Transcript

Greg Wolfund:

Mobey Day is a great forum because it brings together people to talk about issues like digital identity or you are you, and how innovative companies are solving it or how ecosystems are getting built. So we get to highlight for us, an ecosystem we’re building in Canada to people around the world.

Brian Semkiw:

It’s an outstanding event that’s members travel around the world and give insight to one another for the benefit of the whole industry.

Sirpa Norlund:

We know the temperature of the industry, we know the key players, we know what they are probably doing earlier than some of the others because of all these collected data that we can share in our meetings.

Jimmy Dinh:

For us, really, it’s to understand and share. Share wins, share insights, be able to meet colleagues, and then really interact with them on a great thing, where we’re talking about ways to, again, innovate, ways to move the industry forward and really help our viewpoints and our point of views on the industry, on the banking and payments industry.

Kaspar Sylvest:

The real value, best value is actually participating in the working groups we have. Because there, we have these very intimate discussions about what can be done and how to face a specific problem. And for me, personally, it’s not the paper by itself that brings value, because everyone can download and read the paper, it’s all the things that’s not being printed in the paper. All of the discussions there, that’s where the real value is.

Sirpa Norlund:

I borrow the thinking of one of our speakers today, who said that people are actually like neurons, like neurons in our brain. And what happens when neurons touch each other, there will be synapses. And the more synapses there are in your brain, the more you can produce quality in your thinking. And I also think that people are like that. If you put people, like neurons, together you create those synapses more and it just increases the value of interaction so much. And it brings better ideas, and better future.

Hosted by Carta Worldwide, the Mobey Forum held its annual fintech conference at the Four Seasons in Toronto from December 7 to December 8, 2016.

The two-day fintech conference was an opportunity for individuals from financial institutions to connect with innovators and professionals in the digital industry to discuss trending fintech topics, such as digital payments, intelligent technology, and other future fintech trends.

The fintech conference consisted of thought-provoking panel discussions and talks featuring individuals from some of the fastest-growing companies and notable banks across the globe; from Jimmy Dinh of CIBC Capital Markets, to Andrew D’Souza of Clearbanc.

In between were coffee and lunch breaks, and evening cocktail hours, all used as opportunities to network.


The concept of disruption was the major concern for most people in the room. 


“Disruption is always looked at as a negative thing [as we look at the long-lived culture of financial institutions], but there is also a positive aspect to all of this. Technology is inevitable. It is changing and advancing digital systems around us,” said Giles Sutherland.

Chief Strategy Officer Mark Dowds from Trōv also touched on disruption as a positive thing for the world of banking.

“The world of banking is being disrupted by these new fintech companies, who are taking the concept of banking to a new level.”

All parties were in agreement that innovation in fintech brings disruption and uncomfortable change, yet produces fruitful partnerships between innovators and financial institutions.

In addition, Mark Dowds said that millennials are the most underinsured generation since WWII.

“Insurance products no longer fit the needs of millennials’ lifestyles. Insurance companies are ripe for disruption,” said Dowds.

Speakers shared their views on the battle of delivering a good user experience with effective security features.

According to some professionals, the impeccable delivery of a great experience or effective security is often at the expense and downfall of the other.

Kasper Sylvest, head of financial market infrastructures at Danske Bank said, “If solutions are too secure, they are not user-friendly. This is something that will chase innovators forever.”


“If solutions are too secure, they are not user-friendly. This is something that will chase innovators forever.”

~ Kasper Sylvest, Danske Bank


The importance of building an ecosystem was reinforced time and time again as a core necessity of continued success in the financial services industry.

Financial institutions that are being disrupted by innovators need to develop lasting partnerships with emerging companies in the tech industry to keep up with society’s demands.

“None of what we do is possible without ecosystems,” said Greg Wolfond, CEO of SecureKey, while addressing the company’s vision to connect with financial institutions like Scotiabank in an effort to create a “digital identity ecosystem to lead the world.”

Market speed, the speed in which companies bring products to market, is increasing.

Increasing technological advancements and related products are bringing about social and service delivery changes, ultimately shifting the lifestyles and behaviours of consumers, and the operations of organizations. Companies are working harder and faster than ever before to keep up with their target markets.

Other related hot topics at the conference included future machine learning capabilities, the emergence of digital wallets in banks, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Imagining The Bank of the Future

From transactions to taxes, ease of use to automated, personalized coaching, Mobey Day saw top multidisciplinary teams compete in Visa’s Bank of the Future Challenge.

Across the board, attendees were swayed by the thoughtful approaches to serving consumer needs, leveraging data intelligence, and offering increasingly valuable services to consumers.

Hasta La Visa, the winning group for this year’s Bank of the Future Challenge, wowed the judging panel and conference attendees with their pilot app that empowers consumers to find their financial self.

VISA contest winners at Mobey Forum 2016 fintech conference

Our own Lee Dale was one of four judges for this year’s challenge.

With their prize winnings from the $15,000 contest, Hasta La Vista will continue to explore their accounting, marketing, and millennial strengths to build out a transactional and learning platform to guide consumers to a positive financial future.

What’s next for Mobey Forum

Mobey Forum continues to take engage with their members across the world in an effort to empower the banking and financial technology industry, encouraging them to take action and put customers first with the best technologies, integrated features, and innovative ideas.

The next Mobey Forum member meeting takes place March 21 to 23 in Rotterdam.


Shaping your organization to compete in the transitioning fintech space

From Mobey Forum to ecosystem partner discussions, surveying the fintech landscape gives you the foundation of knowledge you need to compete in an ever-changing industry. When you’re ready for actionable and quantifiable digital strategy, product, and validation solutions, which drive consumer engagement and optimize service delivery, Say Yeah is here to help.

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