Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

Capturing the attention of GenZ and digital-first consumers is an ongoing challenge. Financial well-being is a major goal for these segments … but engagement is elusive. Zogo is an award-winning app that gamifies financial literacy for younger consumers. Created by a Chinese immigrant, at the age of 19, Zogo currently serves 600,000 users from 200 financial institutions, including American Express. We are fortunate to have Bolun Li, founder & CEO of Zogo on the Banking Transformed podcast. He discusses the origination of this gamification-based app and the growth that has been achieved since Zogo’s founding.

The economic outlook for 2022 is being impacted by rapid inflation, geopolitical shocks, rising interest rates, and unemployment numbers that loom as headwinds. While rapid post-pandemic growth and a strong labor market have been big wins, the benefits of the recovery could be diminished as price rises eat away at paychecks. The question is, if the Fed must raise rates to higher levels to restore economic calm, could this start a recession that pushes the unemployment rate higher? And how does this impact the banking industry? I am excited to have Steven Rick, Chief Economist for CUNA Mutual on the Banking Transformed podcast. Steve shares his insights on the unprecedented economic conditions we are seeing and what the future may look like for the banking industry. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by CUNA Mutual Group  Built on the principle of “people helping people,” CUNA Mutual Group is a financially strong insurance, investment and financial services company that believes a brighter fin

More than ever, consumers want to associate with companies that are committed to environmental, social, and governance issues. This includes where they do their banking. But, while almost every financial institution is jumping on the bandwagon saying they are committed to doing what is good for society, how does a bank or credit unions differentiate from the noise in the marketplace? We are fortunate to have Chris Skinner, one of the foremost influencers in the banking industry and author of the book, ‘Digital for Good’, on the Banking Transformed podcast. He discusses the value of having a higher purpose for financial institutions. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by mParticle.  mParticle believes that better decisions start with better data. Cleanse, visualize, and connect your customer data from any source or system to any API. Better data, better decisions, better outcomes. Visit mparticle.com for more.

Old revenue models are dead. Financial institutions must rethink their business models and create new growth levers to be future-ready. Subscriptions make our customers’ lives easier with the touch of a button, a recurring purchase or even a reminder about content of interest. Helping customers pay directly from their debit or credit card can generate revenue. Beyond that, there are even subscription opportunities with personalized financial content. It is great to have Joan Clark, VP of Product for Segmint on the Banking Transformed podcast. Joan discusses the way banking can benefit immediately from the subscription economy. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Segmint  Segmint empowers financial institutions and financial technology providers to easily understand and leverage data, interact with customers, and measure results. Derived from billions of transactions, Segmint provides the fastest and most accurate customer insights through advanced data tagging, categorization, and contextua

Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provides a great opportunity for existing financial institutions to reach a greater number of customers at a lower cost by teaming up with non-traditional financial and non-financial businesses. It is expected the BaaS model will become a new battleground for both established banks and digital challengers, as the model has the potential to generate new revenue growth for both financial and non-financial businesses. The question becomes, will legacy banks become a distributor of financial products, a producer of them, or both? I am joined on the Banking Transformed podcast by Matthew Smith, Head of Digital Banking and Banking as a Service at Webster Bank. Matthew discusses why Webster Bank decided to pursue the BaaS strategy and the success of the strategy to date.

Many financial institutions struggle when it comes to building engagement with customers in a timely and impactful manner. More than ever, there is a need for ongoing dialogue that assists customers in better managing their finances. One way to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of customer communication is with texting solutions, connecting with customers in real-time using messaging that gets attention far greater than traditional channels. My guest on the Banking Transformed podcast is Scott McArthur, CRO of Statflo. Scott discusses the power of intelligent conversational texts, and how this channel can improve satisfaction and financial results. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Statflo Statflo provides the leading compliant business text messaging platform that enables Financial Institutions to have productive, two-way conversations with their customers. With seamless integrations to existing CRM/core systems, full customer context, and rich shareable content, customer-facing tea

It’s been 30 years since the term Metaverse was coined, but big money and big hype is now making its way into daily conversations in banking and beyond. With the convergence of hundreds of millions of people with computer capacity at their fingertips, high-speed and high-capacity internet capabilities, the introduction of modern and affordable AR, VR and MR devices, and new assets powered by Web3 technology, the Metaverse is being defined in real-time daily. My guest on the Banking Transformed podcast is Ray Wang, Founder and Chairman of Constellation Research. Ray untangles the hype from the likely reality and provides a clearer view of where the potential value lies for financial services. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by mParticle. mParticle believes that better decisions start with better data. Cleanse, visualize, and connect your customer data from any source or system to any API. Better data, better decisions, better outcomes. Visit mparticle.com for more.

