Name: At the core of banking: Modernisation and improving customer experience
Uploaded: 2023-09-15T13:19:23.807Z
Duration: 599.84
Description: Emily Steele, President & COO, Savana, shares her views on digitization and addresses the need to look beyond core systems.

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FinovateFall 2023

Fall.SPINT.013 Emily Steele.vtt

English

{{00:00:04}}
David Penn: Hi, I'm David Penn,
research analyst with Finovate.

{{00:00:06}}
We're here at Finovate 2023
in Times Square, New York.

{{00:00:09}}
Joining me is Emily Steele.

{{00:00:11}}
She is president and COO of Savana.

{{00:00:13}}
Emily, thanks for being with us.

{{00:00:14}}
Emily Steele: Thank you
very much for having me.

{{00:00:15}}
David Penn: So I thought before we
got started, maybe you could tell

{{00:00:17}}
us just a little bit about yourself
and the work you do at Savana

{{00:00:20}}
Emily Steele: yeah.

{{00:00:21}}
I've actually been at Savana for
about a year, but have been in the

{{00:00:26}}
fintech industry my entire career.

{{00:00:28}}
I started out working on the core
banking side, spent about 10 years there

{{00:00:33}}
and then ultimately moved to ancillary
products that are in an ecosystem.

{{00:00:37}}
If you think of things that
sit on top of or around a core,

{{00:00:40}}
it's been another 10 years.

{{00:00:42}}
I'm a serial entrepreneur, fintech
person, and then ultimately went

{{00:00:47}}
back to core for working for an
international company, Temenos, and then

{{00:00:52}}
finally a year ago landed at Savana.

{{00:00:56}}
Thinking about doing things a little bit
differently than throughout my career.

{{00:01:00}}
David Penn: Sure.

{{00:01:01}}
Interesting.

{{00:01:01}}
Very interesting background.

{{00:01:03}}
So the number of things that we wanted
to talk with you today one of the

{{00:01:05}}
things we wanted to discuss was the
idea of the improvements to digital

{{00:01:09}}
customer service and self service in U.

{{00:01:11}}
S.

{{00:01:11}}
banks.

{{00:01:11}}
In particular, we know that there
have been a lot of companies or

{{00:01:13}}
businesses that have spent a lot
of money on that sort of thing.

{{00:01:16}}
There's still a lot of things
that have yet to be addressed.

{{00:01:18}}
And I'm wondering if you could talk
about some of the things you think

{{00:01:20}}
are really top of list on that regard.

{{00:01:23}}
Emily Steele: Sure, I think you're right.

{{00:01:24}}
I think that we've spent a
significant amount of time

{{00:01:28}}
improving the customer experiences.

{{00:01:30}}
And if we think about the demand over
the last couple of decades, we've added

{{00:01:35}}
new digital solutions on the front.

{{00:01:37}}
We've enhanced cores on the back.

{{00:01:40}}
But one of the things that I think has
occurred as we've done that is we've added

{{00:01:44}}
lots of product silos on the back and
a lot of different silos on the front.

{{00:01:49}}
And inadvertently, that's
creating consumer experiences

{{00:01:53}}
that aren't as consistent.

{{00:01:55}}
When you or I as a consumer coming
into the bank, we may have a

{{00:01:58}}
different experience doing the
same activity depending on the

{{00:02:01}}
channel that we're coming in.

{{00:02:03}}
So we believe that there's an
opportunity to really drive a

{{00:02:06}}
convergence or a unification of
all of those disparate systems

{{00:02:11}}
that aren't talking to one another.

{{00:02:13}}
And then if we can operationalize
that bit we believe that it can

{{00:02:16}}
drive a better consumer experience.

{{00:02:18}}
David Penn: It makes a lot of sense.

{{00:02:19}}
We hear so much about all the
different products and things that

{{00:02:21}}
are being offered, and we never think
about them from the consumer side

{{00:02:24}}
in the sense that they're seeing
all of these things come across.

{{00:02:25}}
How do they actually integrate them
into their actual banking experience?

{{00:02:28}}
I'm wondering if maybe you could talk a
little bit about some of the unique ways

{{00:02:31}}
that Savana is approaching this problem.

{{00:02:32}}
Emily Steele: Yeah, you're right.

{{00:02:33}}
One of the things that we're doing
is we're looking to not go from the

{{00:02:38}}
back of a bank or the front of a bank.

