THE EVOLUTION OF

FINTECH IN 2023: A
DISCUSSION WITH
LEADERS, FOR LEADERS

In this article I asked top fintech leaders

these questions:
What excites you about 2023 in fintech?
What pitfalls do you need to be aware of?
What is the best way forward for you and
your company?

Read their answers and get valuable insights for

fintech in 2023
Page 1
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Co-Authors
This is an Article for the Fintech &
Financial Services Community; taking
insights & inspiration from leaders at the
spearhead of innovation in our industry.

Written by Richard Doherty.

Co-Authored by:
Nick van Bommel @ Mambu, Nina
Jeffrey Severijn @ °neo by Five Degrees, Mohanty @ bloommoney, Raf De Kimpe
Funs Jacobs @ Media.Monks, Andras Rung @ fintechweek London, Rocio Suarez @
@ ergomania, Arun Tharmarajah @ wise, Lexis Nexis, Rogier Rouppe van der Voort
Chris Kenning @ stubbenedge, Corinne @ PCN, Saleh Alhammad @ Konsentus,
Lleti @ Provenir, Derk Roodhuyzen @ Thomas McHugh @ Finbourne, Ashida,
Fixico, Gaston Aussems @ Tpay, Hans Yugo @ Fidelity, Erik Mostenicky @ Fidelity,
Osnabrugge @ talk360, Joel Blake OBE @ Tom van der Lubbe @ Viisi, Maciej
gfaexchange, Ken Serdons @ mollie, Luke Piechocki @ Regnology
Bewley @ certua, Ned Phillips @ bambu, Ashraf Shanab @ RFI Global

Supported by
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

WELCOME
Before we get into the heart of There is enormous volatility At the centre of many
the discussion, I would like to playing out across both the discussions with fintechs, banks,
start off by saying thank you to industry and a macro-economic and VC’s was an emphasis on
all my co-authors and perspective. collaboration, innovation,
collaborators in the fintech operational efficiency,
community for coming together Yet, despite the unstable standardization, and customer
and spending time with me over backdrop I’ve seen the fintech centricity as themes that will
the past few months. sector remain optimistic and as help drive the evolution of the
a result opportunities for growth products and services offered..
This project drew in expertise are being seized across the
from across the UK, Europe, globe. In seizing those As the market evolves, and
Asia, US, and the Middle East, opportunities, leaders are facing business models transform, the
up to the reality of a new needs of companies shift.
We came together for a operating environment where: In all my discussions over the
common purpose; to give the past few months, there is a
fintech community an eagle’s They must consider ever- genuine concern on
eye view on both challenges and changing nature of sustainability when the
opportunities in 2023. With a regulatory supervision and additional costs required to
dedicated passion we moved whether the role of the scale or transform a business
beyond the headlines and dug regulator will shift as the are taken into consideration.
down to give you the tools & market evolves and matures.
insights to succeed in 2023. The pathway that’s previously
Having a plan to navigate the been taken is changing. The
current market turbulence is ability to transform and be
Thanks to all of you, the co-
required to survive, and adaptable will be key to your
authors, people who were willing
indeed thrive. success. This article addresses
to make connections, our
those changes and what to do
distribution partners and
Trust and security remain a about them so that you not only
sponsors.
pivotal pillar on the route to survive but thrive in this coming
And you and I know, 2023 will
further adoption of fintech year.
go down as a year
products & amp services
to remember!
Enjoy the insights!
Richard Doherty
Page 03
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 5
8 of the Biggest Opportunities for Fintechs
Co-Authors
in 2023

Section 2 Chapter 6

Welcome In Conversation with the Community

What's Next for BNPL?

Chapter 3 Working Together with Fintechs to
Create the Next-Gen Architecture
Introduction Unpacking the Value of Core Banking
Platforms
Chapter 4 The Keys to Unlocking a Great
Company Culture
The Secret Ingredients to Recruiting a
Top 5 Challenges for 2023
Talented Workforce
Fintech strategies by fintech Why Financial Inclusivity goes beyond
leaders for fintech leaders the product
A Look at the Emerging Fintech
The ever-changing nature of
Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
regulatory supervision
Navigating market conditions to
survive and thrive Chapter 7
Market & Consumer Education
Trust & Security
Final Thoughts
Digital & User Experiences

Page 03
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Introduction

What excites you about 2023 in fintech?

What pitfalls do you need to be aware of?

What is the best way forward for you and your company?

These are the questions I’ve asked many top But how far back does fintech go? Has this
fintech leaders from around the globe over the recent explosion in banking technology come out
past few months. Their answers have given me, of thin air, or has it been a more gradual
and will give you, greater insight into the future evolution?
and what you can do now to prepare for it.

Looking back to Move Forward

To answer these vital questions, it is important to
look back on the history of fintech to see how we
According to the research papers by Arneris,
arrived here.
Barberis & Ross, fintech can be split into a number
of different eras, each of these eras saw a shift in
Fintech has been visibly evolving in front of our
the market that meant consumers viewed and
eyes ever since banks went online. With an
interacted with money differently than the era
increasingly cashless society, apps and
before.
platforms have been created to help us better
understand and manage our finances, while new
banks have been created that offer us a slicker
experience.

Page 05
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Introduction

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 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

To Infinity and Beyond

Yes, we can achieve positive results, but Robotic Process Automation

global macro-economic conditions must Two other areas to look out for in 2023
be taken into account as we set off into are banking as a service (BaaS) and
2023. Robotic process automation (RPA). On the
latter, JP Morgan is filling the gap in its
The world is currently recovering from a suite of wealth management services,
major pandemic, in the UK Brexit issues rolling out a hybrid robo-advisor program
persist, and in Europe there’s a war in the that will offer investors a digital platform.
Ukraine, additionally high inflation, Analysts see RPA as a key to fintech
interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis success, expecting to see growth in the
make the future difficult to predict. industry.

However, the underlying technology that BaaS Solutions

has driven the fintech evolution during There are a growing number of traditional
3.0/3.5, namely open banking and banks and credit unions that are offering
blockchain, seem certain to continue to BaaS solutions which can be used by non-
drive innovation in the future. banks to serve their customers. And
According to Finastra, “BaaS is expected
In talking with fintech leaders from across to reach a value of $7 trillion by 2030.
the globe, there’s also further focus on Those that act fast and secure priority
boosting Artificial Intelligence (AI). customer context will experience the
Researchers predict that AI will become a greatest upside. Those that wait may very
defining technology for the industry and well be left outside looking in.”
that by 2026 the market will grow more
than three times its current size. It’s All About Customer Experience
As we have seen, the path to where we
are today has been much slower than the
“By 2026 the AI market will grow more incredible pace of change that we have
than three times its current size.” seen over the last twenty years. From
Pull quote taking sixty years to get to the first cash
machine, apps and systems that update
in our pockets daily are now set to
Embedded Finance Applications dominate how we manage our finances.
As customers often don’t know which When you strip away all the technology
financial product they need, embedded however, the overriding driver in all of this
finance applications are on the rise. innovation is how the experience can be
Payment and/or credit products improved (securely) for the customer.
embedded in checkout seamlessly satisfy So, when looking to the future and
the customer’s needs. Some are deciding on the direction of your own
predicting the market may reach $7trillion product, putting the customer experience
by 2030. at the centre of it is likely to be a very
future-proof strategy.

