Name: Disrupting the market: creating Refunds-as-a-Service
Uploaded: 2024-09-24T12:34:26.475Z
Duration: 502.84

FF.SP.11 -  Jeremy K. Balkin_1.mp4

TodayPay is the world’s first instant payment network disrupting the $1.4 trillion refunds market and creator of Refunds as a Service™. Merchants have an alternative payment method to issue instant refunds to their customers. TodayPay is founded by Jeremy K. Balkin, a leader in the payments industry and former Managing Director and Head of Fintech at J.P. Morgan.

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FinovateFall 2024

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FF.SP.11 -  Jeremy K. Balkin_1.vtt

English

{{00:00:04}}
Hello, I'm David Penn,
Research Analyst with Finovate.

{{00:00:07}}
We're here at Finovate Fall 2024 in New
York, and joining me is Jeremy Balkin.

{{00:00:10}}
He is founder and CEO of TodayPay.

{{00:00:13}}
Thanks for joining us today.

{{00:00:14}}
Good to see you, old friend.

{{00:00:15}}
How's everything?

{{00:00:16}}
Everything is fantastic.

{{00:00:16}}
It really is great to see you again.

{{00:00:18}}
It's funny, the last time you were here
at Finovate Fall, I think it was about

{{00:00:20}}
two years ago, you were delivering a
keynote address, or opening keynote

{{00:00:24}}
address, on payments innovation as
the head of Fintech for JP Morgan.

{{00:00:28}}
That was then.

{{00:00:29}}
Now, you are the founder of
TodayPay, which is the finalist for

{{00:00:33}}
the top emerging FinTech company.

{{00:00:35}}
Not a bad move in the past two years, huh?

{{00:00:37}}
It's been pretty crazy, yeah.

{{00:00:39}}
Absolutely.

{{00:00:39}}
So let me ask you this.

{{00:00:40}}
What made you decide to leave
the kind of career you had at J.

{{00:00:43}}
P.

{{00:00:43}}
Morgan to go out into the wild
world, starting a FinTech startup?

{{00:00:48}}
A lot of people ask me that, David.

{{00:00:49}}
I think I worked and was lucky enough
to serve the greatest  financial

{{00:00:55}}
institution the world's ever seen,
and to serve as a managing director

{{00:00:58}}
at the pinnacle of corporate America,
it was probably the greatest privilege

{{00:01:03}}
of my career in my entire life.

{{00:01:05}}
And to walk away from the comfort, the
certainty, the career, the paycheck,

{{00:01:10}}
to suffer as a startup founder
with nothing more than a bunch of

{{00:01:13}}
ideas, was a tough decision to make.

{{00:01:16}}
I rationalized that I was still young
enough, my kids were still young

{{00:01:20}}
that if things didn't work out, I
could always, go back and certainly

{{00:01:23}}
that was the feedback the leadership
gave me if this didn't work out.

{{00:01:26}}
But suffice it to say, best career
move ever, and I love being a founder

{{00:01:31}}
and startup life and trying to add
value to people's lives and without J.

{{00:01:35}}
P.

{{00:01:35}}
Morgan, I wouldn't be here today.

{{00:01:36}}
Sure.

{{00:01:36}}


{{00:01:37}}
And so it's been a great journey
so far and a long way to go.

{{00:01:39}}
Excellent.

{{00:01:40}}
In terms of adding value to
people's lives, let's talk

{{00:01:42}}
a little bit about TodayPay.

{{00:01:43}}
Tell us about the company.

{{00:01:44}}
Sure, so TodayPay, we're the world's first
dedicated refund payment network, and

{{00:01:50}}
it's an alternative payment method for
both merchants and consumers to receive

{{00:01:54}}
a refund, and we're pioneering a category
we like to call refunds as a service,

{{00:02:00}}
serving merchants, marketplaces, insurers,
issuers, and consumers to get a refund.

{{00:02:05}}
A better refund experience.

{{00:02:07}}
One of the things that's particularly
interesting to me, and I suspect to a

{{00:02:09}}
lot of the people who are listening,
who know you and know the work you've

{{00:02:11}}
been doing for years, is that you have
such a broad range of understanding

{{00:02:14}}
and knowledge about FinTech.