{{00:02:40}}
We're looking to come inside the
bank and actually drive change

{{00:02:44}}
from a consumer perspective, right?

{{00:02:46}}
You and I as consumers we have
one relationship, we've chosen

{{00:02:51}}
our bank, but we may have many
relationships inside that bank.

{{00:02:54}}
So what Savana's done is we've created
a core agnostic, channel agnostic

{{00:02:59}}
platform that sits across the core
and connects to the front, but we

{{00:03:04}}
pull out all those processes in the
disparate systems on the back and

{{00:03:09}}
the front ends, and we operationalize
those, and then we push them forward

{{00:03:13}}
to a consumer through an API library.

{{00:03:16}}
So you've got consistency, regardless
of whether you're coming in from a

{{00:03:19}}
self service channel or whether you're
coming in from a bank assisted channel.

{{00:03:23}}
Your in My Experience is exactly
the same, regardless of where we're

{{00:03:27}}
actually interacting with our bank.

{{00:03:29}}
And we believe that it's at that point,
if we can enable the bank to own those

{{00:03:34}}
processes and centralize them, that again,
your In My Experiences will be better

{{00:03:39}}
as consumers or businesses of the bank.

{{00:03:42}}
David Penn: That's a
really interesting point.

{{00:03:43}}
I can imagine an instance where a
customer is used to dealing with their

{{00:03:45}}
bank in a certain way, and a suggestion
is made, Why don't you try this?

{{00:03:48}}
And they go, Whoa!

{{00:03:49}}
I don't know about that.

{{00:03:51}}
Maybe I'll go back to what I was doing.

{{00:03:52}}
And it really helps, I think, people
get to understand the ability to

{{00:03:55}}
take more advantage of some of the
services that are available, if it's

{{00:03:58}}
something that they're going to be able
to use comfortably and consistently.

{{00:04:01}}
Again, as you were mentioning.

{{00:04:01}}
Yeah, completely agree with that.

{{00:04:03}}
Yeah.

{{00:04:03}}
Now Savana is going to be demoing
on stage, at Finovate today.

{{00:04:07}}
It's going to be very interesting to
see talking about embedded banking

{{00:04:10}}
and making service solutions for FIs.

{{00:04:12}}
I'm wondering if maybe you could
give us a little bit of a preview

{{00:04:13}}
of that and why you think this is a
particularly timely thing to be showing.

{{00:04:17}}
Emily Steele: Yeah so, BaaS and Embedded
Banking we've been talking about, and you

{{00:04:20}}
do lots of interviews, we've been talking
about that for quite some time now.

{{00:04:25}}
But banks are in a very interesting
position where they can drive revenue,

{{00:04:30}}
drive profitability and really bring
new products, not just the traditional

{{00:04:35}}
deposit accounts or mortgage accounts,
but bring innovative products

{{00:04:39}}
from fintechs to their consumers.

{{00:04:41}}
The challenge with it -  we've
been talking about it, but to

{{00:04:44}}
realise it is pretty tough for a
fintech because  charters, as you

{{00:04:49}}
know, are really difficult to get.

{{00:04:50}}
The bank already has the charter.

{{00:04:53}}
If we marry that and the bank
starts to offer that charter to the

{{00:04:57}}
fintech and then distribute those
services or products to market.

{{00:05:01}}
Now you bring that marriage together.

{{00:05:04}}
The challenge that we've had, and the
reason we've been talking about it, not

{{00:05:07}}
actually seeing it happen too much in
the market, is because the technology

{{00:05:11}}
hasn't been able to support it just yet.

{{00:05:14}}
You end up with additional silos,
disconnected processes, you end

{{00:05:19}}
up with identity verification
challenges, multi-brand challenges.

{{00:05:23}}
So what we're gonna show today at
Finovate is we have focused on being

{{00:05:28}}
able to enable the bank to offer
those services, connect seamlessly,

{{00:05:33}}
and really run the bank deliver these
processes through the bank's processes.

{{00:05:40}}
The bank, it's really just an
extension of what they do today.

{{00:05:45}}
So we can support the multi brand will
actually show building a bank today

{{00:05:50}}
from a fintech perspective in the seven
minutes that we get will also show

{{00:05:54}}
how then those products are actually
following the bank's exact processes,

{{00:06:00}}
not inserting any risks, allowing them
to just navigate and inherit their own

{{00:06:04}}
orchestration, their own process, while
doing so in a multi brand function.

