Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

More than at any time in the past, the largest banks in the U.S. have capitalized on their customers’ increased willingness to use digital financial services. U.S. Bank, the sixth largest bank in the country, has been one of the leaders in going beyond the basics in digital banking transformation. From streamlining new account opening and onboarding processes, to creating new ways to manage finances across channels, U.S. Bank combines innovation, modern technology and a focus on the customer experience to change the way people bank. Today’s guest is Dominic Venturo, senior executive vice president and chief digital officer at U.S. Bank. He discusses many of the ways that U.S. Bank has leveraged the recent changes in consumer behavior to increase efficiency and grow revenues. 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

Consumers are shopping for products and services, opening accounts, and building relationships using the channels they prefer. More than ever before, this is done on a mobile phone or online. The only way to support new account opening and deepen existing relationships is by seamlessly aligning your branches, call centers, and digital channels with a modern account opening and onboarding process. The guests for today’s show are Tami Ferguson, SVP and Director of Client Experience, for Washington Trust Bank and Zach Hamilton, Chief Digital Officer of Synovus. They will provide insights into how they have supported consumers across the customer journey with innovation that prioritizes customer needs. This Episode of Banking Transformed is Sponsored by NCR Terafina: NCR Terafina unifies the digital onboarding and sales experience for banks and credit unions across the digital, branch, and call-center channels. NCR Terafina’s sales platform is a multichannel product suite offering the broadest spectrum of prod

Companies that use disruption as an opportunity for innovation emerge from it stronger, while companies that merely attempt to 'weather the storm' until things go back to normal miss an opportunity to thrive. Transformation is not a project or a destination, but a continuous process of adapting to a volatile and uncertain environment. But where does a financial institution begin? On this episode, we are joined for a second time by Jerry Kane from Boston College. Jerry is one of the 4 authors of the upcoming book, "The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization through Uncertain Times". We discuss the research and interviews done for the book, which offers a framework for understanding disruption and tools for navigating it. 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.

Banks and credit unions are rethinking their distribution strategies as more people than ever are using digital channels. Despite this shift, closing all branches is not the best alternative. Neither is keeping them all open. Forward-thinking banks are adopting alternative models, including self-service banking that is complimented with new technology in a lean branch format. Organizations are realizing that optimal distribution begins by making all channels more efficient and effective. The guest for this Banking Transformed Solutions episode is Mark Aldred, Head of Sales for Auriga. We discuss how bank branches are only one component of an improved distribution strategy, as organizations strive to embed banking within a consumer's daily life. This Episode is Sponsored by Auriga Auriga, leading supplier of software and technological solutions for the banking and payments industries, wants to help bank branches avoid closure by moving to a “Lean Bank Branch” model. This reinvents branches as leaner operati

The majority of financial institutions rank improving customer experience as their top mission, but few organizations get rave reviews. In fact, since the pandemic, it could be argued that the banking industry is doing a worse job in meeting consumer expectations. On this episode, we discuss how financial institutions need to reset their strategies around improving CX in a digital world. The competition has expanded, and consumers understand what is possible. The question is whether financial institutions are ready? We are joined by Jay Baer, one of the foremost leaders in the world of customer experience and marketing. He is founder of Convince & Convert, and the author of six best-selling books, including his newest book, “Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth.” 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 experience

Doing good for the community, employees and customers goes well beyond philanthropy. Organizations need to look within to embed sustainability and social responsibility strategies into their business model, their culture and the people and organizations they interact with. Now more than ever, businesses need to think beyond profits and look at their entire value creation process to the world as a whole. What organizations will find is that there isn’t just a moral imperative for businesses and organizations to behave responsibly, but a financial one as well. We are fortunate to have Theo Lau and Bradley Leimer on the show today. They are the founders of Unconventional Ventures, and the authors of a brand new book, Beyond Good: How Technology is Leading a Purpose-driven Business Revolution. 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 chan

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions have grown in prominence as new players and payments incumbents are battling for market share. This includes firms like Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, QuadPay, Sezzle, and Splitit, as well as legacy payment firms like Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, and Amex. How will these providers will impact traditional POS card volume or damage the appeal of retailers’ private-label cards? And, who will win the battle for the younger consumer who is drawn to this payment option? We are joined by Adam Hughes, the CEO of Amount, a fintech provider that offers a robust point-of-sale financing product suite. Adam discusses the growth of the buy now, pay later marketplace, and how traditional financial institutions can remain competitive for this business. 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 service