Page 07 ,
Top 5 Challenges
Facing Fintechs
The Ever-Changing Nature of Regulatory Supervision

“Cyberattacks has evolved in recent years in regard to both speed and

attack vectors, while the regulatory and legislative environment is also
rapidly adapting to keep pace,” says Rocio Suarez Gray, director of
EMEA financial crime compliance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. As a
result, organizations must prove to have effective and robust security,
fraud defence and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs
to support day-to-day operations in their growth agenda. A proactive
approach to compliance beyond the tick-the-box culture and being
prepared before any event occurs is crucial to reduce unnecessary
risk exposure.”
Rocio Suarez Gray, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Fintech is already delivering significant Crypto, like other fintech initiatives has evolved
benefits to consumers and investors by and matured over the years and with this market
providing financial stability and financial evolution so too does the fiduciary response of
inclusion via financial services firms and the regulator need to shift.I
financial market infrastructure.
n the UK – Parliament has given the Financial
However, the ever-increasing use of fintech Conduct Authority (FCA):
solutions and emerging technologies also
brings risks, to which regulators and A single strategic objective – to ensure the
supervisors are responding. relevant markets function well

In 2022 we saw the collapse of the 2nd Three operational objectives – one of which is
largest Crypto Exchange, FTX. The CEO, Sheila securing appropriate protection for
Warren, of the Crypto Council for Innovation, consumers
stated:
To deliver upon these objectives, the FCA has
“We remain committed to working towards a range of tools at their disposal. And as a
building regulation that protects users and regulator they use these tools to prevent
safeguards innovation, in order to bring harm from occurring and use them to tackle
about real change. The news has been harm when it arises.
shocking, but we’ve also seen the
community come together. We have an But as market events unfold will the regulators
historic opportunity to get the policies in the UK and abroad start shifting their
right.” stance?

Page 08
 Top 5 Challenges Facing Fintechs

I sat down to talk through this and more with Rocio Suarez Gray,
director of EMEA financial crime compliance at LexisNexis Risk
Solutions.

Richard: How do you see the role of the Richard: There are many legislations
regulators changing as the market evolving, but the one that’s catching
matures? people’s attention is the Market in Crypto
Assets (MiCA) What is this legislation?
Rocio: From a technology perspective,
regulators are stepping up their Rocio: MiCA (Market in Crypto Assets
enforcement oversight activity to address Regulation) is a framework developed in the
money laundering and terrorist financing European Union (EU) to help regulate crypto
vulnerabilities more efficiently and asset types that were not covered by existing
effectively. These enforcement actions are regulations. It defines obligations for crypto
specifically addressing inefficient and asset service providers (CASPs).
insufficient policies and procedures to
mitigate financial crime risks. Richard: What are the aims and objectives
Regulators will continue to take measures of MiCA?
to mitigate risks in the financial system and
assess whether those risks require a new Rocio: MiCA introduces specific mechanisms
regulatory approach. That said, regulations to address potential risks to the financial
do need to adapt to changes in the industry system arising from crypto assets. The
and the innovation needs to align with legislation specifically defines how crypto
regulatory standards. assets services and crypto issuers should
operate and outlines how consumers will be
protected by instilling appropriate levels of
Richard: Will further regulation in the investor protection and market integrity to
industry improve trust & security for prevent market abuse. With the new rules,
consumers? market abuse practices such as market
manipulation and insider dealing will now be
Rocio: Yes, 100%. Compliance continues to covered.
evolve at a very fast pace along with the
industry. It cannot be a tick-the-box
exercise and organizations must go further
to meet standards. We need to drive this
during the rapid digital transformation, so
putting effective AML and fraud prevention
controls and systems in place is key to
improving trust in the industry.

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The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Bottom Line: be Proactive, not Reactive!

The regulators response is evolving as the Going forward, fintechs who adopt a
market matures. Over the coming year there’s proactive approach to emerging risks will
an expectation that there will be a shift from have the ability to help shape the
supporting growth and adoption to taking regulatory response and not purely be
action to mitigate risks in the market. reactive when regulation is finalised.

This is resulting in a set of regulatory

adaptions, and initiatives being setup to cover
a wide range of associated risks, in cyber
security, operational resilience, data privacy
and consumer protection to name a few.

Business Impacts

Firms entering the fintech space need to, now Governance: establishing control
more than ever, factor the ever-changing frameworks to effectively manage the
nature of regulation into their strategies, risks associated with both development
business planning and governance. and adoption of fintech solutions.

Firms should be aware of and be proactive in Business Models: Current and future
their approach to risks and regulation, and regulation must be taken into account as
build-in capabilities into their infrastructure fintechs develop their business models as
that enables continuous assessment of these some business opportunities may be
factors as strategic planning and other core constrained by regulators whilst in other
activities are undertaken. instances firms may need to adjust their
offering in response to regulation.
Regulators are redrawing the boundaries to
take into account the new or changing Differing approaches across locations:
products that are emerging as a result of Divergences across locations and the
further fintech development and adoption. regulation that accompanies a location
And as a result, so do you need to factor in are an important consideration for firms
new parameters as you grow and transform, in deciding where to locate their services.
these include:

Page 10
 “I can see there being a critical mass driver which will
lead to either mergers or partnerships, which will be
beneficial for the ultimate consumer but it’s going to be
born out of necessity. On top of this, the next evolution
will come down to who’s got the strength of idea or the
balance sheet that’s capable to bring those other partners
together and the idea to the market.”

Chris Kenning, Group CEO Stubben Edge

 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Navigating Market Conditions to Survive & Thrive

A trend of mergers and partnerships is being seen in the

Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) activity in the fintech sector over
the past year, as companies continue to partner-up to
scaleup.

M&A Activity Continues

A potential recession won’t dampen “We’re also noticing an increase in share-

fintech M&A as it did in 2008. Deployable based acquisitions. Where, large
private capital has reached its highest companies are trying to bring in younger
level ever at $3.6trillion, representing companies, not just through Acquire, but
around three times the market in 2008. bolting on additional capabilities from a
The availability of capital should drive product standpoint into their
buyers and investors to further acquire infrastructure. So, it’s definitely an exciting
companies that have the potential for time, but it’s going to be choppy waters.”
high growth sold at affordable prices.
M&A is a subject I discussed with Erik And as Erik alluded to there has been
Mostenicky, VP of Ventures, at Fidelity. increased activity by some of the larger
Richard: Do you see M&A activity institutions. Here are a few:
continuing into 2023?
Erik: “Yes, definitely. As you rightly pointed Black Knight – ICE $16bTMF Group-
out, some of the larger private equity Adia $3
shops focusing on the tech sector have
been very, very active. Wealthfront – UBS $1.4b
“We see a lot of actions across the private
landscape as well, although the urgency MoneyGram – Madison Dearborn
isn’t there yet as much. There are a lot $1.8b
more opportunities in the market, but
people are being very diligent. Technisys – SoFi $1.1b

“I believe there’s a lot more activity across Coincheck – Thunderbridge $1.3b

the M&A landscape for incumbents,
where they’re going to be picking up
some of these growth stage assets at
affordable prices.

Page 12
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

According to the IMF “Global growth is forecast to slow from 3.2 percent
in 2022 to 2.7 percent in 2023.”

This slowdown, as you know, has impacted the fintech industry in 2022
with valuations getting downgraded.

According to CB Insights, nearly half a trillion dollars has been wiped off
the valuation of fintech firms during 2022 compared to their peak
valuation.

The onset of the pandemic and a massive uptick in the demand and use
of digital services led to a record number of IPOs for fintechs back in
2020.
However, further adoption and acceleration of digital services has been
challenged by global macro-economic conditions.
Through the year fintechs have seen a decline in funding, mega funding
and fewer unicorns have been created. (Source, CB Insights.)
But although funding has dipped, the fintech sector has seen a sharp rise
in M&A activity in 2022, with 591 deals completed in H1 2022 (Source:
Hampleton Partners). Driving the sharp increase in deals are Payments,
Crypto & Blockchain, and Banking & Lending.
 I dug deeper in my interview with Erik
Mostenicky, VP of Ventures, at Fidelity
into how venture builders are
viewing 2023.

