Fintech Takes

What Customers Want: Navigating the Tension Between Innovation and Regulation

Oct 3, 2024

Ahon Sarkar, SVP & GM at Helix, shares insights on the delicate balance between fintech innovation and regulatory demands. He discusses how banks and fintechs collaborate to enhance customer service while navigating compliance challenges. Ahon emphasizes the importance of selecting the right sponsor bank and the need for operational rigor. He also highlights the value of customer feedback in shaping products and ensuring regulatory adherence. By fostering trust and communication, fintechs can thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.

01:03:11

Episode guests

Ahon Sarkar

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Effective fintech and bank partnerships require a clear understanding of customer service frameworks to align operational expectations and regulatory needs.

Trust, built over time through consistent positive interactions, is crucial for sustaining the relationship between fintechs, banks, and their customers.

Navigating regulatory compliance challenges is essential for fintechs to protect reputations and foster sustainable innovation within the financial ecosystem.

Deep dives

The Role of Banks in FinTech Partnerships

FinTech companies often rely heavily on bank partnerships to operate effectively in the financial services space. Banks have a fundamental responsibility to oversee how FinTech programs interact with their customers and ensure compliance with regulations. This relationship starts with a clear understanding of customer service frameworks between banks and FinTechs, helping to balance the service needs of users with regulatory requirements. By assessing the level of experience and understanding between bank and FinTech partners, both parties can better align their operations and expectations from the ground up.

Intro

5min

Navigating Bank-Fintech Partnerships

6min

Choosing the Right Sponsor Bank

7min

Navigating Financial Services Challenges

7min

Understanding Customer Feedback for Regulatory Insights

2min

Bridging Product Development and Customer Support Insights

3min

Balancing Innovation and Regulation in Banking

32min

Welcome back What Customers Want, a limited 4-part series from the Fintech Takes podcast, hosted by me and Corey Besaw, President of APAC and co-founder of Ubiquity.

In Episode 3, Corey and I are joined by Ahon Sarkar, SVP & GM at Helix, to dive into the natural tension points between fintechs, banks, and those ever-evolving customer expectations.

Financial services are leaning hard on self-service automation, but fintech moves at lightning speed—constantly innovating to craft the perfect solution. So, what happens when customer expectations and fintech's rapid pace don’t quite sync up?

Highlights include:

When fintechs, banks, and platforms first come together, discussions around customer service can be a mixed bag. Banks want to know if the fintech understands support systems or if they’re building from scratch. How do you scale a lean team while delivering an exceptional experience?
Choosing a sponsor bank is like setting the stage for long term success. Alignment is key. Do they have experience managing the complexities of third-party models like BaaS? Can they handle the risks that come with fintech partnerships?
As fintechs scale, banks must strike a balance between fostering innovation and keeping control. It's a bit like managing a kid on a trampoline—gradually handing over trust while ensuring the right safeguards are in place (or so we’d hope!).
As Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) matures, customer service is becoming a competitive edge—but only if fintechs and banks can align on expectations and regulatory standards. What happens when customer support or fraud spirals out of control?

In the tug-of-war between innovation and regulation, tune in to hear how these growing pains may create a brighter future for customer experience in financial services.

And don’t forget to subscribe and catch more insights on what customers want in upcoming episodes.

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Follow Corey:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-besaw-8004182/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahonsarkar/

Learn more about Ubiquity here:

https://www.ubiquity.com/