I’m glad I wore comfortable shoes.
All those steps were worth it, though. Just like its host city, Money 2020 is what you make it, and my colleague, Maria D’Albert, and I certainly made the most of our time at the Fintech conference.
What was so great about it? Why did it exceed my expectations?
- Content. The panel discussions and keynotes were relevant to me and my business. I watched and listened with intent and learned something new. Sure, not every panel is a hit, but the relevance batting average was high for me.
- Connections. As I mentioned in my previous article, the meetings – both scheduled and informal – are what it’s all about. I was able to create new connections for both existing clients and new client prospects, but it was also terrific to just bump into old friends and colleagues while walking the floor.
- Quality. These folks know how to put on a show. And I don’t mean it was an over-the-top spectacle in any way; rather, it was an appropriate level of professionalism, wow-factor, and… well, maturity, that you like to see in a conference like this. Bravo, team.
As for that content, I already talked about Open Banking being one of the big themes. Another one that stuck with me was this:
Pragmatism with New Technology
One of my personal mentors as a young consultant (and still now as an elder consultant!) is Dave Baker. Among the many nuggets of wisdom he has dropped in my career is to always ask my clients the question, “What’s the problem that needs to be solved?”
So it was quite refreshing to hear that refrain spoken by multiple panelists when asked about the use of new technology in banking, and how you choose which ones to adopt versus which ones to discard.
What new technologies are in play?
To no one’s surprise, A.I., Cloud, and Payments (especially of the embedded or real-time type) technologies are top of mind of banking executives. Perhaps a surprise: mentions of blockchain were few and far between.
Additionally, it was great to see speakers talk about the importance of good user experience (UX) technology. Digital executives like Christine Cavallo at Citizens continue to ask the right question: how do we bring the best experiences to our customers? (By the way, they’re asking the same question about the best experiences for their employees as well.)
The technology isn’t as important as understanding the problem
Reetika Grewal, Head of Digital and Innovation at Wells Fargo, said that no matter what, “focus on the problem you’re trying to solve.” She said it’s not about having technology for technology’s sake.
Preach!
But banks have plenty of problems, from digital strategy to modernization (i.e., getting out of that legacy tech), to core infrastructure. Therefore, any new technologies that can improve resilience, address consumer or colleague frustrations, and ensure compliance with data are most certainly welcome.
Take, for example, real-time payments (RTP). Adoption has been slower than expected in the U.S. because in part, the tech wasn’t solving a problem that most of us had. It’s not until specific use cases like Uber drivers in the gig economy needing instant funds, or deterring fraud in car sales by removing ACH settlement windows, that RTP has started taking off.
Don’t forget to consider how to operationalize new technology
Shiny new toys are neat. But before embarking on a new technology, it’s critical to ask, what’s the “run stage” of this? Meaning, what do the operations need to look like once this new tech is deployed?
Executives like Kelly Buchanan at Truist warned, “if we don’t have the right training, and if we don’t have the right risk systems to observe and evaluate, [the new technology] is not going to be successful.”
She smartly added the change management aspect of tech transformation, asking, “How do we prepare our clients for the change and bring them along on this journey?”
No matter what, collaboration is key
Like a conductor, leaders who wish to successfully implement new technologies must orchestrate product, technology, and operations to all work together. All these teams must align on a vision that everyone can execute on.
And working well internally is often not enough.
As companies look at open banking, instant payments, A.I., and more, they’re realizing that the “build” option is often the least attractive among buy, build, or partner. Banks are looking to partner with the right Fintechs and even other banks in order to bring new tech solutions to market.
Chris Ward at Truist acknowledged that “Transformation is hard… but don’t be afraid of it.”
Sign me up for next year
Money 2020 truly was a rewarding experience – one that far exceeded my expectations for a conference. I was even able to (mostly) overcome my discomfort with “blind date” style networking and make some fantastic new connections.
I can’t wait until the next one, but until then, it’s time to try and catch up on some sleep.
Banks have never seen more disruption, from unprecedented market and regulatory challenges to intense competition from fintech challengers. Further Advisory works with major financial services firms to establish transformational strategies, build new digital capabilities, and accelerate launches, all while modernizing core business operations.