Richard: Do you see M&A activity continuing That being said, we’re quite excited about the
into 2023? range of different business models that touch the
universe of asset and wealth management.
Erik: We see a lot of action across both public and Initiatives such as tackling the aging population’s
private market – with a lot of PR around the ‘take changing needs for financial services. On top of
private’ public side. Across private markets, there that, we’re interested democratizing High New
will be primarily secondary liquidity opportunities, Worth value propositions via a digital channel for
but investors are being very diligent. the mass market; and the evolution of the trading
backbone through alternative asset, crypto and
We’re also noticing an increase in share-based ESG demand.
acquisitions. Where, large companies acquire
younger companies, either for their product Richard: Will the impending recession dampen
capabilities or talent to differentiate their product investments for fintechs?
offering. So, it’s definitely an exciting time, but it’s
going to be choppy waters. Erik: We started seeing a compression of multiples
and huge values in the public market side,
Richard: What excites you about the fintech dropping from November 2021 until summer of
landscape in 2023? 2022. I’m not an equities specialist, but because a
lot of the growth investors who were investing at
Erik: So, if you take the last few years, we’ve seen the pre-IPO stage, are suddenly left with positions
an eruption of interest among new founders, VC on their books where they have probably
investors as well as industry incumbents towards overpaid, but not on all instances.
fintech. I think we’re definitely not slowing down
the interest towards fintech in 2023. But if you look at some publicly listed venture
capital funds, they had to do quite a lot of
But what I would say is that the prior environment communication regarding NAV write downs, and
was unsustainable, and perhaps a lot of business that is already creating a crunch at the growth
models got funded which would not have gotten stage. So, companies that are, let’s say, Series C to,
funded otherwise. In the current environment, the Series E, in particular, not only just in Europe, but
flight to quality is the new norm, and hopefully the also in the US will have a harder time to get
best will persist. capital.

I believe this is positive for the overall industry I expect that, that will continue. And investors will
evolution that we’ve gone through this shake-up be more prudent, especially the growth investors.
despite it been quite tough. The macroeconomic But then what’s also quite interesting is that a lot
impact around interest rates and the shift in of the investors who would focus on series C+ are
capital allocation strategy, especially in Europe, on now trying to go a little bit earlier now as well. So
top of it does not help. the early stage rounds have become more
competitive.

Page 14
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Bottom Line: Out of Tragedy Comes Growth!

While the global economic conditions For decades, banks had little or no
moving into 2023 look somewhat tainted, competition which gave them the power to
after speaking to so many fintech and monopolise financial services. This is the
banking leaders this past year I feel there reason why banks got away with charging
are opportunities now to build and evolve high commissions.
the ecosystem.
Back then, if you needed money, you went
Do you remember what happened in to banks.
2008 when Lehman Brothers filed for
bankruptcy? Grasp the Opportunity to Innovate

I sure do! In the aftermath of the 2008 financial

crises, many highly skilled people were
All of us in financial services where disillusioned with the banking industry and
shaken. struck out on their own path to reimage
and rebuild the industry as a whole.
I remember the day and where I was, I’m
sure you do to. But what happened next That same innovation is required to evolve
completely changed the face of the the fintech offering and make certain the
banking industry, ultimately leading to the customer gets what they need from the
creation of a new breed of financial industry.
institutions.
Just think of all the innovation that’s taken
At the time many couldn’t foresee that the place in the past few years, the rise of
demise of Lehman and the mistrust in digital banks, embedded finance solutions,
banking it caused would become the open banking APIs, greater fraud
catalyst for the innovation that happened detection, the list could go on.
afterwards.
Presently, we find ourselves in a place
where fintech is mainstream.
Banks Held a Monopoly But don’t forget where we started and the
market conditions that allowed us to
innovate our way there.

Page 15
 “My family and friends still to this day
ask me what bitcoin is. If we’re talking
about mass adoption these are the
people who should know what the
product is.”

Ryan King, head of business

development, at Dusk Network

“For many participants if you look at

what they are demanding and the
questions they are asking, then we still
feel there is further education required
to help increase the understanding and
use case of the technology.”

Jeffrey Severijn, CEO °neo at Five

Degrees
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Market & Consumer Education

“Digital businesses are perfectly poised to distribute fintech

solutions, but they don’t have the knowledge of financial
services and knowhow to embed these services into their
current capabilities.”
Luke Bewley, Founding Member at Certua

People don’t know what they don’t know. It’s our job to teach them.

Fintech innovation has broadened the range of both investment and banking
possibilities, thereby making it simple and more flexible. Multiple integrations of
technologies have resulted in fintech operations addressing the most complex needs of
players in financial services.

Yet, consumers (B2B, B2C) are still grappling to understand fintechs true relevance and
power. This is why fintech education must keep up with the pace of innovation. The
statement “finance rules the world, but soon technology will rule finance” is true.

Lone Geniuses?

The idea of the lone genius who rises to success is a fallacy.

The most successful people are part of creative and supportive communities.

“Real community is about members interacting with one

another and creating value from those interactions.”
Max Rothery, VP Community, at Finimize

Page 17
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

“There’s a community led approach that I really like. The reason why I
like it is, if you understand the community, your customers, the end
customers, you can really build a lot of capabilities on the back of it.”
Erik Mostenicky, VP of Ventures, at Fidelity

People are craving community now more than One of the major actions I take when consulting
ever. For leaders in fintech this means community businesses is helping them formulate a plan to
is a critical success factor to your existence, build a community. The mistake almost everyone
longevity, and success. However, forming a makes is they want to dive right in. They want to
community requires more than simply gathering do a podcast and create social media pages and
people in the same place or getting a certain hold online meetings and give webinars, and they
number of people to hop-on your Slack, Discord or want to do it all without clarity of how community
LinkedIn groups. drives business success. They end up spinning
their wheels because all their activities, and all the
Successful fintechs such as finimize and etoro are communication, is not based on one theme and
using the power of community to educate the pointing in one direction. It’s like they want to
market, understand customers, improve products, create a movie without knowing how to write a
increase engagement, and improve response script that revolves around a theme and super
rates. events and powerful characters.

Communities not only facilitate growth but they There can be many reasons to build a community.
can be the most valuable and honest source of You can build one within your business for your
feedback. In a recent podcast with the head of team to spark creativity, to encourage team unity
community at finimize, he mentioned that the or to voice concerns and more. Or you can create
reason their community is led by people in the a community of prospects with the desire to
community (rather than by the company) was to educate and inspire them, so they purchase your
create a sense of ownership and for the team at product or services.
finimize to get under the cover as to what
customers were thinking. Building a community should be well thought out
and planned before you begin, so that it has a
Giving the users the freedom to lead the strong purpose and theme that will contribute to
discussions also has the effect of the content your business.
being more authentic and therefore increase the
probability of it being viewed by others in the
community

Page 18
Bottom line:
The Future!

There are many aspects to

educating your public and or
building a community. There are
also many tools available that if
not utilized correctly can end up
wasting your time. Education and
community building is a long-
term investment—scary to some,
I know, as cycles these days are
quarter by quarter or sometimes
even shorter.

But, if you can take the first step

and provide answers to the
questions your public is asking,
you are building the bridge to
adoption and future-proofing
your business.

Page 19
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Trust & Security

Ashraf Shanab, Head of Business Development

EMEA, at RFI Global outlines why trust & security
is critical to further adoption of fintech solutions.

A recent survey from RFI shows that consumer

trust remains relatively low in the new digital led
banks and fintechs compared to those of
traditional banks. Fledgling companies
traditionally find these brand trust issues as they
go to market, and fight for market share and
consumer awareness, but in the case of fintech
this is an ongoing pattern that’s been lasting for
several years.

Page 20
Customers define trust as financial institution’s ability
to keep their money and data safe.

Data breaches and fraudulent activities in recent years have not helped the case
here. RFI’s recent study indicates this with their Global Digital Banking group of
over 24K consumers every year across the US, Europe, and Asia-Pac (Australia,
Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Singapore, UK, and the US). Just
under half of the consumers (global average) have either heard or been a target of
fraudulent activity. When looking closer to home, it is very clear that the UK is a
prime target for those activities with nearly half of the banked population having
been targeted with suspicious activity via text, phone, or email.
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Trust and Security are not only important in the Easier ways to find the best deals for new
acquisition of customers but also in turning profits. If banking products and services
consumers do not trust their fintech with their
money, then they may continue to use them The ability to view and make changes to all your
occasionally for some features like peer-to-peer banking accounts and products on a single
payment or travel money but not as a main bank. screen even if they are held with different
Main bank status is strongly related to the financial institutions
profitability of the customer.
Another good example where trust forms a strong Recommendations for more relevant/ suitable
barrier to fintechs is open banking. Open Banking is banking products
about shifting away from the currently closed model
of banking, where each bank retains and controls the Personalised alerts for new banking product
data it collects about its customers. In an Open offers
Banking system, the customer is given control over
their data and can decide who has permission to Customers will have to provide their consent to
access their data. This could be other banks or even allow access to their personal information in this
providers outside the financial services industry. way.

