apps have taken Asia (and the world) by the storm.

“They’ve done remarkable work in short video space over the past few years,“ Vasiljev says.

“We share many of the core values, and we are currently working together to implement a telco billing project in Latin America.”

Infobip Infobip is our parent company; it’s a unicorn originating from Croatia. The company is a world leader in communication platforms as a service (CPaaS) and it’s helping us develop our monetisation capabilities. The industry is merging and crossfertilising the point where the experience of conversations and payments is always underlying everything else that you do online and Infobip is a global leader in understanding that.”

iTaxi A ride-hailing app launched in Poland, iTaxi is an innovative and convenient way for the country’s citizens to travel. Utilising one of the largest taxi fleets in Poland

and handled entirely through an easy-to-use app which makes booking and paying for a ride streamlined and convenient, Vasiljev identifies it as one of the most promising companies Centili currently works with.

“I’m confident that, since the launch of iTaxi, Centili will be in many more conversations asking for similar solutions. We’re very proud of that partnership and I’m sure we’re going to do more in that segment.”

One of the world’s most used dating apps, London-based Badoo has been a partner of Centili for many years now. “The relationship is rooted in deep mutual respect of people running it since the start, and it consistently produces business results in different markets,” Vasiljev remarked. “In terms of carrier billing, Badoo is one of the most successful companies out there.”

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

235

CENTILI

composes itself, assesses where the next challenge or competition may emerge from and then sets to work on improving its services for customers. “The continuous involvement and renewal of our platform, our ability to be flexible and adapt to the market’s needs means that, instead of taking two years to develop a specific model or feature, we can get it done within weeks.”

Keeping its eyes on the future, as always, Centili launched ‘Fusion’ in 236

August 2020, a flexible, hassle-free solution for bundling apps, services and other associated products.

Customers pay for the bundle through a prepaid or postpaid telco account, which then enables MNOs to add value to their service via entertainment and learning packages, as well as providing merchants with an additional marketing and user acquisition channel. “The inspiration for Centili Fusion was a result of our continuous conversation and understanding about what’s happening in the telco industry,” Vasiljev explains. “It was very important to launch a platform that allows for quick access to those relationships in OCTOBER 2020

“Monetising the evolving digital experience is what Centili is all about” — Zoran Vasiljev, CEO, Centili

237

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

CENTILI

238

C EN T I LI ELEVAT E

Centili is heartened by the spirit of collaboration and understanding which is prevalent in the modern industry. As such, it has launched a webinar series titled Centili Elevate, a platform for industry leaders to trade insights and discuss relevant market topics.

“It’s good to see also that there’s more and more collaboration happening within our industry,” said Dina Janevski Farcic, Senior VP of Marketing. “The industry

OCTOBER 2020

should adopt an attitude that does not necessarily want to shape and retain talent indefinitely, but rather create a platform which allows them to be exposed to as many ideas, innovations and challenges as possible in order for them to become leaders of the future and maybe even partners. I think it’s very important to recognise the role that we all have to play in creating the leadership of the next digital generation.”

order to bundle specific offerings for the operators’ user base.” For some companies, 2021 is getting closer and closer, but Vasiljev is still focused on what needs to be accomplished in the last quarter of 2020. “2020 was nothing like what we originally planned and I think there’s still a lot of learning to come. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to get a headstart for 2021, which is going to be the year where Centili will be able to apply everything it’s learned with a lot of rigor and conviction.” Indeed, it’s clear that his ambition for Centili to become a global force in driving digital monetisation will propel the company energetically into its next great challenge. “Growth is one of our key words and digital monetisation is a playground,” he concludes. “It’s important for us to spend a lot of time anticipating what the next disruption might be, because monetising the evolving digital experience is what Centili is all about.”

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

239

240

Setting out a vision for modern insurance

WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

OCTOBER 2020

241

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

PIB GROUP

Paul Johnson, PIB Group CIO and COO, explains how professionalisation, data and automation has allowed the company to drive a significant expansion campaign

I

t’s a rare accomplishment when a new company is able to make a bold impression on the market within its first few years,

yet this is exactly what PIB Group (‘PIB’) has done.

Founded in 2015, the organisation’s strategy has been marked by a dynamic and fresh approach to insurance which has already seen it summit the UK 242

market and become a genuine leader. Combining the latest data insights with years of industry experience, it is able to offer customers a superlative and comprehensive service. Receiving financial backing from multinational equity corporation The Carlyle Group, PIB’s campaign for growth, both through acquisition and organically, has so far seen 30 businesses brought under its umbrella from nearly every corner of the UK since 2016.

