IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Simon Beresford, Chief Executive Officer, Teachers Building Society; Anand Subbaraman, General Manager Banking, FinastraTeachers Building Society has selected Finastra’s Fusion Essence Cloud to deliver a new digital core banking service, including pre-built integration with software specialists BEP Systems, for origination, and Fairmort, for regulatory reporting. The building society, which is the first such lender to invest in Finastra’s SaaS solution, is unusual in that it does not serve a geography but instead serves a profession. It was established to offer mortgages to those in the education sector in the UK. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks with Simon Beresford, CEO of Teachers Building Society, and Anand Subbaraman of Finastra.

Ashraf Rizvi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, GildedMillennials are by far the most digitally savvy investment cohort overall and they are now entering the investment scene in earnest. Expectations of one-click access to online banking are a given for younger people and this is already extending to their investments as well, with WealthTech beginning to respond. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses the investment habits and plans of millennial investors, those born between 1982 and 1995, with Ashraf Rizvi, Founder and CEO of Gilded.

Sandeep Bagaria, Chief Executive Officer, TagitHow is the digital banking landscape in Asia changing and how has the impact of Covid-19 changed attitudes among bankers? Are the key tenets of omnichannel banking now understood and what is the importance of using an open technology stack? These questions and others come under the spotlight in a discussion between Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence and Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit. 

Zak Lambert, Product Manager, PlaidPlaid is an API-based open banking platform bringing together the technology of PIS (Payment Initiation Services) and AIS (Account Information Services) so that developers may create payment journeys. The platform currently supports more than 11,000 financial institutions. Zak Lambert, Product Manager at Plaid discusses all things payments with Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence.

Eric Huttman, Chief Executive Officer, MilltechFXBack in 2019 a European Central Bank paper suggested banks had been overcharging some corporate clients by as much as 25x more than larger clients for foreign exchange hedging. MilltechFX streams live rates from 10+ banks and claims clients may trade on the same execution terms as its parent, currency investment manager Millennium Global, which has some $20 billion in AUM. MilltechFX CEO Eric Huttman told Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence that customers can save between 50-95% on FX costs.

Brad Yasar, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, EQIFIDeFi – decentralised finance – offers an alternative to traditional financial products. The evolution of cryptocurrencies, whether offering the volatility of Bitcoin or the stablecoin link of Tether to the US dollar, are having a profound impact on innovation and investment in DeFi through the creation of new potential investment vehicles for both institutions and HNWIs. Brad Yasar, CEO and Founder of DeFi platform EQIFI speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence. 

Edgardo Savoy, Chief Technology Officer, TransferGoThe FinTech sector contributed £6.5 billion to the UK economy last year. But FinTech faces a battle to onboard and develop talent in line with growth and demand. It is critical that issues such as the digital skills gap, talent retention and diversity are addressed before the UK FinTech sector begins to lose ground in innovation. As Edgardo Savoy, Chief Technology Officer of remittances FinTech TransferGo tells Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence, working in the FinTech sector is not just for those who have a pure technology background.

Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice MoneySpice Money is a rural FinTech firm working towards building India’s largest ATM network. Less than a fifth of the country’s ATMs are in rural areas – with just 1 ATM for every 10 villages. More are needed, to create a more inclusive financial system for India’s rural population, who face twin problems created by a digital divide and a lack of financial understanding. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks with Dilip Modi, Founder of Spice Money 

Samier Khan, Managing Director APAC, Codebase TechnologiesOpen banking in the APAC region is taking two distinct paths. While some jurisdictions have set out a defined regulatory framework, others have chosen to follow a more market-driven approach. Against that background the pandemic has only served to speed up the adoption of digital banking and open banking solutions with pre-built APIs. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks with Samier Khan, Managing Director APAC for Codebase Technologies. 

Tushar Aggarwal, CEO & Founder, Persistence Singapore-based Persistence is building an ecosystem of financial products to serve both institutional and crypto-native users, aiming for seamless integration across blockchains. The idea is to build the liquidity that new financial instruments and cryptoassets require but will this really lead to mass adoption of decentralised finance services as has been claimed? Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Tushar Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Persistence.