The economic downtown will challenge many fintechs, presenting traditional institutions with opportunities to acquire skilled talent. The big question becomes how to use these fintech hires to keep their energy and creativity from being constrained by a more traditional bank environment. Assuming these people can enticed to join, they can become change agents that can help spark a culture change in the organization.
Financial apps geared towards children are helping banks, credit unions and fintechs create relationships with young customers who may then stay with that institution for life. They also foster stronger ties with parents. RBC’s Mydoh money management app was developed after their research identified a large financial education need among young people. The fintech GoHenry is aimed at children from six years old up to the teen years and has different levels of functionality based on the user’s age.
Third-party data analytics software may demo well but can be difficult to implement. The tools are not nearly as easy to use as they appear and often require specialized expertise. Then there’s the need to gather data across multiple silos, which is easy to talk about but often hard to accomplish. Finally, there’s the issue of translating information presented in slick-looking dashboards into decisions that drive effective customer campaigns.
Amazon still isn’t a bank and probably doesn’t need to be. Their latest addition to a growing array of sellers’ financing choices is a merchant cash advance program created in a partnership between Amazon and a fintech that offers services to companies doing business on eCommerce platforms. Amazon also offers term loans for sellers which include an interest-only option, along with business lines of credit. They can monitor and tailor credit offerings in real time given the insights they have into the business of sellers operating on their platform.
A digital account opening process should be able to be completed entirely on a mobile device in less than five minutes. In addition to simplicity in the funding process, other features that consumers value include being provided with a list of information needed at the beginning of the process, the ability to chat with a live agent if needed, status notifications on progress with the application process, and the ability to easily set up direct deposit when account funding is complete.