Prior to beginning his journey with PIB Group in 2018, Paul Johnson, COO and CIO, claims that a conversation with Brendan McManus (PIB Group CEO) convinced him that the company was an exciting prospect he had to get involved with.

“I was consulting for a new startup blockchain bank at the time,” he recalls. “But, after speaking to Brendan and listening to the PIB Group story, I OCTOBER 2020

243

“After speaking to the CEO and listening to PIB Group’s story, I became genuinely excited about the company and felt a real ‘click’ with the executive vision” — Paul Johnson, CIO and COO, PIB Group

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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COMBINING TECHNOLOGY WITH CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY Andrew Martin, Egnyte’s Managing Director, UK, discusses how the company is assisting PIB Group in its digital transformation journey.

Recognising the value of cutting-edge technology combined with a strong, customercentric work ethic, Egnyte is an intelligent content platform to access, share, and manage content no matter where the work happens. Specifically, working with one of its key clients, PIB Group, Egynte has been helping it define a vital data management strategy to maintain its high-quality services in a shifting insurance landscape. “For enterprises these days, the focus isn’t just on digital transformation,” explains Andrew Martin, Managing Director, UK. “Really it’s about data transformation and helping our customers formulate a strategy regarding their structured and unstructured data.”

Fascinated by both technology and sport at a young age, Martin says that he has been able to incorporate his leadership and team management skills from the latter to drive his coordination of Egynte’s EMEA-focused operations. Priding himself on an ability to see problems from the customer’s point of view, Martin explains that the philosophy of the company’s founders - Vineet Jain (Chief Executive Officer) and Rajesh Ram (Chief Experience Officer) - drew him in and inspired him to join. “Fundamentally, they’re two guys who found a problem that they couldn’t solve at their previous organisations and decided to create a company to address it.”

Claiming that, in a direct comparison with its competitors, Egynte’s cloud-first usually emerges victorious, it is Martin’s opinion that the time is right for further market expansion.

With over 16,000 customers accrued since it was founded in 2007, the company has a solid grasp on its core capabilities and is now assessing the market carefully to anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s clients. “The business started with moving document file servers to the cloud without negatively impacting the user experience or speed

Andrew Martin & Darrell Cook @ EGNYTE

degradation. However, with a client like PIB Group, we have to manage millions of files across thousands of employees while they’re also trying to onboard multiple new acquisitions every year.” To give a more accurate impression of the scale of the onboarding: PIB Group has brought over 40 businesses under its umbrella in less than five years.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most difficult logistical challenges of modern business, Martin proudly states that Egnyte’s strong relationship with PIB Group has seen the latter through its implementation of remote working processes. “Paul Johnson (COO and CIO at PIB Group) has said that, through PIB Group’s usage of our technology, the company has had no challenges making content and data available to all their employees wherever they want to work.”

What was once a static and relatively limited vendor relationship has developed over the years to become a fully-fledged partnership, one underpinned by mutual recognition of the value of customer-centricity. “Darrell Cook (Customer Success Manager) runs our relationship with PIB Group, not my sales team,” Martin emphasises. Cook himself adds: “That dynamic allows us to really understand its business, goals and problems, therefore making it easier to find solutions.

That’s something that I think Egnyte does very well: we listen to the customer and find out what they want to see in the future.”

PIB GROUP

“I’m always interested in how we can provide a much better service to our customers, and artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA) and bots can provide that” — Paul Johnson, CIO and COO, PIB Group

246

became genuinely excited about the

That teaches you a lot in terms of how

company and felt a real ‘click’ with the

to lead in the most optimal and pro-

executive vision.” Bringing a diverse

fessional way for your employees.”

range of skills accrued in tech firms,

In fact, when asked to describe

financial institutions and even the

the workplace culture at PIB Group,

Royal Navy, Johnson says that know-

Johnson easily summarises it as

ing many aspects of the sector has

‘engaged’ and ‘collaborative’. “One

allowed him to adopt the agile, flexible

of the things I enjoy most about PIB

work ethic required in such a fast-

Group is the culture,” he adds. “The

moving company. “My experience

COVID-19 period has emphasised

has been very varied, including the

even more that our employees are the

acquisition of organisations, inter-

engine of the company.” Maintaining

national growth and then suddenly

a corporate yet entrepreneurial spirit,

having to switch to cost optimisation.