Some of the customer benefits of Open Banking Yet overall customers still see their traditional bank
could include: as the best equipped for such a service. It’s an area
where fintechs could add huge value and access
Faster applications and approvals for banking significant opportunities yet they are still wrestling
products with being trusted.

Access to more reliable, tailored, and

personalised financial advice
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Digital & User Experience

Ashraf Shanab, Head of Business Customers now expect flexibility, real-time

Development EMEA, at RFI Global talks accessibility, and ease-of-use. And they also
through where the digital focus will be in the want the experience to be outstanding from
coming year and why user experience is still a brand they know and trust.
at the top of the list for fintechs.
As a result, the industry is shifting towards
As banking moves from physical branches becoming more customer centric, listening
on the high street to screens on mobile to customers, and focusing on delivering.
devices, competition in retail and Addressing the digital need is key to creating
commercial will only continue to rise. a business of the future.

The wave of fintech has also changed

customer expectations.

For customers digital experience plays a critical role as it can

eclipse typical motivators of price & product. However, this
journey is also paved with similar challenges across the board
for financial services firms, these include:

1. Modularizing the existing tech stack: Modern architecture is completely

different from the rather monolithic legacy systems. They’re built
modularly, and from a multitude of microservices. There are no short cuts
here, and a rip and replace may not be a strategy especially considering
data security and privacy issues that need to be considered.
2. Proliferation of new channels: Prioritising 24/7 access and offering
access via non-traditional channels, such as social media, is becoming
important to meet customers where they want to be met.
3. Difficulty with using available data: In today’s world customer data is a
key asset, but to leverage assets companies need to overcome the
challenge of siloed systems and create an easy accessible place to gain a
unified view of a customer. Any takers?
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Delivering a good digital experience will have an impact

on key metrics around user stratification and product
cross-sell which both impact profitability.

But how do you continuously innovate whilst keeping

up with the demand from users on a day-to-day basis?

According to the survey from RFI Global, in most

markets, consumers are more satisfied with the digital
experience provided by traditional banks across
devices. But this is partly due to the perceived value of
fintechs and the expectations customers have before
they are onboarded.

A very important part of the digital experience is

the range of products available. Consumers often
feel restricted with product and service options
they have available via fintechs. This means they
have to go somewhere else to access the
product/service which is another factor
preventing fintechs from winning the more
profitable main bank status most of their
traditional peers enjoy.
8 of the Biggest Opportunities
for Fintechs in 2023

Fintechs have always had the uncanny ability to

overcome the challenges and get the job done.
But as global macro-economic conditions
change course, interest rates and inflation are
on the rise, valuations are dwindling and
competition increasing, it is becoming more
difficult.

Nevertheless, as an industry with innovation at

the heart, all of the thought-leaders we spoke
with over the past few months are optimistic
about 2023 and what it has to offer.

Page 25
Here’s what fintech leaders are saying
about what to look out for in 2023

Ken Serdons:
CCO Mollie

Greater industry collaboration and Increased access to

financial services for all customers. There has already been
quite a lot of disruption happening in fintech in the past 10 years.
And I believe, there’s a lot more to come, especially as a number of
products haven’t been fully adopted by the public yet. As the
environment gets more complex, I’m noticing more companies
collaborating and working together to find solutions.

For example, finding better & quicker integrations from payments

into accounting systems, connecting shipping platforms into
checkouts etc.

So the more partners you work with create a stronger ecosystem.

Secondly, as we know, banks were traditionally strong and able to
offer many products to consumers. Payment Services were one of
the first services to be taken out of banks to be performed by
specialized players like us.

And right now, you see more and more of this happening and I
believe this trend is here to stay, especially if you consider the
eMoney licences available to companies which lowers the barriers
to entry and removes the complexity of becoming a bank. I believe
this is an area fintechs will continue to offer a challenge to the
banks, which is good for the financial services ecosystem.

Page 26
 Here’s what fintech leaders are saying
about what to look out for in 2023

Corrine Lleti:
Commercial Sales Director,
Provenir

BNPL providers respond to customer requirements with

innovative new product offerings: One of the fascinating
topics to keep a look out for ‘save now pay later’ which is just
starting up now. And there’s quite a lot of research that shows that
60% of people at any one time, no matter which income category
they're in, are saving for something.

Raf De kimpe:
CEO Fintech Week London

Keep your eye on the current build but know what’s coming
in the future. We’re still building right now, so topics such as
open banking will remain centre of the discussion into 2023 as
more capabilities are released to market. More practically
speaking, apps such as crypto and cloud native will continue to be
adopted by customers and institutions alike. But questions remain
for cloud native enthusiast, to do with how the technology will be
integrated into traditional financial services businesses who have a
plethora of legacy systems. Then on a completely different
spectrum there’s advances in web3 and the metaverse, which you
should keep a watching brief over but will take some time to be
embedded into financial services.

Page 27
 Here’s what fintech leaders are saying
about what to look out for in 2023

Jeffrey Severijn: CEO °neo

by Five Degrees

Fintechs will focus on expanding their product offering,

while traditional banks become more customer centric. I
see more or less two key trends. In the past, a lot of fintechs, were
focusing just on one product. Nowadays, they’re branching out
because they also see they need to create a profitable business at
some point. Going forward we’re seeing the rise of super apps
where fintechs offer a multitude of products to their customers.
On the banking side, they’re really focusing on the customer, and
their needs. On top of this, there’s a strong focus on more agile
ways of working and making certain they can release new
products to market quicker, which is a by-product of the pandemic
and realisation that if their infrastructure and delivery functions
are slow, they simply lose market share to the nimbler fintechs.

Arun Tharmarajah:
Head of Banking & Payments,
at Wise
Further use of Open Banking foundations to build customer
centric products. Open banking will hopefully move forward and
become much more mainstream. And we’re seeing things such as
variable reoccurring payments come to market now; and could be
further enhanced with the use of open banking to launch some
very exciting use cases.

Page 28
 Here’s what fintech leaders are saying
about what to look out for in 2023

Tom Van De Lubbe:

Founder & CEO Viisi

Think Differently to innovate. I believe people must be,

especially right now, be more aware of the fact that in the long
run, you have to do something differently. This means that you
have to train yourselves a little bit in a more intellectual way to ask,
is there a chance if I do something in a totally different way that
will exceed all expectations. Because if something seems to be
totally obvious, and everybody is moving in the same direction,
perhaps you should go to train yourself to go in the other
direction, that’s innovation.

Ned Phillps:
Founder and CEO Bambu

Improve operational efficiencies, to drive profitable

growth. Focus on profits. That’s one of our core focuses at
Bambu. Profits is a word that was lost, We got used to cheering
every startup for raising money. And if I can put out an unpopular
view, you’re getting cheered on for not being profitable. It’s
madness, right? Now, of course, the VC route to growth happens
when people are willing to invest when capital is available. So I
believe what to look out for next year is, for those fintechs that are
profitable and for fintechs that have partnered with corporates to
have a great impact on the ecosystem. And if you want to
speculate on the emerging ecosystems, then be aware of both the
upside and downside; but no doubt there will be a few diamonds
emerging from this build phase in the years to come.