{{00:06:08}}
David Penn: Wow interesting, Very much
looking forward to seeing all of that.

{{00:06:12}}
We talked a little bit earlier about
core systems, the issue of legacy

{{00:06:15}}
banks, or legacy core systems and
so forth, and how those are still

{{00:06:18}}
a hurdle in terms of modernization.

{{00:06:19}}
I know in the news flow we constantly
see that is still something,

{{00:06:23}}
a challenge that's out there.

{{00:06:24}}
Do you believe that at the end of the
day though that cores are the problem?

{{00:06:28}}
Emily Steele: So for me,
that's a yes and a no.

{{00:06:31}}
The core was intended to be
the transaction processing,

{{00:06:35}}
the interest accrual, posting,
even product manufacturing.

{{00:06:39}}
And I think that cores
do that very well today.

{{00:06:42}}
I don't think core conversion
is the answer to everything.

{{00:06:45}}
If your core is actually doing
those things well, I don't think

{{00:06:49}}
that it necessarily means that
the way to modernization is

{{00:06:52}}
through a core transformation.

{{00:06:54}}
The second no that I would
have is, cores have to be open.

{{00:06:57}}
They need an API first strategy
so that banks can integrate to

{{00:07:02}}
an ecosystem that they need to
actually drive their business.

{{00:07:06}}
If the core isn't open, then I
believe you, you need to actually

{{00:07:10}}
consider replacing the core.

{{00:07:11}}
Or if it doesn't meet those needs,

{{00:07:15}}
But I don't believe that replacing
your core is the answer to everything.

{{00:07:20}}
You're right.

{{00:07:20}}
In the press, we hear that legacy
term all the time and anything over

{{00:07:24}}
10 years old, we need to throw out.

{{00:07:27}}
And I'm not, I don't agree with that
because they do things very well.

{{00:07:31}}
What we've done as an industry is we've
expected the core to do everything.

{{00:07:35}}
Cores aren't intended to be
communication centralization.

{{00:07:39}}
They're not intended to be a CRM.

{{00:07:41}}
They're not intended to be
the consumer experience.

{{00:07:46}}
But we're expecting them to, so they
take a lot of heat in the market

{{00:07:50}}
when things aren't going wrong.

{{00:07:51}}
So my no of, we shouldn't be
talking about replacing cores,

{{00:07:55}}
is when that's the real problem.

{{00:07:57}}
We need to look at what the real
problem is and address that with

{{00:08:00}}
the right technology solution.

{{00:08:02}}
And if you're looking for...

{{00:08:05}}
How do I improve the customer experience?

{{00:08:08}}
I believe that you need to look at
operationalizing a bank and pushing

{{00:08:12}}
consistent experiences to a consumer
rather than replacing your core.

{{00:08:16}}
And I believe that's what will
create great customer experiences.

{{00:08:20}}
David Penn: Wow very, interesting.

{{00:08:21}}
And I'm sure there are plenty of
bankers and people who are listening

{{00:08:23}}
who appreciate that nuance.

{{00:08:25}}
As opposed to completely rip
it out or, go the other way.

{{00:08:28}}
I'm thinking maybe by way of wrapping
up, if we're sitting here, if we're

{{00:08:30}}
lucky enough to be sitting here next
year talking about fintech trends,

{{00:08:33}}
financial services trends, what are
some of the things that you think we

{{00:08:36}}
might be talking about that maybe folks
around here aren't even thinking about?

{{00:08:39}}
Emily Steele: Certainly AI.

{{00:08:41}}
Generative AI is definitely taking,
getting traction in the banking space.

{{00:08:47}}
Needing an opportunity to do better
servicing, more For instance.

{{00:08:55}}
Promoting and serving up for you and
I products and services that we need

{{00:08:59}}
from a real intelligent point of view.

{{00:09:02}}
So I think we're gonna see more and
more of AI and technology is already

{{00:09:06}}
beginning to advance to support that.

{{00:09:09}}
I would be remiss if I didn't say I
hope we're thinking of modernization

{{00:09:12}}
differently because today modernization is
almost only associated with either a core

{{00:09:18}}
transformation or replacement of digital.

