IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Phil Weisberg, EVP Strategic Planning and Partnerships, oneZeroThe foreign exchange (FX) business is a patchwork quilt of legacy systems. Perhaps more so than any other segment in financial services, tech lifecycles in FX are getting shorter and faster. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Phil Weisberg, EVP Strategic Planning and Partnerships, oneZero about how the FX market is changing.

 Andrey Yashunsky, CEO & Founder, Prytek; Joe Channer, CEO, Delta CapitaDelta Capita, backed by its parent Prytek, offers a BOPaaS (Business Operating Platform-as-a-Service) solution, a combination of tech solutions, managed services, and capital, giving banks the option of lifting out operations to create more efficient businesses. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Andrey Yashunsky, CEO and Founder of Prytek, together with Joe Channer, CEO of Prytek’s financial services arm, Delta Capita.

Yashwant Lodha, Co-Founder, PayNearby  PayNearby is one of the leading players in India in digital payments and branchless banking. The firm’s solution is to build a network of digital financial advisers from among the country’s ‘mom and pop’, mainly rural, retailers who are already trusted in their communities, providing them with access to digital financial solutions for their customers. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to PayNearby co-founder, Yashwant Lodha

Julia McColl, Commercial Director, Chetwood FinancialAs the financial services sector moves towards genuine consumer-led innovation it must ensure that legacy financial inclusivity issues do not persist. FinTechs have a role to play in becoming the engine behind financial inclusion. The banking business model needs to adapt to deliver a truly ideal user experience. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Julia McColl of Chetwood Financial. 

Sam Ranieri, Chief Executive Officer, ReachThe pandemic has caused a boom in ecommerce but notably in cross-border ecommerce. A merchant of record model allows merchants to navigate the complexities of local payments methods, FX rates, and conversion rates without needing a physical presence in each region. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Sam Ranieri, CEO of global payment localisation provider Reach.

Andrea Barbon, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of St GallenThe primary purpose in the establishment of cryptocurrencies is to avoid government censorship but the likes of Bitcoin are not behaving like currencies, rather they are at present simply highly speculative assets. Nevertheless, government attempts to control cryptocurrency serve to showcase the power of the blockchain. Work now underway to add metadata to blockchain transactions may allow for compliance with KYC and money laundering regulations in the future. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Professor Andrea Barbon of the University of St Gallen.

Muddu Sudhakar, Chief Executive Officer, AiseraAddressing the problem of increasing customer wait times, US banking platform Dave’s solution was to employ an AI conversational interface that delivers customer self-service. With Aisera’s AI Customer Service solution, the challenger bank provides on-demand, personalised support options accessible through a 24×7 virtual assistant that has resulted in a 70% auto-resolution rate with self-service and a 60% first call resolution.  Muddu Sudhakar, CEO of Aisera, speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence about how the ‘AI revolution’ could rival the industrial revolution in its impact. 

Eklove Mohan, Senior Director – Technology, SynechronMany financial services institutions have publicly announced a post-pandemic return to work policy with a majority offering a hybrid work scheme marrying remote WFH with some office presence. Goldman Sachs is a notable exception to this but for those going hybrid, what steps do they need to take to ensure secure working? Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Eklove Mohan, Senior Director – Technology, Synechron.

Eli Rosner, Chief Product & Technology Officer, FinastraWhat is the purpose of the organisation? Bankers (86%) are recognising they have a duty to support the communities they serve. A clear majority of the senior executives in financial services around the world (85%) also say Banking as a Service (BaaS) will make an impact over the next year, with 40% believing the impact will be significant. More than 9 in 10 say open banking is important with 97% of those already using it saying it has benefited their business. These are among the findings of Finastra’s Financial Services State of the Nation Survey 2021. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence discusses these and other results from the report with Eli Rosner, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Finastra. 

James Hudson-Dale, New Partner Sales, IDnowDigital disruption in RegTech is all about making the connected world a safer place. Businesses and regulators need to find ways to work together to create an environment that capitalises on opportunities while ensuring safety and security. Regulation is increasing as is the focus on privacy with the introduction of GDPR in the EU and the CCPA in California in the US. Against that backdrop, digital identity verification is set to grow in importance. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to James Hudson-Dale, New Partner Sales at identity verification platform IDnow.