Page 29
 Here’s what fintech leaders are saying
about what to look out for in 2023

Tom McHugh:
Founder & CEO,
FINBOURNE Technology

Standardization of Processes and Protocols will lead to

further innovation in the cloud. There has been a gradual
evolution of the tech stack over the past 15 years. I believe there
will be further standardization across the industry as companies &
bodies - such as the EDM council, ISLA and parties collaborating
on the common data model, taxonomy for instruments and Swift -
move to the cloud. What is interesting is that they are moving in a
manner that encourages adoption of standards. This alone is
usually the driver for future innovation and will further help cloud
standardization.

Page 30
In Conversation with
the Community
What's next for BNPL?
A conversation with Corrine Lleti,
EMEA Sales Director, at Provenir
There were many headlines in 2022 and Buy-
Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) definitely made it to
the top of the pile earlier in the year with
BNPL provider Klarna’s valuations being
slashed by a whopping 85%, which was a
reflection of market sentiment surrounding
BNPL lenders at the time.

But as we enter a new year, what are the

challenges facing BNPL lenders and are there
green shoots of optimise that the market will
flourish again? Public markets are trading and by quite
significant amounts in some cases. But what
Corrine Lleti sat down to discuss this and we’re seeing is increased demand for ‘buy now
much more. pay later’. And this is because of people
looking for clever ways of making money go
Richard: What are some of the key further. And ‘buy now pay later’ is a good way
challenges that BNPL is facing right of doing it. If I’m comparing credit cards,
now? there’s been some good studies done that
income level, education level, and whether I
Corrine: There are some major themes out have a credit card has no impact whatsoever
there at the moment. And, I think the of whether I’m more likely to use ‘buy now pay
economic situation, being as it is, is a major later’ or not. Consumers are wanting to use
factor. This impacts consumers in that cost of this new product as it’s an appealing source of
living is going up while value of household spreading your money.
income is going down. So, many people are
looking for cleverer ways to make the money Lastly, right now we are seeing competition
that they have go further. This crisis is also increase. I see many more companies moving
impacting access to funds for businesses, into the BNPL space recently. As a result,
and therefore growth aspirations. We’re there’s further innovation in this space, and
seeing businesses that have funds or are more specialist products being brought to
generating profits are in slightly better shape. market, such as the “fly now by later”, which is
They actually have some money to run their an interesting concept. BNPL companies are
businesses. Whereas, if you’re out searching continuing to look for additional revenue
for external sources of revenue, that’s getting sources, especially one’s that facilitate fees,
harder right now, so that makes it harder to which is likely to get squeezed by regulators at
run your business. And all of this is impacting some point.
profitability.
Page 31
 What's next for BNPL?
A conversation with Corrine Lleti,
EMEA Sales Director, at Provenir

Richard: Is there demand for BNPL on the Richard: What are the opportunities for
B2B or B2C side? BNPL in 2023?

Corrine: Great question, and as you know Corrine: On the good side, I think, ‘buy now
we’ve just recently sold our first B2B deal in pay later’ is an attractive model to many
Africa, and we have other B2B conversations consumers. But we know it’s a particularly
in flight in Europe. So, it’s definitely attractive model to generation Z. So, I would
something that has come onto the radar in say, ‘buy now pay later’, is a trend that has
the last 9–12 months. This is a normal trend demographics and time on its side. The model
in financial services where the consumers is continuing to evolve as new players come
spearhead the markets and businesses look into the market and consumers needs and
at engaging further down the line. wants change.

Richard: What role do you see regulators We’ve gone through and evolution in this
playing in this space? space over the past years; 1.0 were the early
adopters who were really going for point of
Corrine: Right now, as we’re all aware, sale, very little data, instant decisions on
regulation is a fact of life. The Australian people they have no relationship with
fintech ecosystem were clever in their whatsoever.
approach, by creating a code of practice and
putting that into place before the regulator 2.0, most companies were working off the
started getting to work. And it seems like value of their customer portfolio, and the
most parts of that code of practice will be put marginal risk, or marginal cost of one
into legislation. In the UK, this process has additional customer coming on was suddenly
been taking place through consulting parties, reduced. So long as they could keep the
and something is expected by the end of portfolio in a good place, they could accept
2022. Those that are willing to work together one or two lower percentages coming in,
and be part of the process can influence because overall, they could manage the risk at
policy and the future direction. portfolio level. And I think, that’s where a lot of
the market players are now.
Furthermore, there seems to be greater
focus on transparency, and I believe this to Right now, ‘buy now pay later’ 3.0 is emerging,
be very important in building trust in the which will take the product to the next level,
consumer over the long term. There’s an where companies coming in today are trying
awful lot of emphasis on affordability, to pass the risk on to another credit product.
protecting people from debt, and so on. And
having further transparency will help. So, the model is evolving and it won’t stop at
3.0. More innovation and evolutions will take
So, I see regulators continuing to play a vital place.
role in helping to mitigate risks.

Page 32
What's next for BNPL?
A conversation with Corrine Lleti,
EMEA Sales Director, at Provenir
Corrine: On the good side, I think, ‘buy now
pay later’ is an attractive model to many
consumers. But we know it’s a particularly
attractive model to generation Z. ‘Buy now pay
Richard: Is there Demand for BNPL on the
later’ is a trend that has demographics and
B2B or B2C side?
time on its side. The model is continuing to
evolve as new players come into the market
Corrine: Great question, and as you know
and consumers needs and wants change.
we’ve just recently sold our first B2B deal,
and we have other B2B conversations in
We’ve gone through an evolution in this space
flight in Europe. So, it’s definitely something
over the past years; 1.0 were the early
that has come onto the radar in the last 9–12
adopters who were really going for point of
months. But, in all honesty this is a normal
sale, very little data, instant decisions on
trend in financial services where the
people they have no relationship with
consumers spearhead the markets and
whatsoever.
businesses look at engaging further down the
line.
In 2.0, most companies were working off the
value of their customer portfolio, and the
Richard: What role do you see regulators
marginal risk, or marginal cost of one
playing in this space
additional customer coming on was suddenly
reduced. So long as they could keep the
Corrine: Right now, as we’re all aware;
portfolio in a good place, they could accept
regulation is a fact of life. The Australian
one or two lower percentages coming in,
fintech ecosystem were clever in their
because overall, they could manage the risk at
approach, by creating a code of practice and
portfolio level. And I think, that’s where a lot of
putting that into place before the regulator
the market players are now.
started getting to work. And it seems like
most parts of that code of practice will be put
Right now, ‘buy now pay later’ 3.0 is emerging,
into legislation. In the UK, this process has
which will take the product to the next level,
been taking place through consulting parties,
where companies coming in today are trying
and something is expected by the end of
to pass the risk on to another credit product.
2022. Those that show willingness to work
together and be part of the process can
So, the model is evolving and it won’t stop at
influence policy and the future direction.
3.0. More innovation and evolutions will take
place.
Furthermore, there seems to be greater
focus on transparency, and I believe this to
Richard: What are the trends in BNPL for
be very important in building trust in the
2023?
consumer over the long term. There’s an
awful lot of emphasis on affordability,
Corrine: One of the trends to look out for is
protecting people from debt, and so on. And
‘save now pay later’ which is just starting up
having further transparency will help.
now. And there’s quite a lot of research that
shows that 60% of people at any one time, no
So, I see regulators continue to play a vital
matter which income category they're in, are
role in helping to mitigate risks.
saving for something. So, I’ll be following this
topic closely in 2023.
Richard: What are the opportunities for
BNPL in 2023?

Page 33
 Working Together with Fintechs to
Create the Next-Gen Architecture
A Conversation with Yugo Ashida, Head of ISS Architecture,
at Fidelity

Utilising platforms like LUSID and being able to

have consistent data across your business
capabilities, we have started seeing the
inevitable breaking up of monolithic
architectures, so that people can start
componentising their world and move away
from their traditional architecture.

Richard: What steps are you taking to

evolve your tech stack, considering the
evolution the industries going through?