{{00:02:15}}
What made you decide out of all
of the different possible areas

{{00:02:18}}
that you could investigate and
work and innovate in, why refunds?

{{00:02:21}}
It's a great question.

{{00:02:22}}
Refunds absolutely suck.

{{00:02:23}}
We're competing against a shitty
customer experience, and during

{{00:02:27}}
COVID, I learned firsthand how broken
refunds as a payment method are,

{{00:02:32}}
which I won't bore our audience with.

{{00:02:35}}
I'm sure everyone can relate
to a poor refund experience.

{{00:02:38}}
Suffice it to say that last year in the
U.S., there was over 7 trillion worth of

{{00:02:43}}
stuff bought goods and services in the U.

{{00:02:46}}
S., 274 million Americans
bought something online.

{{00:02:50}}
One fifth of everything bought in the U.

{{00:02:51}}
S.

{{00:02:52}}
was returned, and items bought
online have a higher return rate.

{{00:02:56}}
There has been, over the last 20 years,
there's been like hundreds of billions

{{00:03:01}}
of dollars invested in the checkout
experience, making that amazing for

{{00:03:06}}
a consumer and a merchant where they
have payment choice, they can earn

{{00:03:09}}
cash back when they spend money,
and they can do it instantly, that

{{00:03:13}}
instant gratification to spend money.

{{00:03:15}}
But who's been thinking about
what happens when that purchase

{{00:03:18}}
doesn't go well and returning that
money, the receipt, the refund?

{{00:03:21}}
And the truth is, there's been
zero investment and zero innovation

{{00:03:24}}
on the refund experience.

{{00:03:25}}
That's why the experience sucks.

{{00:03:27}}
I thought instead of complaining
about it, which I always used to do,

{{00:03:30}}
my wife said, just go and fix it.

{{00:03:31}}
And just like a consumer and a
merchant, on a payment can have choice

{{00:03:37}}
of how they pay their money, which
payment method, they can earn cash

{{00:03:41}}
back when they spend the money, and
they can do it instantly with instant

{{00:03:44}}
gratification when you spend money.

{{00:03:46}}
We want that to be when you
receive that money on a refund.

{{00:03:49}}
So we offer merchants and consumers
an alternative payment method

{{00:03:52}}
to issue and receive the refund.

{{00:03:55}}
Consumers and merchants can actually
earn cash back when they issue and

{{00:03:57}}
receive a refund, and they can do it
instantly with instant gratification,

{{00:04:02}}
and turn a refund from an anxiety
producing, anonymous, shitty

{{00:04:06}}
customer experience into a delightful
customer experience with instant

{{00:04:09}}
gratification, cash back, and choice.

{{00:04:11}}
And our is my money, my choice.

{{00:04:13}}
We believe.

{{00:04:14}}
Consumers and merchants should
have the power back in their hands.

{{00:04:17}}
Very interesting.

{{00:04:17}}
I really appreciate the way you
compare the payment experience, all

{{00:04:20}}
the innovation, all the attentions
that's gone to there, to the almost

{{00:04:22}}
complete absence on the other end.

{{00:04:24}}
And we think we need to fix that.

{{00:04:25}}
Right.

{{00:04:25}}
That's why payments
works both ways, right?

{{00:04:28}}
So it should be an experience
when you spend it, it should be an

{{00:04:30}}
experience when you get a refund.

{{00:04:31}}
And we're going to die trying.

{{00:04:33}}
Excellent.

{{00:04:34}}
I wonder if you could
share some of the progress.

{{00:04:35}}
I know it's a relatively young company,
all the same, but could you share some

{{00:04:38}}
of the progress you've made so far?

{{00:04:39}}
Sure.

{{00:04:40}}
I think we're 18 months old.

{{00:04:42}}
We're a baby company.

{{00:04:43}}
I think the progress, it's, to
think 18 months ago, TodayPay was

{{00:04:47}}
an idea on a blank sheet of paper
and now we have almost 20 people.

{{00:04:51}}
We've got a, we've got a commercial
relationship and partnership with

{{00:04:53}}
Visa of all, of all amazing companies
who've been incredible partners for us.

