During the pandemic Mambu saw a significant shift in favour of digital banking from consumers, which has put pressure on banks to digitally transform. It recently ballsurveyed more than 4,500 consumers gloy, identifying five emerging consumer groups or ‘tribes’ that banks need to know about.
One of these five tribes, ‘Techcelerators’, is one worth paying particular attention to. Representing the largest group identified globally (33 per cent), this group is most likely to have used online and digital banking services more frequently in the last 18 months. The overnight shift to online and closure of brick-and-mortar branches due to pandemic has meant more people are converting to online banking and fintech services. In fact, its report found that 41 per cent of respondents reported using online and digital banking for the first time as a direct result.
Offering hybrid or fully digital services is no longer a nice to have. In-branch offerings have become less desirable to consumers and while Techcelerators may be happy with current online and digital services, banks mustn’t get complacent. There is a need for banks to rapidly evolve and embrace fintech to capitalise on the increasing confidence of consumers in technology to retain loyalty.
Eugene Danilkis is co-founder and CEO of Mambu. Danilkis leads a team of over 900 Mambuvians in over 40 countries. He is known as the driving force behind the rapidly growing Mambu, bringing his background in computer science, design and entrepreneurship to find impactful opportunities for technology in banking and financial services around the globe.
What has been the traditional Mambu response to financial technology innovations nationally?
The traditional response has been asking – which areas of innovation are mission-critical and to understand what’s happening in the industry. In the early years, that meant establishing our commercial footprint and focusing on product development.
Through the lens of technology, we’re constantly exploring how customers experience financial products to build a modern solution agile enough to respond to real-time innovation and changing consumer behaviours on a global scale
How has this changed over the past few years?
Building a fintech company is a journey of endurance and resilience. Today, it’s about understanding how technology helps businesses make better decisions and foster a more productive culture. Having knowledge of the fintech landscape at the board level has never been more important, but this doesn’t mean leaders need to be programmers or developers.
We live in a world where tech leaders are now critical business partners and fundamental to the way financial services are designed and built. We’re seeing increased interest from established financial institutions and challengers alike, spurred on by the challenges of the pandemic and the need for agility. Traditional banks are being forced to rethink their processes and are more open to fintech partnerships, with more organisations looking to own and embed financial services in their value chain to meet the needs of their customers.
Is there anything that has created a culture of change inside Mambu?
Digital transformation, innovation, sophistication and customer expectations have created a constant change for Mambu. Previously, there was a big disconnect between the technology that powered large financial institutions and the needs of their customers. Legacy systems were complex, as well as difficult to fund and maintain.
Now, technology is integrated into our daily lives, so we have to grow and develop with that. From partners and products to the services we offer, technology is no longer a support system, but essential for businesses globally. Mambu is constantly evolving to meet those needs.
What fintech ideas have been implemented?
Key to what we do is the concept of ‘composability’ – the ability to build and tailor services without being tied into a specific product or vendor. Unlike traditional systems that lock decisions, reporting and analytics together into dedicated applications and workflows, composable separates these functions to give customers ultimate flexibility and control.
Composable banking gives businesses a technology foundation to create modern financial experiences. Forget one-size-fits-all, siloed and expensive systems, businesses can harness this technology to align business goals and customer needs.
What benefits have these brought?
We can now use technology to provide financial services to markets that have traditionally been considered too expensive or risky to serve. Using technology to open up a lower value but higher volume income sector has democratised banking, which has been transformative.
Mambu’s platform has enabled forward-thinking players to respond quickly to consumer demand, especially as the landscape has shifted exponentially over the pandemic. Mambu powers financial services when and where customers need them which is a significant benefit as products are brought to market more quickly and change can be built-in.
Do you see any other industry challenges on the horizon?
We will see the acceleration of competition from new tech, fintech and corporate players. Technology will continue to develop at the same pace witnessed in the past two years, both at a consumer and service level. Regulations will also pose a significant challenge to service providers trying to deploy globally.
Banks will have to build a high-velocity operating model to remain competitive. Keeping up with all of this isn’t easy and will only become harder in the future.
Can these challenges be aided by fintech?
With embedded finance shaking up the banking market, big tech moving into financial services and consumer behaviours evolving, there’s no prescriptive model for what the best tech stack looks like. The ‘best’ might change in six months. Building flexibility into systems and the ability to adapt based on what’s happening in the market you’re operating in, or the user journey, is the only way to future-proof operations.