wherein everyone feels that they can

OCTOBER 2020

contribute, underpins PIB’s need to

AI-powered analytics will be at the

stay nimble, particularly as technology

forefront of the industry in the near

continues to disrupt the traditional

future is beyond doubt for him: with AI

norms of insurance. The developing

algorithms capable of building highly

application of smart automation is one

accurate customer data profiles and

aspect which particularly interests

sophisticated understanding of the

Johnson: “I’m always interested in how

market, insurers will be able to provide

we can provide a much better service

better advice and suggest the best

to our customers, and artificial intelli-

products for their customers’ needs.

gence (AI), robotic process automation

Customer-centrism is key for PIB

(RPA) and bots can provide that. I want

Group because it is the company’s

the company to ensure that our people

outstanding reputation in the mar-

can focus on servicing our customers

ket which has enabled it to expand

rather than simply on processes.” That

so rapidly, including new locations

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Paul Johnson Title: CIO/COO

Company: PIB Group

Paul joined PIB Group in October 2018. His career started at the Royal Navy where he was responsible for maintaining Electronic Warfare, Comms and Weapons. He then joined a technology a company that supported a range of systems before moving to NatWest Bank, as well as other roles in financial services, consultancy for IBM and the airline industry. Recent positions have included Executive CIO and COO/CIO at GMAC, Lloyds Bank and Aldermore Bank. Paul has more recently been involved in developing a new BlockChain based bank and is also an Independent NonExecutive Director on the Board of a Maltese Bank and was an Independent Non-Executive Director of a UK Bank. f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

247

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Guest Interview with Brendan McManus - CEO of PIB Group CLICK TO WATCH

|

41:50

249 in mainland Europe. It is a respect,

unavoidable. Establishing a strong

Johnson goes on to say, which is only

baseline technology level across PIB

deepening as time goes by: “One

was an important step in levelling-out

of the keys to our success has been

the playing field. This was accomplished

through professionalising the way in

by utilising cloud to provide an easily

which we integrate new acquisitions

scalable tech framework that could

from a business operational perspec-

be deployed from the smallest to the

tive, a technological perspective and

largest new acquisition. “I’m currently

absolutely from a governance compli-

building a new data set that we can

ance perspective. We have to be very

use to provide better customer service,

considerate of how we work for the

propositions and advice to our growing

interests of our customers.” However,

customer base,” Johnson adds.

as more companies are onboarded, the

However, although he has set out

issue of mixed progress on the journey

a clear vision for digital transforma-

towards digital transformation becomes

tion, Johnson says that it hasn’t been f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

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“The insurance world has got together to help and PIB Group was one of the first contributors to the project” — Paul Johnson, CIO and COO, PIB Group

group,” he says. Sharing PIB Group’s customer-centric ethos has been pivotal in creating this cross-party consensus, which, in turn, augments services, overcomes technological barriers and promotes a quality experience regardless of which aspect of PIB Group interacts with.

Although visionary leadership is an important aspect of PIB’s success, Johnson emphasises that partnerships

without difficulty. “One of the biggest

with select companies are also critical

challenges is actually maintaining that

to its everyday operations. Seeking

data and retaining visibility over a very

truly synergistic relationships which

long period of time.” Building a large

will uphold the tenets of engagement

archive of policies for the contingency

and collaboration which PIB Group

that they may need to be accessed

encourages amongst its own people,

in the future, PIB Group holds some

the company values openness, clear

information which is over 40 years old.

communication and transparency

Another obstacle has been achieving

above all else, something which has

cultural unity across the company’s

been accomplished with companies

myriad enterprises in an effort to

such as Websure, Applied, Mimacast

avoid a siloed community, underscor-

and Egnyte to name a few. Regarding

ing the reason why collaboration is

the latter, a software company that

placed at the heart of everything. “A

provides a cloud platform for enter-

lot of those brands have had value in

prise systems, Johnson said, “The

their own right in the past, but what

great thing about Egnyte is that it

they realise now is that, if we can

provides an integrated system that is

bring them all together, the power of

also data-secure. It’s flexible too, so

one entity is greater than a disparate

we can conduct scenario analyses f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

251

and adjust products for customer

which believes in straightforward

optimisation much faster.” Littlefish,

language to explain its services.

a UK-based managed IT solutions

“Littlefish is a relatively new incum-

provider, is another partner in this

bent, but it’s been a valuable conduit

vein. An energetic disruptor in its

between PIB Group and a number of

sphere, Littlefish prides itself in suc-

other partners,” Johnson explains.

ceeding where larger ‘usual suspect’

“Our relationship has been absolutely

alternatives usually fail. Able to tailor

excellent: it isn’t just a supplier; it’s a

solutions to the precise needs of

real collaboration. It’s genuinely been

its customers, it is also a company

a joy to work with Littlefish.”