While we are not seeing the end of banking, we are observing a changing of the guard in financial services. Powered by a deluge of funding, fintech firms are altering the battlefield for customers and relationships. Without quick and decisive action, legacy financial institutions could become invisible to consumers and small businesses by 2030. To a degree, this has already occurred in payments. What’s next? We are very fortunate to have Philippe De Backer and Juan Gonzalez from Arthur D. Little on the Banking Transformed podcast. They discuss the challenges facing traditional banking organizations and the actions that must be taken today for long-term survival.

Content marketing is an important part of creating a powerful experience in banking. Done well, it can help attract, inform, and engage your target audience. Content marketing has become popular in banking because it’s a way to provide insight without selling, building trust and loyalty that reinforces a financial institution’s brand. The types of content that can be created are vast and the sharing of content can go far beyond a bank’s website. My guest today on the Banking Transformed podcast is Joe Pulizzi, the author of the 7 books, including the best-selling book, Content Inc., and is the founder of The Tilt. Joe shares what it takes for banks and credit unions to succeed with content marketing.

In the past six years, Marcus has used an acquisition strategy to create a digital platform for consumer loans, credit cards, high-yield savings, automated investing, as well as providing tools to help consumers manage their finances. Most recently, Goldman Sachs completed the acquisition of GreenSky, growing the customer base of Marcus to over 13 million customers. With a no-fee, interest bearing checking account expected still in 2022, Marcus wants to be the primary bank for millions of people. Swati Bhatia, partner and head of direct-to-consumer business at Marcus is our guest on the Banking Transformed podcast. Swati discusses the continued product expansion of Marcus by Goldman Sachs, and how Marcus intends to become a dominant force in the retail banking. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and

Keeping pace with an increasingly changing marketplace has never been so difficult. No place is this more evident than in creating the IT solutions required for digital banking transformation. One way to resolve this dilemma is with low-code and no-code platforms. These platforms provide opportunities for virtually anyone to create business and mobile applications, helping accelerate innovation and delivery of highly differentiated solutions. Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, is our guest on the show today. Charles shares how low-code/no-code app development has revolutionized the way financial institutions build future-ready applications. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and redefine new ways of working. More at Microsoft.com/financialservices

Bloomberg reported that Apple is launching an initiative code-named “Breakout” to bring more financial services capabilities in-house. It is believed that Apple wants to own the entire payments supply chain, minimizing external vendors, reducing costs, and reinforcing the use of consumer data to improve the customer experience. This would also allow them to compete more directly with platforms like Square, PayPal, Google, and Klarna. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Efi Pylarinou, Global Fintech Influencer based in Switzerland, on the Banking Transformed podcast. She will discuss why Apple has announced the Breakout initiative and how an expanded ecosystem could impact banking in the future. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and redefine new ways of working. More at Microsoft.com/financialservic

The pandemic greatly accelerated the consumer desire to adopt digital-first banking experiences. That said, consumer preference for how to do banking has also become increasingly hybrid. Few financial institutions have innovated the customer experience across multiple platforms more than Capital One. From their award-winning mobile app to their Capital One Cafés, the bank continues to test new ways to build engagement. We are very fortunate to have Jennifer Windbeck, Head of Retail Bank Channels & Operations at Capital One on the Banking Transformed podcast. She will discuss how Capital One has continued to reinvent how and where customers can do banking. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and redefine new ways of working. More at Microsoft.com/financialservices

More than ever, delivering banking experiences rooted in personalized engagement is an expectation from every customer. More than just a requirement for communication, financial institutions must also develop personalized, tailored products for the customer segment that they’re going after. Consumers are increasingly diversifying who their financial relationships. If you don’t know your customer, understand their needs and deliver value with each engagement, trust and loyalty will be damaged. I am excited to have Joe Welu, founder and CEO of Total Expert on the show today. Joe shares how banks and credit unions are differentiating their organizations by knowing what customers want before they do. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Total Expert Total Expert delivers purpose-built CRM and customer engagement for modern financial institutions. The Total Experience Platform unifies data, marketing, sales, and compliance solutions to provide a cohesive experience across the customer lifecycle. T