Yugo: Evolution is the right word here and I

At one time, banks, wealth managers, etc. and believe, like most of our peers, it’s about
fintechs only met as competitors, now they’re getting to grips with your data and
working together as the industry evolves. foundational architecture, to make best use of
all the new technologies and fintech coming
Today, bigger multi-nationals realise the into the industry. I believe that one of the
innovation that fintechs have created can be things that is going on that enable us to do
jointly taken to market to provide specialist that is really, the shift to cloud. This means that
services that sit outside their core offering and people are having to re-examine how they do
additionally help streamline architecture and things and what architecture they want to
move beyond legacy architecture. transition to, whether that is utilizing more
SaaS services from vendors, or building
I sat down with Yugo Ashida to talk through how inhouse, it all ultimately means we are
new innovation, such as Finbourne Technologies, operating differently.
is being integrated into the Fidelity architecture.
This change gives us the opportunity to look
Richard: What excites you about the fintech beyond the historic legacy architecture and
landscape in 2023? think about the outcomes that we want for the
future, add additional steps into the design
Yugo: Well, from my perspective, coming from process to innovate and take up those fintech
that of procurer of fintech solutions, it’s going to opportunities. So, to summarize, design the
be a continuation of the themes we see now, but foundations, see whether there are new
with more acceleration of the innovation that’s innovative opportunities and decide what can
going on within that space. Over the last few be integrated into our stack & longer-term
years, there’s been a reality check regarding the strategy that benefit the outcomes you are
importance of data, and I believe there will be a after.
continued evolution of Artificial Intelligence and
Machine Learning.

Page 34
 Working Together with Fintechs to
Create the Next-Gen Architecture
A Conversation with Yugo Ashida, Head of ISS Architecture, at
Fidelity
Richard: How are you viewing return on Alongside this, at Fidelity, we aim to align with
investment (ROI) when you look to integrate our venture team and benefit from their
these new technologies into your market knowledge together with the
architecture? investment in our infrastructure.

Yugo: There’s always been the need to know Richard: What are some of the key topics
tangible benefits around costs and benefits for to follow as you continue to modernise
transforming your business and architecture. But, your tech stack?
going forward I believe there is going to be more
of an emphasis on intangibles that will need to be Yugo: Leveraging data continues to be a
considered such as, agility, scale, and speed to theme, looking at AI technologies and how it
market. As the technology teams shift and evolve can best work for us, it’ll also be interesting to
architectures, cloud provides us with that see how vendors can commoditise the
nimbleness that’s required to scale. Prior to this, technology. So not simply offering vanilla AI,
we viewed vendors as longer-term relationships but bespoke offerings towards what we’re
with benefits being realised over a 5–10-year doing. We also want to see more composable
horizon but now, the technology enables us to vendor offerings within Asset Management,
look at realising these benefits in a much shorter especially linking up with Finbourne. Lastly,
horizon. Alongside this, at Fidelity, we aim to align blockchain, and how it can be applied to our
with our venture team and benefit from their business - have to get that in.
market knowledge together with the investment
in our infrastructure which brings a different ROI.

Bottom Line: Data and a Further Shift to Cloud

Data is a critical part of the journey forward and a further shift to

optimizing capabilities that lead to more services moving to cloud which
results in changes in the overall infrastructure.

And as this change occurs, it gives businesses the opportunity to

investigate and look beyond traditional architecture—and this is where
fintech comes in.

Page 35
 Unpacking the Value of Core
Banking Platforms
A conversation with Nick van Bommel, Sales Director, at Mambu

Competition in the banking industry is

intensifying. Next-generation banks have been
winning market share in recent years by
targeting lucrative niches in the value chain,
which in turn is forcing incumbent banks to
review their legacy platform architecture.

I sat down with Nick Van Bommel to talk

through core banking and unpack the value
this offers to the market.

Richard: What excites you about Core

Banking as we head into 2023?

Nick: Many things are happening right now.

What excites me is that we’re working today in
This results in customers who are all using the same
an ecosystem where Mambu, together with
software across the globe. And it’s done on a per
our partners, drive innovation by combining
account basis, so no hidden costs. You pay for what
different solutions that build the customer
you get. I believe this is pure “cloud native” today and
experiences which fintechs and banks want to
of course, also in 2023.
put in the market to differentiate themselves.
Right now, we are seeing this collaboration
Richard: What are some of the benefits of having
come together, as topics such as integration
multiple clients on a single code set?
have become so much easier and will only
improve going forward.
Nick: If you compare what pure Software as a Service
(SaaS) is designed to achieve, it aims to lower your
Richard: What are the essential topics
cost to keep the lights on, as certain processes are
people need to be aware of with regards
removed, such as having to do all testing and version
to Core Banking (Cloud Native)?
control.
Nick: At Mambu, we often communicate and
This in turn releases budget and companies can
educate our clients on these topics. It’s
concentrate on growth, innovation, and change. On
essential to know that the pure core banking
top of this, if you’re a pure SaaS player, the cost of
platforms being used by clients across the
change is reduced as most of the tech is configurable
globe are on a single code base. Meaning the
therefore less coding, integrating, and testing.
management of the system is fully done by
Mambu.

This leaves the clients to consume the API.

Customers don’t need to worry about
upgrades, version patches; simply to make
certain they can consume the API. The rest is
up to Mambu to improve the system,
platform, add new functionalities and make it
available to all clients.
Page 36
 Unpacking the Value of Core
Banking Platforms
A conversation with Nick van Bommel, Sales Director, at Mambu

So, your budget goes further and is focused on Richard: How can clients best prepare
improving the features of the product rather than themselves for this architecture?
integrating and testing - which we’re all aware
takes an awful lot of time. I think that’s very Nick: Firstly, clients must take time to
exciting for any financial institution. understand the market and capabilities of
each platform before making a decision. The
Richard: So, integration headaches are platform and its components should align to
removed and new features can now get to your overall strategic roadmap. A key to
market quicker? unlocking this is asking how you want to
differentiate your architecture capabilities.
Nick: Right now, there is a marketplace where .
clients can use platforms such as Mambu, and
we offer integration with the partners in our
ecosystem.

With some of these partners, there are pre-built

interfaces that can be selected as part of your
SaaS offering. And that interface is off the shelf,
which allows the client to be quicker to market as
you simply consume the connector and facilitate
interface updates on an ongoing basis.

Bottom Line: Why Should You Consider this Route?

With platforms built from the cloud upwards, platforms such as Mambu’s
SaaS engine is a powerful alternative to the costly and often complex
traditional core banking systems. Alongside the banking platform, having
an ecosystem you can integrate into allows you to move products to
market quicker and focus on product innovation, instead of product
integration and testing.

Page 37
 The Keys to Unlocking a Great
Company Culture:
An Operators View with Derk Roodhuyzen de Vries, Co-Founder
& CEO, at Fixico
Fixico was created in 2014, when Derk
accidentally scratched his mother’s car. He
expected to find a good body shop online
quickly. He couldn’t, and the idea for Fixico
was born.

Eight years later, this business has scaled to

10 countries across Europe.

But what was the cornerstone to Fixico’s rapid

international expansion?

I sat down with Derk Roodhuyzen De Vries to

find out about the culture that drives the
Fixico team forward.

Richard: A lot is said about culture, and

the importance of it, but at Fixico how
have you approached building a culture
that supports your vision?

For us, we have a set of guiding values that help Derk: Culture is, quite simply, the backbone of
us move towards our common goal, and this is a company — it’s what you’re trying to achieve.
helpful when we’re recruiting, completing So, making sure that you have people that are
performance reviews, or solving problems. aligned with the same mission, DNA,
motivation and values, is extremely important
Richard: How do a company’s core values in achieving this mission.
influence culture?
It's important to approach culture as a team
Derk: These have a deep impact and should guide and not in isolation, as this allows you to build
your decision process. As an example, one of our an understanding of the wider group and then
values is to be BOLD. We want to change the take everyone on that journey. It’s also
status quo. To do this, we need to consistently important to be aware that as you grow, there
challenge ourselves, and ask ourselves if what we will be change, so make certain you have
are doing is really different, is it BOLD, and are we processes in place that allow for ideation and
making the impact we want to. iteration which in turn helps the company
move forward based on the new data.