C O V I D - 19 SU PP O RT FU N D

PIB Group is part of a COVID-19 Support Fund - a charity established to help address the social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson had this to say: “The insurance world has got together to help and PIB Group was one of the first contributors to the project. The idea is to provide financial assistance and advice to charities, the NHS and other parties that need support as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown and the significant impact it’s had on so many lives.

“I think, overall, PIB Group is very aware of the impact that not only the virus has had but also the resulting complications of other diseases such as cancer. We are always looking to get involved with worthwhile causes in order to make a difference.”

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

253

PIB GROUP

254

“A lot of those brands have had value in their own right in the past, but what they realise now is that, if we can bring them all together, the power of one entity is greater than a disparate group” — Paul Johnson, CIO and COO, PIB Group

OCTOBER 2020

2015

Year founded

£128m+ Revenue in pounds

1,400 Number of employees

Reflecting on the company’s progress

Group continues to be successful: if

throughout 2020, Johnson remarks

customers are kept satisfied, growth will

that, despite the incredibly challenging

naturally occur. Even more excitingly,

economic climate, expansion for PIB

Johnson says that the 2021 strategy

Group has carried on unabated. In fact,

intends to maintain this remarkable

in certain areas, it has even acceler-

pace, with plenty more acquisitions

ated. “Our focus at the beginning of the

in the pipeline. With a solid customer

year was centred on growth. Obviously

base, unified corporate culture and new

protecting our employees has become

data-based tech taking the company to

an even greater priority, but we’re still in

even greater heights, it appears that PIB

a position to keep serving our custom-

Group has developed a winning formula.

ers in the very best way possible.” This hints at the reason why, perhaps, PIB f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

255

256

Digital Innovation in Cloud HR and Payroll OCTOBER 2020

257

WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

James Haslam, CFO at ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll, discusses resilience, growth and expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic

A

dopting cloud-based software solutions in recent years has become an everyday strategy for companies around the world.

The benefits of sourcing external technologies include increased automation, reliability, flexibility, scalability, cost-reduction and efficiency. These 258

benefits dwarf the inefficiencies of manual process or expensive on-premise infrastructure. The case for digital transformation to the cloud as a solution for business challenges is clear.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses at every stage of their digital transformation journey have become increasingly reliant on cloud-based technology solutions to manage operations, remain in close contact with employees, suppliers, and clients, and minimise operating costs.

Australia-based ELMO Software is emblematic of a Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions provider that has taken the pandemic’s pressures in its stride, offering seamless service to its clients throughout. An increase in engagement and reliance on the platform through the recent period indicate the tailwinds in the broader adoption of OCTOBER 2020

259

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ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

“ Our convergent solution offers a wide product suite to streamline our clients’ HR and payroll processes, but what really sets it apart is the truly remote nature of the products” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll 260

HCM software as businesses seek to accelerate their digital transformation strategies to manage a larger remote workforce. This dynamic is also playing out in the UK market where ELMO is eyeing expansion plans.

James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), says the pandemic has been a remarkable indicator of both the benefits and reliability of ELMO’s convergent hire-to-retire suite of people management solutions. “Our convergent solution offers a wide product suite to streamline our clients’ HR and payroll processes, but what really sets it apart is the truly remote nature of the products,” he explains, noting that HCM solutions have now become mission-critical to organisations during lockdown.

“COVID-19 is a really good case study in terms of the criticality of having an HCM solution in your toolkit which can be implemented, supported and accessed remotely. If you think about it, things like financials and CRM have had cloud-based solutions for a while.”

Cloud-based HCM, meanwhile, is later in the adoption curve, Haslam explains.

