Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

When you think of global leaders in digital banking, the conversation must start with Tencent-backed WeBank, the first digital-only bank in China. Launched at the end of 2014, WeBank has experienced astounding growth, with digital technology that is considered an industry best. Today, WeBank has over 200 million customers and is the leader in assets, loans, net profits, return on equity in the Chinese digital banking space.WeBank was founded with the mission of providing ‘“affordable, accessible, appropriate, and sustainable” banking services for underserved individuals and small businesses. As opposed to being a bank with technology advantages, it is a shining example of a technology company with banking licenses.We were granted an exclusive interview with Henry Ma, executive vice president and CIO of WeBank who I met back in January when I visited WeBank in Shenzhen. During the interview, Ma discusses WeBank’s mission of delivering financial inclusion at scale by leveraging AI, blockchain, cloud computing and big data.

According to a recent survey by Deloitte, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that global digital identity will be very important in the future despite the fact that digital IDs are still largely underused in the world today.Newer digital identity verification methods, like biometrics, could provide far superior authentication protocols and offer customers more seamless experiences while protecting against fraudsters. Digital IDs could also greatly enhance the gig economy, where the identity of remote workers is paramount to the protection of valuable corporate and consumer assets.While passwords are currently king, the development of universal digital recognition solutions that are both seamless and secure will eventually be the norm.We are fortunate to have Dave Birch, Author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services on the show today. During the podcast, Dave discusses the benefits and risks of digital identity, the role of the banking industry, and how we must balance connected commerce with human rights.

In late 2019, BB&T and SunTrust combined to become the 6th largest bank in the country, serving 10 million households. Looking at the strategic and financial benefits of the merger, the mission was to preserve the strong cultures of the legacy organizations, while using the combined scale and cost savings to build best of breed systems, processes and digital capabilities.At the time of the merger, the question was whether two legacy banking organizations could reinvent themselves for the future of banking, making the foundational changes needed in culture, leadership focus, and innovation spirit ,while retaining what customers of both organizations had cherished from the past. I am joined today by Scott Case, the CIO of Truist. In this episode, we discuss the status of this historic merger, the role technology and innovation has played, and the impact that COVID-19 has had on the intended results.

In May of this year, Brian Brooks took office as Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). During his short tenure, Brooks has already made statements regarding the role of banking organizations in supporting communities, approved the first national charter to a fintech organization and suggested a federal payments charter. He has even asked for public input on how banks store and manage crypto.It is clear that Brooks has a significantly updated perspective on the role of the OCC than his predecessors or the leaders of other regulatory bodies. It is still to be seen how broad the changes in regulations will be going forward. We are fortunate to be granted an exclusive interview with Brian Brooks, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Brooks’ background includes roles at OneWest Bank, the board at Fannie Mae and as chief legal officer at Coinbase. In today’s episode, we discuss the speed of how regulations are changing and the expected impact on legacy banking.

There has never been a more important time for executives to evaluate their position in the marketplace and to determine their future path to personal and professional success. No matter what your position in an organization, you can’t be successful without loving what you do and being recognized for who you are.Now more than ever it is time to embrace change, take risks and transform yourself. Or, as my guest today would say, “Be Bold, Be Brilliant, Be You”.I am joined today by Katrina McGhee, executive vice president of marketing and communications for the American Heart Association. Katrina is a world renowned brand strategist, innovator, success coach, keynote speaker and the author of two books: "Loving on Me!: Lessons Learned on the Journey from MESS to MESSAGE" and "BE BOLD BE BRILLIANT BE YOU: Lessons from the C-Suite to Accelerate Your Career." During the show, Katrina discusses her non-traditional career path, and shares ideas on how women (and even men) can understand who they are, what they want, what they can uniquely contribute and how to realize the dream life once felt to be unachievable.

In a post-COVID world, financial institutions must deliver innovative credit options, on-demand, in an almost instantaneous manner. To accomplish this feat – which had previously only been offered by fintech firms – traditional financial institutions will need to rethink back-office processes that currently hinder the speed to deliver digital credit.This will require the rethinking of everything from an organization’s origination process, to credit checks, to the operation of approvals, focusing on being able to use data to reduce costs, improve speed and expand the potential marketplace.I was very fortunate to be granted an exclusive interview with Christopher Maloof, chief product officer at MeridianLink, as part of the Banking Transformed podcast. His perspective on the results of this year’s research is a great overview on what banks and credit unions must do to succeed in the future.

Dubai-headquartered Emirates NBD has the distinction of being a legacy bank fully committed to innovation, digital transformation and customer-centricity. Rather than moving in baby steps, Emirates has made major efforts to build unique digital solutions for select segments.In 2017, Emirates NBD introduced Liv, a digital lifestyle banking platform geared to the needs of Millennials and Gen Z customers. The most recent iteration of the digital app was introduced this summer, integrating several third-party platforms, allowing customers to book tables or flights, play games or get concert tickets, and receive discounts on food and retail. The app also provides a host of financial tools to better manage money.We are joined today by Jayesh Patel, the head of Liv, the first digital-only lifestyle bank which is part of Emirates NBD. With more than 300,000 users, Liv has leveraged an open API platform to expand product features and boost Emirates NBD’s revenues. On today’s episode, Jayesh discusses digital transformation at Emirates NBD, the importance of an innovation culture and the development of a challenger bank within a legacy banking organization.

Even before the pandemic, there was a financial crisis where many consumers had difficulty making ends meet, causing missed monthly payments or overdrafts with fees that quickly added up. Initially created as a budgeting tool to help consumers avoid overdraft fees, the Mark Cuban-backed fintech named Dave has morphed into a digital banking platform that provides free paycheck advances of up to $100, helps gig workers find jobs, plants trees and offers an alternative to the big Goliath banks.We were fortunate to get some time with Jason Wilk, co-founder and CEO of Dave. During the show, Wilk discusses his career path as a 4X founder, the mission of Dave, the increasingly competitive challenger bank space and how Dave responded to a recent security breach.

In 2014, BankMobile was launched as a division of Customers Bank. As opposed to relying only on organic growth, BankMobile quickly grew with a B2B2C strategy, acquiring college student checking platform HigherOne. They also used a white-label strategy with telecom disruptor Sprint Mobile. Recently, BankMobile was re-positioned as part of a separate technology platform available to smaller banking organizations hoping to jump-start their digital banking offerings. The digital bank also announced a partnership with Google to offer their account within the GooglePay app.We are very fortunate to have Jay and Luvleen Sidhu, co-founders of BankMobile on the show. This highly innovative father/daugher combo have been covered by, and contributed to, The Financial Brand and the Financial Brand Forum through the years. They discuss the recent moves by BankMobile and the underlying strategy that has made this evolutionary digital bank a success.

Until recently, fintech firms have usually partnered with traditional banks to provide banking services as opposed to going through the lengthy and costly process of getting their own bank charters. Breaking away from that model, Varo Money became the first challenger bank to receive a national bank charter. The national charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) was the first ever granted to a fintech company, allowing Varo to offer credit cards, make loans and generate insured deposits nationally.We caught up with Colin Walsh, founder and CEO of Varo Money, Inc., Varo, which began offering mobile-only banking services in 2015. Walsh discusses why Varo pursued a national charter, the benefits of being a mobile-only bank, and how to gain scale in an industry that already has too many players.