ANISH RAMAKRISHNA KURUP – 5 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL FINTECH SALES

Anish Ramakrishna Kurup, Manager – Retail Projects & Retail Partnering (Global) joined Keynotion as a speaker & panel discussion moderator at the 3rd Banking Transformation & Innovation Summit in May. Anish shares his expertise in Fintech.

Fintech Companies & Banks

Every bank in Europe today has an alliance with at least one or multiple Fintech incubators or accelerator program for acquisition of technology they can reap in the substantial value proposition. Today Banks are liberal & more open to investing in Financial Technology Centric companies than any other companies in the past, the main reason behind is Technology disruption. The questions that come to everyone’s mind are as follow;

Why don’t Bank CEO’s foster a department in this space for Research? Following my conversation with multiple Snr. Executives in Banking, research companies focusing on Financial sector made me arrive at – “Lack of risk appetite from an investment perspective in terms of time or assets for Banking CEOs time to look beyond the Top 5 revenue assurance projects & Top revenue projects & products.”

Why do Banks invest in Fintech? Fintechs are relatively low budget startups with visionaries who have the right amount of appetite for risk. To those who have watched the movie “Field of dreams”, could perfectly relate to a belief these visionaries have all in the voice that said, “If you build it, the regulators will acknowledge what you did is right or wrong”. Unlike a bank, if the technology does not meet the risk requirements of regulators they can tweak it without having fines or their brand names not put in a stake. Moreover, less than one-fourth of the investment a bank spends one year into branding would be the cost of setting up a Fintech company.

What should Fintech companies do if they consider a bank taking over them? Begin with an end in mind in which the rule number one is; do you have the right financial backing up when Fintech ventures start up? Its a rule of thumb that investors should have when considering the future value of the company. No one would like to invest in a company whose coffers are empty. The Right Solution; there is nothing called impulse or momentum, you have a superior technology or unique selling point, harp on it & start off.

I am personally aware of a technology called “Spathion” from a Blockchain platform space which claims to be 5x faster than IBM Hyper ledger offerings. With such promising offerings, they are to gain the momentum to scale up their offerings. Sales Strategy – Many companies including the “Spathion” that I know of have a unique value proposition, however being Technologists or Finance Gurus they lack sales acumen. Most companies today hire the right talent who are only designed to do the specific job. Simple … Hire One !!! Technology Attuned; Having worked in the technology industry & having integrated some of the best ERPs with other data-driven tools it is easier said than done when it comes to using the most abused terminology “Seamless Integration” in technology.

Banks are already paying Billions of Dollars in fixing existing patch on their systems & no CIO would like to get an Athithi (a person who comes in without looking for a special invite or time or circumstance) just because the CEO or CFO is in love with. Culture harmonious; Fintechs are startups you can walk around in your short-pants & when the marriage happens you might have to shift to a bank where you have to prioritise on delivering work than the stress busters like a pool table or slide & move from a T-shirt & Jeans to Suits. The is just the start or ‘Lesson 101’ for a Fintech – Bank synergy.

It is always good to review the ABCs that form the foundation of a megastructure. True marriages are made in heaven but we live now on earth so let’s see if another selling works out wonders or stick to my favourite pun. “If we don’t plan, divorces can happen before marriages not necessarily in a dictionary.” #Fintech #Banking #Merger

Also check our upcoming events page.