{{00:04:58}}
We've got, we're PCI compliant,
we're SOC 2 compliant.

{{00:05:01}}
Our first customers are live
using TodayPay on the B2B side.

{{00:05:06}}
We're processing Our first
refunds our business model, our

{{00:05:10}}
unit economics is profitable the
execution risk is in our hands.

{{00:05:13}}
We've de risked so many different areas
where, an early stage company can trip

{{00:05:17}}
up and receiving accolades and being
finalists for big awards is amazing and

{{00:05:21}}
we're just so humbled that If we would
have measured our progress where we are

{{00:05:24}}
after 18 months, I would have said I'll
take that in three and a half years.

{{00:05:27}}
So we're well ahead of schedule,
which means we've got to compete

{{00:05:30}}
even harder to get the trust of
our customers and continue to win.

{{00:05:33}}
Yeah, that's really interesting.

{{00:05:34}}
Incredible momentum again
in just a year and a half.

{{00:05:38}}
In terms of what's headed next, I mean,
it almost seems like a bit of an unfair

{{00:05:40}}
question to ask having accomplished as
much as you have, but people are curious.

{{00:05:44}}
With this momentum that's going at
this pace, what is next in the next,

{{00:05:47}}
say, 18 months, the next 36 months?

{{00:05:49}}
Sure.

{{00:05:49}}
Well, I will say it's
very humbling to think.

{{00:05:52}}
I came from J.

{{00:05:53}}
P.

{{00:05:53}}
Morgan, start from zero, and here we
are 18 months later, and unlike a lot of

{{00:05:57}}
founders who are 19 year old kids with
nothing to lose, I got a ton to lose.

{{00:06:00}}
So we're not, we're not
slowing down for anybody.

{{00:06:03}}
Our motto is the speed of a payment
can change someone's life, and that's

{{00:06:06}}
what drives us as a company every day.

{{00:06:08}}
What's next for us?

{{00:06:09}}
We've got a huge Q4 in this year.

{{00:06:11}}
Our current B2B product is
continuing to do really well,

{{00:06:13}}
which we're really proud of.

{{00:06:15}}
There's a bunch of awards that
are going to be announced and some

{{00:06:17}}
industry recognition which will take
place, which is great for the team.

{{00:06:20}}
We're launching a direct to
consumer product, which which

{{00:06:24}}
will be a first of its kind.

{{00:06:26}}
We've got a waiting list that
could probably fill up this

{{00:06:28}}
whole conference hall already of
folks who want to use it in beta.

{{00:06:31}}
Where you can get, at least 1 percent
or a bit of up to 5 percent cash

{{00:06:35}}
back on a refund with a bunch of top
merchants in this country instantly.

{{00:06:39}}
It's a really cool product.

{{00:06:40}}
In fact, if you go to refund
app.com, R-E-F-U-N-D app.com, refund

{{00:06:46}}
app.com, you can join the wait list.

{{00:06:47}}
And I apologize that the wait
list is as long as it is.

{{00:06:49}}
I think if you join today, maybe
we'll release it for you in  January.

{{00:06:53}}
That's gonna be huge when it
launches, goes into the wild

{{00:06:56}}
the execution risk is with us.

{{00:06:57}}
And I think there's a non-zero
chance David that in Q4, one of the

{{00:07:01}}
months will probably break even on a
monthly basis and I think next year.

{{00:07:04}}
In our second year of operations in
2025, we should be breaking even as a

{{00:07:08}}
company and we should continue to grow
and serve more customers, both merchants

{{00:07:12}}
and consumers and go build this category.

{{00:07:14}}
I'm absolutely convinced five years
from now, when you get a refund, whether

{{00:07:20}}
that's in store or online, you'll
have a choice between the original

{{00:07:24}}
payment method, which is fine for
most people or a faster refund method.

{{00:07:28}}
Hopefully that's TodayPay and
we're certainly going to die

{{00:07:30}}
trying to make sure it is today.

{{00:07:32}}
Fantastic.

{{00:07:33}}


{{00:07:33}}
Very interesting to learn
about what you're working on,

{{00:07:35}}
what you've achieved so far.

{{00:07:36}}
They always say that the payments is
the gift that keeps giving in finance.