Financial marketing has become increasingly complex as data and technology provides the opportunity for instant, personalized engagement. As consumer attention spans shorten, and the world becomes cluttered with noise, bank marketing must adjust accordingly. Choice proliferation and the exponential pace of change creates a combustible combination of complexity. Opportunities for simple banking experiences resonate, with greater loyalty and revenues being the reward. I am excited to have James Robert Lay, founder and CEO of the Digital Growth Institute on the show today. James Robert shares how banks and credit unions can simplify the marketing process with market-leading results. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and redefine new ways of working. More at Microsoft.com/financialservices This epis

SoFi is on a mission to move beyond its roots as a direct-to-consumer fintech organization, to become a financial services platform that will enable banks and fintech firms to build best-of-breed financial solutions. The recent acquisition of the Technisys’ platform, combined with their banking-as-a-service division, Galileo, will provide an end-to-end vertically integrated technology stack using industry-leading APIs. To put this significant acquisition into the perspective of the future direction of the banking industry, we have Derek White, CEO at Galileo Financial Technologies on the Banking Transformed podcast. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differentiated customer experiences across channels, products and services, and redefine new ways of working. More at Microsoft.com/financialservices

In a digital world where convenience, time savings and instant access reign supreme, a physical-first banking experience is no longer the preferred option for most consumers. But how can you verify the identity of someone wanting to do business with you? Banks should not have to make compromises between security and a seamless customer experience along their digital journey — but this requires the right identity strategy that reflects today’s risks and the needs of the modern digital consumer. I am excited to have Heidi Hunter, VP, Product Innovations at IDology on the show today. Heidi will discuss how knowing who your customer is, across channels and at all times, can be a differentiator for success. This episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by IDology   IDology is the trusted leader in digital identity verification and offers the industry's most innovative suite of multi-layered solutions to streamline customer acquisition, deter fraud, and drive revenue. Since 2003, IDology has provided easy to

The increasing scale and pace of change has been a constant characteristic of the payments landscape, driven by rapidly changing customer expectations and new technologies. The ability to deliver on these expectations, however, is still very much work in progress. Payments is an important element of a bank’s overall value proposition. More than ever, financial institutions must adapt new partnership strategies and operating models, while focused on building unique differentiation. Our guest on the Banking Transformed podcast is Matthew Wilcox, President of Digital Payments and Data Aggregation at Fiserv. He discusses the evolving opportunities and challenges available in today’s payments ecosystem. This Episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by FIS  From super apps and crypto to embedded finance and financial inclusion, we’re a long way away from the world of cash and checks. That’s why FIS has reimagined The Global Payments Report. The Global Payments Report makes it easy to understand what your con

Financial institutions have struggled engaging consumers with budgeting and financial health tools. Bank of America's approach has been to address financial wellness by building an omnichannel platform that allows consumers to set goals, track progress, and get answers to financial questions easily. These efforts have resulted in Bank of America being the first financial institution to be certified by J.D. Power for financial health support. Our guest on the Banking Transformed podcast is Holly O’Neill, President of Retail Banking at Bank of America. She discusses how a holistic framework for supporting the financial health of its clients includes simple, transparent products, high levels of personalization, financial education, and access to human support. This Episode of Banking Transformed is sponsored by FIS  From super apps and crypto to embedded finance and financial inclusion, we’re a long way away from the world of cash and checks. That’s why FIS has reimagined The Global Payments Report. The Glob

According to a report by J.P. Morgan, close to 300 banks are planning to roll out Bitcoin trading on mobile apps in the first half of 2022. Another study finds that 44% of regional and global banks will offer crypto support by the end of the year. More than ever, the share of a consumer’s wallet is at risk. The question is how will banks and credit unions respond at a time when differentiation and deploying digital solutions is no longer optional? We are very fortunate to have Patrick Sells, chief innovation officer for NYDIG, back on the Banking Transformed podcast. He is joined by Stephen Bohanon, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Alkami. They will discuss the opportunities and challenges of traditional banks offering integrated Bitcoin solutions. This Episode of Banking Transformed is Sponsored by Alkami  Alkami Technology, Inc. empowers financial institutions to evolve and thrive in the new digital age of banking. Our premium digital banking platform powers regional banks and credit unions to g