Truist’s Dontá Wilson: ‘Innovation without empathy is empty’

There’s a tension at the heart of modern banking that technology doesn’t seem to totally resolve: how do you be both, digitally excellent and deeply human at the same time? Most banks have picked a lane: either betting on digital efficiency or doubling down on relationship banking. But consumers aren’t asking for one or the other. They want both. They want their banking app to work flawlessly when they need it, and they want someone who actually knows them when it matters.

My guest today is Dontá Wilson, Truist’s Chief Consumer and Small Business Banking Officer. He leads 20,000 teammates serving clients through both digital channels and more than 1,900 community banking branches. His portfolio spans core deposits and loans to mortgage, auto, credit cards, and the full stack of consumer products. He also oversees Truist’s multi-year growth plan that’s reimagining both their digital experience and their physical branches using insights and AI.

We talked about how AI is redefining consumer expectations and trust, what it takes to innovate inside a highly regulated industry while keeping client purpose at the center, and why Dontá believes innovation without empathy is empty.

Watch the episode

https://youtu.be/tHv3wcTghlo

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Read the whole transcript (for TS Pro subscribers)

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5 trends we’re watching this week

5 trends in finance this week
[alert type=yellow ]Every week at Tradestreaming, we’re tracking and analyzing the top trends impacting the finance industry. The following is a list of important things going on we think are worth paying attention to. For more in depth trendfollowing, subscribe to Tradestreaming’s newsletter .[/alert]
  1. As more pay by smartphone, banks scramble to keep competitive in consumer banking (NYT)
  2. R.I.P. Bitcoin. It’s time to move on (more on the theme that Bitcoin is permanently broken). (Linkedin)
  3. The challenges of insurance in the era of drones, cyberwarfare, and connected wearable devices (TechCrunch)
  4. Young high-earners driving fintech revolution as early adopters of new tools, platforms (ComputerWeekly)
  5. Francois de Lame of PolicyGenius on how to build a digital-first insurance brand (Tradestreaming)