“One of our biggest competitors is manual process, and one of the biggest

OCTOBER 2020

ELMO Corporate Video CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:59

261 benefits of companies shifting to the

cloud-based HCM solution is a critical

cloud comes down to what’s been hap-

component for a company’s toolkit.”

pening this year,” adds Haslam. “You’ve

Regarding changes in prospec-

got companies that are now working

tive customer purchasing decisions,

remotely on a mass scale; 500+ people

Haslam and ELMO have noticed some

working remotely is a huge challenge

key trends. “In terms of changes in

for the management of performance

purchasing decisions, we’ve observed

cycles, payroll, recruitment, onboarding

a change in the procurement cycle

and training of people.”

through the pandemic with companies

This reality has been made plain by

generally working to identify what the

trends in customer behaviour during

pandemic will do to their results, and

the lockdown, with platform engage-

as a result, we have seen procure-

ment rising considerably. “We’ve

ment being deferred, creating pent up

seen an increase in platform reli-

demand, as company executives look

ance, underscoring the thesis that a

to conserve cash,” he says. “However, f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

Tapping into the global scale, flexibility, and reliability of AWS cloud

AWS provides the platform to securely host our customers’ valuable data, which they can access from anywhere, on any device, at any time.

The reliability of the AWS platform is a key component to not only to ELMO’s success but also our customers’.

James Haslam Chief Financial Officer ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

As more businesses around the world turn to cloud-based software solutions, companies like ELMO are well-placed to tap into new and exciting opportunities for growth. Their secret to success lies with AWS cloud, which provides a solid foundation to cope with unpredictable spikes in traffic; as well as the ability to innovate fast and expand into new markets with confidence.

Why software vendors choose AWS cloud To deliver innovative, next-generation software, you need the scale, power and agility that AWS cloud delivers.

That’s why AWS is one of the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platforms – and has been for over 13 years. AWS services are trusted by more than a million active customers and tens of thousands of AWS Partner Network (APN) Partners around the world to power infrastructure, boost agility and reduce costs.

With AWS cloud, you have the ability to lower costs while increasing performance. You can right-size your servers, tap into lower-cost storage tiers, optimise licensing costs and leverage AWS’s unique pricing models. Plus, with AWS server elasticity, you only pay for what you use, and can scale up and down as needed.

Achieve agility and significant performance gains Quickly spin up AWS resources as you need them, deploying hundreds or even thousands of servers in minutes. This means you can very quickly develop and roll out new applications to market, and you can experiment and innovate faster.

AWS cloud supports global growth ambitions by giving you access to a global network of data centres. For software companies eyeing global reach, it means that the data residency dilemma is solved without issue – you can easily deliver on global customers’ local regulatory requirements by leveraging AWS’s global footprint.

The infinite scalability of AWS cloud is also proving crucial in the quest to respond to continually evolving workloads, enabling companies like ELMO to easily cope with growth at scale.

Ready to get started?

Learn more about why software vendors choose AWS

Click here to learn more

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

264 pleasingly, we’ve been able to con-

companies have an increased level of

tinue to win business throughout, and

digital adoption.”

it’s now a case of monitoring the key

How does ELMO continue to provide

indicators for when the procurement

a seamless service to their clients?

cycle will kick back in as businesses

Haslam explains “a key to operating

return to the office. It’s great to hear

in the cloud-based environment is

that they’re starting to do that.

the relationship that we have with key

“We’re expecting that some of the

partners. One of the most significant

fallout from companies returning to

is Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS

their offices and going through their

provides the platform to host our cus-

key learnings will be recognising the

tomers’ data which can be accessed by

criticality of having a cloud-based

our customers anytime and anywhere.

HCM system in place to support them

The reliability of AWS’ platform is a key

in case of future mass remote working.

component not only to ELMO’s suc-

The management of people is simpler if

cess but to our customers as well”.

OCTOBER 2020

Not only has ELMO been able to continue securing new business

in both the Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) and UK market.

and supporting its broad cus-

“We look at M&A in terms of ‘three

tomer base, but it also launched a

pillars’,” says Haslam. “The acquisition

new module during the COVID-19

of companies with an attractive cus-

Pandemic – ELMO Connect. It has

tomer base, which enables cross-sell

also continued with its mergers

of additional modules, complementary

and acquisitions (M&A) strategy to

technology and more recently the geo-

identify potential acquisition targets

graphic expansion to the UK.”

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

James Haslam 265

Title: Chief Financial Officer Industry: Business software solutions Mr James Haslam is the CFO of ELMO and joined the company in February 2019.