{{00:09:21}}
And I hope that what we've talked about
over the last 12 months is Modernization

{{00:09:25}}
is also about coming inside of a bank and
transforming a bank differently to truly

{{00:09:30}}
create a first class customer service.

{{00:09:33}}
And certainly, I believe we won't just be
talking about BaaS and embedded banking,

{{00:09:37}}
but banks will be offering new products
that aren't just those traditional because

{{00:09:43}}
technology is actually supporting it.

{{00:09:45}}
So it's all about the customer
experience in my opinion.

{{00:09:47}}
David Penn: Fantastic.

{{00:09:48}}
Very interesting.

{{00:09:49}}
I really appreciate hearing your
insights going to be looking very

{{00:09:50}}
much forward to your demo coming
up a little bit later today.

{{00:09:53}}
Emily Steele: Thank you.

{{00:09:53}}
Much appreciated.

{{00:09:54}}
Thank you.

David Penn: Hi, I'm David Penn,
research analyst with Finovate.

We're here at Finovate 2023
in Times Square, New York.

Emily Steele: Thank you
very much for having me.

David Penn: So I thought before we
got started, maybe you could tell

us just a little bit about yourself
and the work you do at Savana

I've actually been at Savana for
about a year, but have been in the

I started out working on the core
banking side, spent about 10 years there

and then ultimately moved to ancillary
products that are in an ecosystem.

If you think of things that
sit on top of or around a core,

I'm a serial entrepreneur, fintech
person, and then ultimately went

back to core for working for an
international company, Temenos, and then

Thinking about doing things a little bit
differently than throughout my career.

So the number of things that we wanted
to talk with you today one of the

things we wanted to discuss was the
idea of the improvements to digital

In particular, we know that there
have been a lot of companies or

businesses that have spent a lot
of money on that sort of thing.

There's still a lot of things
that have yet to be addressed.

And I'm wondering if you could talk
about some of the things you think

Emily Steele: Sure, I think you're right.

I think that we've spent a
significant amount of time

And if we think about the demand over
the last couple of decades, we've added

But one of the things that I think has
occurred as we've done that is we've added

lots of product silos on the back and
a lot of different silos on the front.

And inadvertently, that's
creating consumer experiences

When you or I as a consumer coming
into the bank, we may have a

different experience doing the
same activity depending on the

So we believe that there's an
opportunity to really drive a

convergence or a unification of
all of those disparate systems

And then if we can operationalize
that bit we believe that it can

We hear so much about all the
different products and things that

are being offered, and we never think
about them from the consumer side

in the sense that they're seeing
all of these things come across.

How do they actually integrate them
into their actual banking experience?

I'm wondering if maybe you could talk a
little bit about some of the unique ways

One of the things that we're doing
is we're looking to not go from the

We're looking to come inside the
bank and actually drive change

You and I as consumers we have
one relationship, we've chosen

our bank, but we may have many
relationships inside that bank.

So what Savana's done is we've created
a core agnostic, channel agnostic

platform that sits across the core
and connects to the front, but we

pull out all those processes in the
disparate systems on the back and

the front ends, and we operationalize
those, and then we push them forward

So you've got consistency, regardless
of whether you're coming in from a

self service channel or whether you're
coming in from a bank assisted channel.

Your in My Experience is exactly
the same, regardless of where we're

And we believe that it's at that point,
if we can enable the bank to own those

processes and centralize them, that again,
your In My Experiences will be better

David Penn: That's a
really interesting point.

I can imagine an instance where a
customer is used to dealing with their

bank in a certain way, and a suggestion
is made, Why don't you try this?

And it really helps, I think, people
get to understand the ability to

take more advantage of some of the
services that are available, if it's

something that they're going to be able
to use comfortably and consistently.

Now Savana is going to be demoing
on stage, at Finovate today.

It's going to be very interesting to
see talking about embedded banking

I'm wondering if maybe you could
give us a little bit of a preview

of that and why you think this is a
particularly timely thing to be showing.

Emily Steele: Yeah so, BaaS and Embedded
Banking we've been talking about, and you

do lots of interviews, we've been talking
about that for quite some time now.

But banks are in a very interesting
position where they can drive revenue,

drive profitability and really bring
new products, not just the traditional

deposit accounts or mortgage accounts,
but bring innovative products

The challenge with it -  we've
been talking about it, but to

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Emily Steele, President & COO, Savana, shares her views on digitization and addresses the need to look beyond core systems.