Page 38
 The Keys to Unlocking a Great
Company Culture:
An Operators View with Derk Roodhuyzen de Vries, Co-Founder
& CEO, at Fixico
Richard: How do you rally your people Derk: It starts with of course, looking into the
around those values? mirror. But after a while at a certain moment, it
becomes a natural thing to do. But that can only be
achieved if the gate you let people in through is
Derk: It all starts at the beginning, from the very
functioning. So, finding the right people together,
first time we meet someone during the hiring
and making sure that fits and being very
process. We make every effort to understand methodical on that is the basis that will drive
how individuals think and align to our values by performance.
asking them to provide specific examples or
scenarios related to a particular value. But it Richard: Can you measure whether the culture
doesn’t stop there, this is then recycled into day- that you’ve installed is performing to what
to-day communication and processes in the you’ve set out to achieve?
company such as performance reviews. It’s vital
Derk: Great question! There are the tangible
these are embedded into our DNA and not
elements that we review, things such as
simply a sticker on the wall.
performance reviews. But also, the intangibles; I’m
a strong believer that if the company’s culture is
Richard: How do you make certain leaders very strong, and people feel very engaged, they
within the company have a positive also will want to stay and be a part of the journey;
influence on the company culture? there’s even data you can look indirectly here.

Bottom Line: The Backbone of Growth

Making culture the backbone of your company will help drive you towards achieving your mission. But,
as Derk mentions, you can’t just post values, and beliefs on a wall. But, embedding culture into day-to-
day activities, routines and processes will set your company up for continued expansion. You always
have to look in the mirror and hold yourself accountable.

When I work with clients I understand that circumstances don’t determine the culture of a
company as much as character. People often point to the exterior environment and the
circumstances that are continually hitting them in the face as being the problem. Although it is
true that circumstances matter, and must be dealt with, a greater truth is culture stems from
the leader’s character. That is, his or her ability to have empathy, to communicate clearly and
concisely, to inspire others, to evoke fairness, and the ability to care for people while at the
same time hold people responsible.

Once we get the leader’s personal morals and abilities identified and under control the culture of the
company magically starts to strengthen. That’s not to say it’s only about the leader’s character. It’s not.
But it all starts there.

Page 39
 The Secret Ingredients to
Recruiting a Talented Workforce:
A conversation with Rogier Rouppe Van Der Voort, CEO, at PCN

Whether you’re a startup, on your growth

journey or a corporate the one thing that you
must get right is the search and acquisition of
talent to help fuel your mission and achieve
your vision.

I sat down with Rogier Rouppe Van Der Voort

to discuss what companies should be thinking
of in 2023 when it comes to talent acquisition.

Richard: What should companies be doing

to attract talent to their organisations?

Rogier: It’s an interesting time right now, as

there’s definitely a shortage of skilled
candidates across industries and also in
fintech. There are jobs available, but often we
find that the skills employers are looking for
aren’t available. So, right now what we’re
noticing is companies are searching for
Richard: From your point of view, why is
alternative ways to capture the candidates
there a skill shortage?
attention, such as flexible or hybrid working
but also longer term incentive plans such as
Rogier: The main reason was because of the
equity.
influx of venture capital funds coming into the
market as a result of COVID-19. And, as everyone
Furthermore, companies’ recruitment
is aware this extra capital is generally used to
processes are moving quicker as they know
acquire skills and build the product, which led to a
that candidates will generally be speaking to 3
shortage in engineering talent in fintech.
or 4 other companies if they’re in this
conversation.
Richard: From your point of view, why is
there a skill shortage?
It’s of utmost importance that companies
evolve their process and continually engage
Rogier: The main reason was because of the
with the candidate pool, this leads to higher
influx of venture capital funds coming into the
quality candidates wanting to join or apply.
market as a result of COVID-19. And, as everyone
is aware this extra capital is generally used to
acquire skills and build the product, which led to a
shortage in engineering talent in fintech.

Page 40
 The Secret Ingredients to
Recruiting a Talented Workforce:
A conversation with Rogier Rouppe Van Der Voort, CEO, at PCN

Richard: How does a company’s brand and Richard: How should executives and hiring
leadership communication help with talent managers think about recruiting?
acquisition?

Rogier: I believe it’s vital that companies capitalize Rogier: Generally, in my experience, people
on the personal brand of their leaders, but not are very aware of the importance of the
just their leaders, also their individual process. That being said, I think sometimes
contributors, and their general employees, hiring managers don’t realize that the way that
because they will have much further reach. Of they operate during the interview process sets
course, companies should be vocal about what it the tone for the way that they do business,
is that you’re trying to do and about their brand and how candidates can view them as a
but also work with their employees to capitalize potential employer. For example, if processes
on their network and impact. take months and months, candidates might
question the decision-making process. Small
processes like this need to operate smoothly
to create a good impression.

Bottom Line: Iterate Processes Continuously

Recruiting talent is critical to the success of any business, as employees

are a key source of competitive advantage. With the right team in place,
you can boost productivity across your organization and provide the top-
notch customer service needed to drive profitability. Because of this, it’s
vital that fintechs continue to iterate and evolve the processes that draw
talent into the business.

Page 41
 Why Financial Inclusivity Goes
Beyond the Product
A discussion with Joel Blake OBE, CEO & Founder,
GFA Exchange
We’re seeing what we call the Triple D effect,
convergence of diverse data, diverse
intelligence, and diverse technologies. As an
example, businesses tend to rely on traditional
data sources in order to access or provide the
support which is required. But in doing that, it
actually creates a bias as companies continue
to take the same actions to achieve the
outcomes they want. But in order to compete
and win, businesses need a new way of
thinking and that’s where the intelligence &
technology plays a role. And fintech allows you
to access those three elements in one
combined activity in order to unlock
innovation.

Furthermore, with regards to my first point.

fintechs themselves need to be more
inclusive. There are still a limited number of
diverse founders of fintech companies,
especially in the UK. What we need is as much
In recent years, fintech has taken the centre stage diversity within a fintech as possible to bring
in helping facilitate an inclusive financial diverse thoughts, that neuro diverse thinking
ecosystem, with far reaching digital solutions that to align with the innovation in a new age that
have the potential to unlock the nearly two billion fintech is beginning to shape.
people worldwide who are excluded from formal
financial services. Richard: What are some of the challenges
that people need to overcome in order to
I sat down with Joel Blake to discuss financial further foster financial inclusion?
inclusion and get a better understanding of how
fintechs can further improve to play an integral Joel: Great question, as it’s something we
role in helping people worldwide get basic access should continuously be thinking about. If
to the financial services ecosystem. organizations are honest about themselves, I
believe many need to start with their
Richard: How can fintech act as a mechanism leadership first. But let’s strip that back. If you
for greater financial inclusion? don’t have inclusive leadership at the top, who
are credible, and can demonstrate inclusivity,
Joel: There are two elements to that I believe. One then no matter what the organization wants to
is the fintechs themselves, and one is how fintech do as an entity, it’s going to be challenging to
has been used. I’ll start with the latter first. Right be truly financially inclusive.
now, what we’re seeing is a real convergence of
three key elements.