James is a Chartered Accountant with over 19 years of experience in accounting and finance roles. As CFO, James is responsible for all aspects of the accounting and finance function, from ensuring efficient, controlled and timely recording and reporting systems, to budgeting, forecasting and cash flow analysis. Before joining ELMO James founded Financial Agility Consulting, a consultancy ptactice providing senior executive management support through mergers, acquisitions, capital raisings and IPO’s. Prior to Financial Agility Consulting, James worked for both KPMG and Deloitte providing professional services advice, predominantly in respect of mergers, acquisitions and IPO’s. James holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering and Business from the University of Warwick in the UK and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England ans Wales. f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

266

OCTOBER 2020

“ One of our biggest competitors is manual process, and one of the biggest benefits of companies shifting to the cloud comes down to what’s been happening this year” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

The customer acquisition M&A strategy is focused on leveraging the newly acquired entity’s existing customers to drive market footprint and penetration, as well as increased sales. “The customers we acquire along with the technology are important to us, not only because it widens the product offering but because the acquisitions enable the cross-sell of additional modules into a new sticky customer base,” says Haslam. “By bringing new technologies into the suite, such as remuneration, survey tools and video content, we expand our solution, enhancing the ELMO value proposition providing additional opportunities to cross-sell into a growing customer base. That’s evidenced when you look at our results.

“In our FY20 results, we released a statistic that, of our incremental increase in organic annual recurring revenue, 39% came from existing companies and the remaining 61% came from new customers. That means customers are adding more modules to their solution.” This two-pronged revenue growth from existing customers is also predicated on ELMO’s commitment to continued investment in research and development (R&D). Haslam explains, f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

267

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

C OM P A N Y F A C T S

ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll’s convergent solution delivers 15 modules under five key pillars: Pay Payroll Self-Service Rostering / Time & Attendance Engage HR Core Survey Connect

268

Hire Recruitment Onboarding Retain Performance Management Rewards & Recognition Remuneration Succession Management Develop Learning Management Course Builder Course Library Video Library

OCTOBER 2020

“We believe the ability to cross-sell additional modules to customers is related to the investment in the platform and individual modules. This investment yields a better customer and user experience which helps support their decision making in expanding their usage into additional HCM areas.”

The company’s eye for growth has recently expanded to international markets, with ELMO targeting entry to the UK market. “We’ve recently raised an additional AU$ 73m on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to complement the fundraising we undertook in September 2019, and this recent raise was to secure capital to expand our offering into the UK market,” explains Haslam.

“A core component of that expansion is the M&A strategy. We see making an acquisition in the market as a route that de-risks market entry when compared to simply taking office space, hiring a team, and trying to sell a product that’s not yet well-known in the market. Acquiring a company with a customer base and brand within that market enables us to adopt a land and expand strategy through leveraging an f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

269

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

established footprint and to cross-sell our existing suite of modules.”

Haslam adds that the UK market represents an interesting business opportunity for ELMO as it has similar dynamics to the ANZ region and the company’s success within it. The UK’s cloud-based HR and payroll service providers are similarly still predominantly manual and fragmented, meaning there is considerable opportunity for ELMO, with its hire to retire convergent solution to step in and pro270

vide the full spectrum of HCM products from a single provider. The simplicity

“ We see making an acquisition in the market as a route that de-risks market entry when compared to simply taking office space, hiring a team, and trying to sell a product that’s not yet well-known” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

of its service offering is bolstered further by the time-to-market the firm is demonstrably capable of delivering.

In addition to the M&A strategy, ELMO has been active in developing the organic side of the business, with the majority of the 25% FY20 revenue growth being generated organically.

“We’ve actually launched a module during the pandemic: ELMO Connect,” says Haslam. “In the mid-market space, connectivity is critical. We accelerated the development and release of the module, to bring it to market quickly

OCTOBER 2020

2002

Year founded

$50m+ Revenue in AU dollars

384

Number of employees

in response to customer feedback.

ambitious company that has leveraged

ELMO Connect allows customers

its digital maturity, market expertise

to easily communicate and collabo-

and agility to turn the COVID-19 crisis

rate remotely with employees and

into opportunity. Haslam highlights

leverages the ability to launch Zoom

the growth mindset, centricity of per-

meetings from within the platform.

formance, collaborative ethos and a

We’ve offered ELMO Connect to cus-

commitment to feedback at all levels

tomers free for six months because

as the key drivers of the company’s

we could see it’s something they

winning culture, and in such trying

needed during this difficult period of

times their customers have benefitted

mass remote working.”

from services whose necessity has

None of this would be possible with-

never been clearer.

out ELMO’s dedicated staff known as ‘ELMOnians’, the beating heart of an f i nt e c hma ga z in e. com

271

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