IBS Intelligence Podcasts

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.

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.