Modern fintech’s roots are in unbundling the bank. Startups carved out part of the banking journey and did a really good job delivering a modern customer experience. As these firms have grown, they’ve added in more products and services — to the point that many aspire to be financial Super Apps, a singular app that provides customers one point of contact to manage their financial lives. And we’re just getting started.
On the other hand, traditional financial institutions are also expanding their product portfolios. They’re building their own products, as well as partnering with top fintech firms to more fully service their customers’ needs. In addition to web and mobile banking, an increasing number of FIs are getting into student lending and refinancing, investing, and commercial banking for small and medium sized businesses.
So, independent of their roots, financial services firms big and small are converging, heading in the same direction: becoming the home base for their customers’ financial lives.
It was against this backdrop that Tearsheet hosted its inaugural Convergence Conference on September 14, 2021. Here are all the session videos from the event.
Convergence Conference 2021: Nigel Vaz, Publicis Sapient
Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, spoke about how FIs can sustain competitive advantage in the era of fintech. Focused on Digital Business Transformation, Vaz provides frameworks for legacy, large institutions to become truly digital.
Convergence Conference 2021: Stewart Kendall, Amex
Stewart Kendall is the American Express' vice president of global mobile. He shares insights and experience in scaling the Amex mobile app with new functionality and cutting-edge design across the world.
Convergence Conference 2021: Kathryn Petralia, Kabbage by American Express
SMBs have traditionally been underserved by banking which couldn't figure out how to treat the segment differently and make money. Kathryn Petralia, co-founder Kabbage by American Express, talks about what SMBs are really looking for from their financial providers and how to give it to them.
Convergence Conference 2021: Eric Schuppenhauer, Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is expanding digitally, as well as its branch footprint. The firm's president of lending and national banking, Eric Schuppenhauer, provided his insight into where banking was headed over the next ten years and how FIs and fintechs could take advantages in serving new segments and existing segments better.
Convergence Conference 2021: Alyssa Schaefer, Laurel Road
Alyssa Schaefer is the chief experience officer at Laurel Road. The subsidiary of KeyBank launched Laurel Road for Doctors this year, a full banking suite for healthcare providers. She explains the genesis of the product, how it works, and why truly niching down with products can be a good strategy for banks going forward.
Convergence Conference 2021: Nathan McCauley, Anchorage
As the first nationally chartered bank for digital assets, Anchorage is in talks with traditional banks across the US regarding their cryptocurrency strategy. Co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley joined Convergence to talk about the paths forward for financial institutions in a changing economy.
Convergence Conference 2021: Jameson Troutman, Chase & Rohan Amin, Chase
Chase is in the early stages of a transformation to agile across its product and engineering groups. Chief Product Officer Rohan Amin and head of product agility office, Jameson Troutman, joined the Convergence Conference to share what they've learned throughout the process and how Chase is set up to deliver better and more products with faster cycle times in the future.
Convergence Conference 2021: Ali Heron, Petalcard
In just a few years, Petal has launched 2 credit cards, a personal finance app, and spun out its Cash Score technology as a B2B API for other firms to use to lend to thin and no file consumers. Ali Heron, head of engineering, shares her views on scaling a fast growing product and deeply serving her constituency via technology.