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Finovate Spring 2012 Preview

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This week I will be back in San Francisco attending the Finovate Spring 2012 financial innovation conference.

Finovate is a two-day showcase of the newest financial and banking technology innovations from both established companies and startups. Short company demos of just seven minutes each are presented in back-to-back blasts, and no slides are allowed, so presenters have to focus on the key benefits and what makes their product stand out.

I am looking forward to networking with some old friends and meeting some new ones as I once again take my exploration of leadership, advice and technology on the road.

I will be back here with my notes and observations.


FinovateSpring 2012 Presenting Companies

Access Development CoverHound Kabbage SaveUp
Actiance CSI globalVCard Keynote DeviceAnywhere Serverside Group
Affinity Solutions DCisions Klarna Silver Tail Systems
Applause Learning DeviceFidelity Kuspit Social Money
Balance Street Dwolla Linkable Networks SoMoLend
BancBox Dynamics Mitek Systems Swipely
BankersLab eDeposit MoneyDesktop TASCET
Bazaarvoice edo Interactive mSHIFT Taulia
BehavioSec Expensify NICE Systems Thomson Reuters
Bill.com Experian Nomis Solutions TIO Networks
BillGuard Flint Mobile On Deck Capital Transparency Labs
Blaze Mobile FutureAdvisor PaySimple Virtual Piggy
Cachet Financial Solutions Giftly Personal Capital Wall Street Survivor
Cardlytics inStream Solutions Pindrop Security WattzOn
Clover Network IP Commerce Portfolio Football Wipit
Concur iQuantifi ProfitStars ZipZap

Best of Bank Innovation 2012- Part 2

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Yesterday I brought to you some of the best thoughts from Day One of the Bank Innovation conference held last week in San Francisco.  It was a great event filled with some of the sharpest minds in financial innovation. Today, I bring you  some of the best ideas from Day Two, plus a few of my closing thoughts.JJatBI2012

Channel Agnosticism: Being Everything to Every Customer

“Multi-channel strategy is solving issues that exist in a single channel world…Think full service vs. self service, not traditional vs. alternative (channels)”

—Ginger Schmeltzer, SVP, Digital Channel Management, SunTrust Banks

“Be the right things to the right people in the right channel…Focus on optimization, not migration…” Think in terms of an analogy to eating:

  • Snacking- wherever, whenever = check your balances, transfers
  • Lunch- diverse, habitual and regular = online banking, bill pay
  • Fine dining- staff assisted =  important and meaningful decisions”

—Geoff Knapp, Vice President, Online Banking & Consumer Insight, Fiserv

“Mobilize and optimize– don’t miniaturize…Continuously evolve the experience as devices change…so many mobile capabilities to leverage– maps, GPS, messaging, speech input, camera, video, etc., etc.”

—Brian Pearce, SVP, Head of Retail Mobile Channel, Internet Services Group at Wells Fargo & Co

My Closing Thoughts

  • There continues to be a tremendous amount of innovation in the payments and transaction space, both from within the banking industry and from disruptive forces outside the industry.
  • Several speakers talked about moving beyond the efficient utility of flawless execution to creating more engaging experiences.
  • There was also increasing talk of creating more consistency in functionality and experiences across multiple channels (web, mobile, apps, mobile web and “real life”)– what Steve Jobs would have called an “ecosystem”.
  • Accordingly, financial institutions are beginning to integrate Big Data into the ecosystem (and vice versa), but most have a long way to go.
  • Most financial institutions are still in the early stages of integrating digital marketing and social media into their overall strategies, and many are still struggling with more basic concerns of sales and revenue growth, talent management and trying to figure out how to take market share from one another.
  • As far as I know, I was the only person in the room with a background in wealth management. I continue to be energized by how much white space there is to explore at the intersection of leadership, advice and technology.
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