{{00:07:39}}
It's nice to see that now somebody's
got refunds giving as well.

{{00:07:42}}
Congratulations on the
work you've done again.

{{00:07:44}}
Thank you.

{{00:07:44}}
I'm looking forward to hearing
more from you TodayPay.

{{00:07:45}}
Thank you.

{{00:07:46}}
And we've got a great team
and the work is up to them.

{{00:07:48}}
Fantastic.

{{00:07:48}}
Thank you.

{{00:07:49}}
And thank you for joining us as well.

Hello, I'm David Penn,
Research Analyst with Finovate.

We're here at Finovate Fall 2024 in New
York, and joining me is Jeremy Balkin.

It's funny, the last time you were here
at Finovate Fall, I think it was about

two years ago, you were delivering a
keynote address, or opening keynote

address, on payments innovation as
the head of Fintech for JP Morgan.

Now, you are the founder of
TodayPay, which is the finalist for

Not a bad move in the past two years, huh?

What made you decide to leave
the kind of career you had at J.

Morgan to go out into the wild
world, starting a FinTech startup?

I think I worked and was lucky enough
to serve the greatest  financial

institution the world's ever seen,
and to serve as a managing director

at the pinnacle of corporate America,
it was probably the greatest privilege

And to walk away from the comfort, the
certainty, the career, the paycheck,

to suffer as a startup founder
with nothing more than a bunch of

I rationalized that I was still young
enough, my kids were still young

that if things didn't work out, I
could always, go back and certainly

that was the feedback the leadership
gave me if this didn't work out.

But suffice it to say, best career
move ever, and I love being a founder

and startup life and trying to add
value to people's lives and without J.

And so it's been a great journey
so far and a long way to go.

In terms of adding value to
people's lives, let's talk

Sure, so TodayPay, we're the world's first
dedicated refund payment network, and

it's an alternative payment method for
both merchants and consumers to receive

a refund, and we're pioneering a category
we like to call refunds as a service,

serving merchants, marketplaces, insurers,
issuers, and consumers to get a refund.

One of the things that's particularly
interesting to me, and I suspect to a

lot of the people who are listening,
who know you and know the work you've

been doing for years, is that you have
such a broad range of understanding

What made you decide out of all
of the different possible areas

that you could investigate and
work and innovate in, why refunds?

We're competing against a shitty
customer experience, and during

COVID, I learned firsthand how broken
refunds as a payment method are,

I'm sure everyone can relate
to a poor refund experience.

Suffice it to say that last year in the
U.S., there was over 7 trillion worth of

stuff bought goods and services in the U.

S., 274 million Americans
bought something online.

was returned, and items bought
online have a higher return rate.

There has been, over the last 20 years,
there's been like hundreds of billions

of dollars invested in the checkout
experience, making that amazing for

a consumer and a merchant where they
have payment choice, they can earn

cash back when they spend money,
and they can do it instantly, that

But who's been thinking about
what happens when that purchase

doesn't go well and returning that
money, the receipt, the refund?

And the truth is, there's been
zero investment and zero innovation

I thought instead of complaining
about it, which I always used to do,

And just like a consumer and a
merchant, on a payment can have choice

of how they pay their money, which
payment method, they can earn cash

back when they spend the money, and
they can do it instantly with instant

We want that to be when you
receive that money on a refund.

So we offer merchants and consumers
an alternative payment method

Consumers and merchants can actually
earn cash back when they issue and

receive a refund, and they can do it
instantly with instant gratification,

and turn a refund from an anxiety
producing, anonymous, shitty

customer experience into a delightful
customer experience with instant

Consumers and merchants should
have the power back in their hands.

I really appreciate the way you
compare the payment experience, all

the innovation, all the attentions
that's gone to there, to the almost

That's why payments
works both ways, right?

FinovateFall

Expert Insight

Jeremy Balkin, Founder and CEO of TodayPay, shares his journey from being a Managing Director at JP Morgan to establishing TodayPay, a pioneering company in the field of 'refunds as a service.' Jeremy discusses the inspiration behind TodayPay, the company's progress over 18 months, partnerships with major firms like Visa, and their exciting future projects, including a direct-to-consumer product offering instant gratification and cashback on refunds.