Page 42
 Why Financial Inclusivity Goes
Beyond the Product
A discussion with Joel Blake OBE, CEO & Founder,
GFA Exchange
Joel cont.: Everything initially starts with you defining Joel: The best example is the rise of mobile banking
and having a very clear vision of who you are as an in emerging countries such as Africa. CIOs and
inclusive leader, and how that manifests and CTOs will continue to play a big role in 2023 to help
translates into the types of organization that you’re shape what new technologies look like or indeed,
leading, and the culture that you create within the how technologies are being used to continuously
organization. Once this is completed, you can then help people get connected.
build out the governance structure & processes to
support that vision. Richard: What should leaders be thinking and
doing more of in 2023 to build inclusivity into
Richard: How can technology help us create that their business and products?
pathway to a more inclusive financial
ecosystem? Joel: Well firstly, the world has gone through a
traumatic time, and arguably still reeling from this.
Joel: People create technology, so it starts from people But, during this period, it gave everyone
first for me every single time. That being said, opportunity to really reflect on what’s really most
technology does enable you to become much more important to them, to take a look at their values,
efficient and cost effective, if used correctly. reflect on what they’re doing, why they’re doing it.
Technology has the ability to cut-through traffic & So, in 2023 leaders should be clear where they’re
connect people much quicker. We see this with social spending their time and energy; and be happy with
media, but the same is also true for fintechs, with the why they’re doing that; what are the drivers &
evolution of mobile technology in terms of helping outcomes and do they align to your values. And if
people to connect to what they need in terms of you go down that path and build based on values,
services or products in order to better their lives. then you’ll have an incredibly successful year.

Bottom Line: Using Fintech as a Catalyst

The fintech ecosystem is extremely broad and constantly evolving, with new innovative
models being developed. The enormous potential of these developments to deepen the
impact of financial inclusion, strengthens our ambition to develop our fintech strategy.
In that sense, fintech is a game changer for financial inclusion.

But as Joel alludes to, there needs to be a dual focus both at leadership level and
organisation/product level, whereby diverse thinking and solutions are entertained
allowing products to reach people that traditionally weren’t in the ecosystem.
Combining these worlds will continue to help promote, create, and adopt new
technologies aimed at financial inclusion.

Page 43
 A Look at the Emerging Fintech
Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia

A conversation with Saleh Alhammad, Managing Director,

Konsentus
Transforming Saudi Arabia into an innovative
fintech hub with a thriving and responsible
fintech ecosystem, is part of a wider
government and industry initiative to boost
growth and deliver new products to
customers by 2030.

For financial services, the financial services

development program has been initiated and
aims to develop a diversified and effective
financial sector to support the development of
Saudi Arabia’s economy, diversify sources of
income and stimulate savings, investing and
finances.

The aim is to achieve these objectives by

boosting financial sectors institutions and
developing the Kingdoms financial markets to
become and advanced capital market.
Recently, The Saudi central bank published its
I sat down with Saleh Alhammad to dig further
framework and standards which supports the
into what’s happening on the ground to help
banks open banking program initiative. So, there
facilitate this very ambitious strategy.
is an expectation that this initiative will continue
to move through the phase in 2023.
Richard: Why is 2023 going to be a year to
remember for the fintech scene in Saudi
Richard: What had taken place in Saudi
Arabia?
Arabia over the past 12 months which has
allowed you to get into this position?
Saleh: It’s a very exciting time in Saudi Arabia
right now. In general, across the economy,
Saleh: There was a joint effort from the
because of the government’s vision for 2030,
government and industry bodies to move forward
which is about the realization of 12 programs,
on this agenda. This has resulted in key actions
one of which is the development of the
being taken early in 2022 to facilitate the strategy,
financial services infrastructure. The financial
actions such as the Central bank issuing digital
services development program, has a few
banking licences, ministerial council approving the
pillars but a main pillar is the fintech
overall fintech strategy, the creation of the SAMA
component and strategy, which was approved
fintech sandbox and the setup of the Saudi
in early 2022, and we will see continuous
fintech hub which is helping to facilitate initiatives
movement forward to the implementation of
across the industry.
this strategy.

Page 44
 A Look at the Emerging Fintech
Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia

A conversation with Saleh Alhammad, Managing Director,

Konsentus

Richard: What infrastructure have you Saleh: Companies first need to do their
established to facilitate the growth of the homework and understand the market. But
ecosystem? once that is done, they can very easily
collaborate across the ecosystem either
Saleh: There are core elements that have been directly with the central bank or through the
established such as a regulatory body, the Capital Saudi Fintech Hub, it depends on what they
Markets Authority and a financial services want to achieve.
development program. The catalyst to
implementation is the Saudi Fintech Hub. Question What are the opportunities in
Alongside this, and complementing the core, we the Saudi market?
have initiatives such as the Saudi venture capital
company who promote capital flow into the Saleh There are many opportunities across
space. And lastly, there are the entrepreneurs, the fintech landscape, and this includes topics
fintechs, banks and financial institutions which such as payments, open banking, cyber
play a role in the success of the program. security, and digital entity onboarding to name
a few. But, first things first; always do you due
Richard: How can international fintechs diligence and research as this will provide
effectively collaborate in the Saudi further details on nuances and opportunities
ecosystem? in the market.

Bottom Line: Transformation Continuing

There is certainly a lot going on right now, the infrastructure that’s been
put in place is helping to realise the ambition of the industry and
government. Going forward in 2023, the program kicks into its next
phase with focus on building a sustainable and thriving insurance sector
and increasing the use of non-cash transactions from where they were in
2019 at about 35% to 70% in 2025.

Page 45
 The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Final Thoughts
The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, once I was once hired to lead and deliver a large
famously said, “There is nothing permanent scale transformation initiative for a client
except change.” operating across three continents, with a high
focus on digitizing both the front and back
In other words, change is not only inevitable, office processes. The scope was clear,
it’s the way of the world, both in nature, in our business impacts understood, and a target
personal lives and in business. operating model created to move from
current to future state.
The world is changing at breakneck speed.
Macroeconomic changes that, if not foreseen But to get to that point took initiative and buy
and prepared for, could ruin, or adversely in from senior stakeholders that would allow
affect our businesses in the blink of an eye. the transformation to be taken forward, with
We must have foresight and we must be collective responsibilities to deliver.
prepared. That’s why I wrote this article.
Being “compliant” was at the top of the
Yet we are all creatures of habit and although agenda, but as a transformation board we
the world is changing, change within our needed to challenge ourselves further and ask
companies, especially corporate, can be strategic and operational questions that
difficult and slow in coming. The bigger the would allow the business and technology
business the slower the change, is the rule of stack to grow beyond the “tick box” exercise.
thumb. Yet if we want to survive and thrive,
we must continually adjust, or at least be Questions, workshops and debate were an
open to it. It all comes down to knowing what essential ingredient in building collective
to change and when. knowledge and challenging each other to
stretch our thinking beyond the immediate
Planning is key. Continual inspection of your task at hand.
operation and planning toward the future is
what separates the men from the boys, so to It’s outside the box thinking like this that
speak. galvanised teams, identified opportunities,
and drew out aligned plans that got results
beyond expectations.
The evolution of Fintech in 2023: A discussion with leaders,
for leaders

Transformation involves so much digging Whether your business needs major

through weeds, and focused attention to “transformation” or it just needs to change
detail, that it is far easier to say, “let’s just with the times, it takes spot-on planning. I
do what’s necessary to comply and not know this from my experience being in the
worry about the rest.” trenches helping businesses change and
transform over the last 15years.
That’s a little like Leonardo Da Vinci saying,
“I’m just going to paint Mona Lisa’s face The purpose of this article is to offer a bit of a
and not worry about her smile.” road map for fintech and financial services.
The opinions given by many of the leaders
In all transformations there is a process to above are worth inspecting closely. I don’t
go through that if done with extreme need to reiterate what they said. I only ask
focus will set up a business to reap further that you take note.
value from the initiative. The reality is the
entire organisation has to be carefully Positive transformation consists of thinking
choreographed—so they either add value big. Look at the big picture, plan and make it
in the new world, or not. happen through focused execution.

An effective transformation leadership I hope that much of the information

team needs an intimate understanding of presented in this article will help prepare you
the business, how they can collaborate for positive changes now and moving into the
with one another and across departments future in your business.
and how the wider managerial team will
help and support them to deliver the
necessary changes.
To your success,
Richard

About Richard Doherty

Richard has consulted and advised major corporations in

the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.

He is a change and transformation expert, successfully

leading and delivering at both banks and fintechs.

Through his passion for innovation Richard helps

companies connect the dots and pull people together, as
he believes collaboration is the key ingredient to future
expansion and wider adoption of innovative products.

Richard may be reached at [email protected]