What 8 Thought Leaders in Fintech and Banking Have to Say About Becoming Data Driven

The phrase “data-driven” can sometimes feel overused when it comes to efforts in fintech and banking. And yet, given that a recent KPMG survey found that only one-third of bankers think their institution has a “high degree of data and analytic literacy,” it’s still an urgent topic and deserves our ongoing attention.

Chris Skinner, author of Value Web 

“For the digital world, you have to have the right infrastructure to manage data. Financial institutions need to reinvent themselves from scratch to get away from the distribution of paper through channels and move to the distribution of data.”

Though institutions may feel somewhat inadequate when it comes to a data-driven strategy, the importance of this culture is not lost. Many thought leaders in banking understand what needs to happen to lead on this front.

Parin Kothari, founder of Livelihood Project and former AVP at TD Bank

“Data of which analytics and insights are the defining piece. This is where we figure out how to map customer’s intended and actual behavior across products and channels so we can better design for what they want, where and when they want it, and how they want it.”

Andy Harmening, Vice Chairman of the Consumer Banking Division at Bank of the West

“Let’s look at selling. We’re using new data-driven solutions to help target our marketing. We’re using sophisticated algorithms to help determine what we should be talking with our customers about.”

Lani Hayward, Head of Creative Thinking at Umpqua Bank

“So let’s say that the customer wants to move money from one bank account to another. We use data to make that experience intuitive and personal.”

Kevin Mullins, COO at Sevier County Bank

“Another thing I have learned is to use data to make more informed decisions. Rather than relying on Excel, we execute reports from our core system. This data provides superior results that are not otherwise available, which is fundamental in our analysis.”

Dan Mercurio, SVP of Consumer Banking at Cambridge Savings Bank

“What we've experienced, and we're not alone, is that community banks have data sitting in various systems, in multiple locations. To support the digital experience, banks should have a robust data management program operating behind the scenes.”

Leaders within the fintech space look at the culture of data and analytics as an essential part of the future of banking. Either banks can catch on and be ‘data-driven’ or face the likelihood that they will lose out to their competition.

Zack Friedman, CEO at Make Lemonade and former VP & Head of Finance at CommonBond

“When you look at the combination of big data analytics and new online distribution channels, financial technology companies have been leading the way in financial services.”

Anthony Thomson, Atom Bank

“Everything we do will be driven by data. Using data analytics and predictive technologies, we will help customers know what they want before they even think about. We are in the data business as much as we are in the banking business.”

Taken together, these thought leaders move the discussion forward and show why we still need calls to band together and become data driven. It’s a topic that’s certainly to become only more important going forward.

s