IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Mac Thompson, Founder & President, White ClayUS FinTech White Clay specialises in helping banks to clean up their act where data is concerned, data that could mean the difference between knowing what their customers want and being in a position to help or, eventually, going out of business! Mac Thompson, Founder and President of White Clay talks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence about finding meaning in bank data.

Micky Watkins, Chief Executive Officer, World MobileThe World Bank estimates 1.7 billion adults are unbanked, unable to access basic financial services, including some 700 million people in Africa. World Mobile is working with Cardano to leverage a decentralised identity solution built on the latter’s blockchain to address this issue. Large scale trials are already operating in Tanzania and the company is looking to extend its offering elsewhere in East Africa. Micky Watkins, CEO of World Mobile, speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence.

Corey Gross, CEO & Co-Founder, SensibillAmazon is already doing it and banks should be doing it too! Bankers need to be thinking differently about data, especially data from third party sources and what it can tell them about customer behaviour and how they can leverage that information to tailor products. Manage this ‘alternative data’ properly and banks will be able to be more proactive in retaining and developing their customer relationships and market share. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Corey Gross, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sensibill.

Eric Head, Vice President Experience Leadership, VerintThe US banking industry appears to have weathered the pandemic storm in strong fashion with all of the top 15 US banks showing improved customer satisfaction scores in the Verint Experience Index: Banking (2021). However, that doesn’t mean that they can rest on their CSAT and NPS rankings, customer journeys have become more complex, and expectations are higher than ever. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Eric Head, VP Experience Leadership at Verint. 

Alan Vey, Chief Executive Officer, Aventus NFTs are a part of decentralised finance (DeFi) that is rapidly growing, digitally representing ownership in a highly tradable and secure format, allowing marketplaces and more complex financial products to be built. There’s a lot more here potentially than just video clips and digital art. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence talks through the potential of NFTs with Alan Vey, CEO of Aventus.

Ajay Vij, SVP and Industry Head, EMEA – Financial Services & Public Sector, InfosysThe acceleration of clients’ digital expectations and the need for technology investment are forcing the pace in increased spending on tech solutions for banks and other financial institutions. But there are significant potential benefits. Infosys reckons financial services institutions could see $151 billion added to profits through effective cloud usage. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Ajay Vij, Senior Vice President and Industry Head, EMEA – Financial Services & Public Sector, Infosys.

Terrie Smith, CEO, & David Birch, Chairman, DIGISEQThe global wearable devices market is primed to reach $62.82 billion by 2025. UK-based DIGISEQ has announced a breakthrough in payment wearable technology giving consumers the functionality to turn any object of choice into a payment device via a mobile APP. The new solution, Rapid Contactless Personalisation, works with both Android and iOS, delivering Mastercard payment data, via secure tokenisation. The pandemic has accelerated the pace of adoption of IoT technology and contactless applications are forecast to extend to more than 41 billion devices by 2027. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to DIGISEQ Chairman David Birch and the company’s CEO Terrie Smith.

Terry Donohoe, CEO Europe, IgnitionIgnition developed the first robo-investment direct-to-customer solution in Australia. Now, the firm offers a SaaS solution that offers personal digital advice journeys across investment, insurance and retirement. Ignition has entered the UK market with a white-label, multi-currency bank grade, compliant digital advice platform that is compatible with both legacy and migrating technology environments. Terry Donohoe, CEO Europe for Ignition speaks to Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence about the platform and its prospects.

Roxana Mohammadian-Molina, Chief Strategy Officer, Blend NetworkMany FinTech players evolved out of the Global Financial Crisis with new platforms taking business from banks in areas that they were no longer able or no longer willing to play a part in – SME lending and development finance lending are among notable examples. However, while alternative lending has grown, has it reached a point where the banks want to buy back in? Are we moving from unbundling to rebundling? Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Roxana Mohammadian-Molina, Chief Strategy Officer of P2P lender Blend Network. 

Mary Connor, Director, Retail Banking Strategic Engagements & Global Sales, FinastraNew research by Finastra saw people across 5 continents (Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas) talking about their banking situation and whether they felt empowered by their financial institutions. The Journey to Financial Empowerment asked participants about their aspirations and to share a photo containing 7 objects representing their financial goals. Robin Amlôt of IBS Intelligence speaks to Mary Connor, Director, Retail Banking Strategic Engagements & Global Sales, Finastra, about the report’s findings.