The pandemic has served to accelerate the relevance and importance of open banking as consumers become more willing to try alternative banking providers to get their digital banking needs met. At the same time, there has been a rise in contactless payments, as consumers replace cash at the point of sale. These dual market forces have provided an opportunity for big tech players, such as Apple, Amazon and Google to increasingly expand their platforms into financial services. We are joined by Pinar Ozcan, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. Pinar discusses how innovation in banking has been impacted by the pandemic, and the rise of big tech platforms. 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

Over the past year, Marcus by Goldman Sachs has continued to expand offerings, including teaming up with Amazon and Walmart to offer loans to sellers on their marketplaces, buying the General Motors credit card business, launching Marcus Insights smart tools and trackers, and most recently, announcing the offering of a digital investing platform. All of this is before the long-anticipated addition of a digital checking account.. We are very fortunate to be joined by Sonali Divilek, head of product for consumer business at Goldman Sachs, which includes Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Sonali discusses the product development strategy of Marcus, and how a partnership mentality has helped Marcus become a force in the retail banking ecosystem. 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 wo

One of the biggest problems facing legacy banking organizations today is leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive digital transformation, creating hyper-personalized experiences, supporting an innovative culture, and solving consumer challenges with appropriate technology. One organization that has emerged as a data-centric leader is TD Bank. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, TD Bank is a top 10 bank with 85,000 employees and more than 26 million customers. Branding itself as America’s Most Convenient Bank, TD has quickly responded to the needs of the digital consumer. We are very fortunate to have John Thomas, EVP and head of global innovation at TD Bank on the show. John discusses how a data-driven culture positions this legacy financial institution to be a major force in banking well into 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 e

According to the Digital Banking Report, the top priority of the majority of financial institutions is to advance digital transformation. But what is the best way to proceed? And, where should organizations start? People’s United Bank, a regional bank based in Connecticut started by forming a “business transformation office” to focus on digitization and technology development. The team is responsible for optimizing and automating back office processes as well as setting up partnerships with financial technology companies. To understand how a $60 billion dollar bank has advanced digital transformation, we are joined by Ravi Vakacherla, EVP and chief transformation officer at People’s United. Ravi shares his perspective on where organizations should start and the roadblocks to digital transformation. 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 a

Late last year, it was announced that Google Pay will partner with legacy financial institutions in the development and distribution of checking accounts through a new service called Google Plex. In addition, Google announced a partnership with Deutsch Bank for cloud implementation and co-innovation of new products and services. For the banks, these partnership can be a way to quickly grow customer relationships and expand market coverage. These partnerships could also threaten banks that fail to execute real-time personalized digital strategies. Our guest for the show is Yolande Piazza, VP of financial services for Google Cloud. Yolande joined Google in mid-2020 after almost 15 years at Citi where she most recently managed fintech partnerships. In this episode, we discuss the financial service strategies at Google. We also discuss what the future of banking may look like and who the players may be.

As a result of the pandemic, people were forced to adopt digital alternatives to their traditional way of doing banking. This shift was not always smooth for the customer or the financial institution. Many consumers still wanted personalized interaction to learn about services. Financial institutions that want to improve engagement, interactions, and brand loyalty are responding with new forms of personalization, such as rich media like video. Our guest for the show is Jim Dicso, CEO of SundaySky. In this episode, Jim discusses how personalized video-powered experiences can drive breakthrough outcomes at key moments along the customer journey. This Episode 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

How can organizations compete for customers, time, attention and money in an increasingly digital world where time is limited, attention is scarce and the ability to genuinely engage with consumers has become more difficult than ever? One of the few brand differentiators available today is to build memorable and repeatable experiences. Unlike in the past, when many of these experiences could be built in a one-to-one tactile world, digital delivery changes the game. To better understand the challenges and opportunities of building a compelling customer experience, I am joined by fellow Clevelander Jim Gilmore. Jim is the coauthor, along with Joe Pine, of one of the best business books of the 20th century, "The Experience Economy". Jim shares examples of how executives from any industry can set themselves apart from the competition be creating personalized and transformative experiences. Episode Sponsor: Auriga Auriga is a leading supplier of software and technological solutions for the banking and payments

The pandemic changed the business landscape for all industries … possibly none more dramatically than financial services. Already being impacted by non-traditional players, financial institutions needed to shift in an instant to satisfy customers no longer able to conduct business in traditional ways. What will 2021 look like? What major shifts will occur that will last into the future? What could surprise us in an ecosystem where change is one of the only constants? To get a perspective on the future of banking and fintech, we are joined today by Ron Shevlin, the Managing Director of Fintech Research at Cornerstone Advisors. Ron is the author of the book Smarter Bank and is a senior contributor for Forbes. Ron is also ranked among the top banking influencers globally and is a frequent keynote speaker. This episode 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, produ

Mobile banking usage is rising quicker than ever as a result of the pandemic. With close to 50% of consumers stating that mobile is a top-three factor that determines their choice of financial institutions (after fees), it is imperative that banks offer mobile features that consumers value most. However, it is not enough to just enable mobile banking capabilities. Banks must also remove friction and provide the user experience that consumers desire as well. The guest for the show is Mark Donohue, founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based iSky Research. In this episode, Mark discusses what makes a mobile banking leader, given the insight Mark has from monitoring hundreds of banks globally on functionality and user experience.

Research from the Digital Banking Report has found that the biggest barrier to successful digital transformation is legacy leadership and culture that is unable to embrace the skills and mindsets needed for the future of banking. The future of banking and the future of work has made it clear that a different type of leader is required to guide people and organizations to success in the next decade. The question is whether financial industry leaders at all levels can embrace change, take risks and disrupt themselves. We are joined today by Jacob Morgan, futurist, TED speaker and best-selling author of 4 books including his newest book, The Future Leader. On the show, Jacob shares insights from his in-depth research on how leadership is changing, what leadership is going to look like in the future, and what we need to do now to be future-ready leaders. This episode is sponsored by Microsoft: See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through innovative business models, deliver differe

As the largest U.S. bank, Chase is committed to a strong multichannel strategy, building new branches while also being a leader in digital banking innovation. With 55 million digitally active customers, representing close to 70% of the Chase customer base, Chase continues to provide consumers with the banking options they desire—whether it be physical to digital. With the pandemic making consumers more aware of the need for digital banking solutions, as well as more demanding of their digital banking experience, the need to improve both speed and simplicity of digital engagement has never been more important. To understand how Chase continues to be a leader in digital channel growth, we are joined today by Allison Beer, Head of Digital at Chase bank, where she leads digital innovation for the bank. In the episode, we discuss the impact of the pandemic on digital banking and the future of digital at Chase. Episode Sponsor: Microsoft See how Microsoft can help to unlock new opportunities at speed through in

Founded in 2006, Tinkoff is Russia’s largest online challenger bank offering a huge range of services, including mobile personal and business accounts, investment and insurance products, as well as being Russia’s second-largest issuer of credit cards. Tinkoff has also diversified into non-financial services, including travel, ticketing and bookings services — all available through its lifestyle super app. This expansive array of services has led to profits of over $500 million in 2019, with a current customer base of more than 12 million customers. Tinkoff consistently wins awards as the best digital-only bank, serving customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call center. TCS group also has a proprietary nationwide network of representatives. Our guest for the show is Oliver Hughes, CEO of Tinkoff. In this episode, we discuss how the combination of an innovative business model, a strong team and a recognized brand can yield success anywhere in the world. Episode Sponsor: Microsoft: See h

We have had the opportunity to interview many fintech start-ups and challenger banks on the Banking Transformed podcast. None are like Starling Bank. First of all, Starling was founded by a woman with a legacy banking background. Not just any woman, but an extraordinarily tenacious, middle-aged, short-statured woman who doesn’t fit the traditional mode of a fintech founder. Anne Boden had a view of what banking should look like in the future far before many of her challenger bank peers. What also sets Starling bank apart is that they have become the first of the new breed of digital banks in the UK to become profitable. With nearly 1.8 million accounts, £4 billion in deposits and £1.5 billion of lending, they have doubled their customer base in the past year and continue to introduce new services at a frenetic pace. We are joined today by Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling, and author of a new tell-all book, Banking On It: How I Disrupted an Industry. On the show, Anne provides an inside look into th