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It used to be that new technology capabilities were there to support existing business channels. But technology isn't just a supporting feature for organizations anymore, technology is a business channel. And for banks to take advantage of that, they need to be flexible, they need to be quick to adopt new features, and they need to have a solid tech foundation. And above all, they need a robust digital implementation strategy.   In this Financial Futures season finale, we explore what makes for an effective, and repeatable, digital implementation strategy. We ask what the building blocks of a successful implementation are and we find out what the common pitfalls are to avoid. Plus, we'll learn what institutions need to do to maintain their digital capabilities beyond the onboarding stage.   Joining us on this episode are vice president and general manager for Digital One at FIS, Héctor Pagés, and chief technology officer at BreakFree Solutions, Bradley Clerkin, to guide us through the technical capabilities and mindset banks need to ensure digital implementation success.   We'll also ask: How have digital banking and digital implementation evolved?What do pre-digital and post-digital mean for banks?Why has digital become so important for banking customers?How do banks ensure they stay ahead of the latest technology trends?Why do banks need to be involved in their digital implementation strategy?What are the six essential capabilities institutions need to ensure digital success?

Consumer banking, loan applications, car insurance - there are some financial services that no one was surprised to see go digital. But some others (until recently at least) seemed like they would always belong more in a mahogany-clad Wall Street office than on a phone screen. But as technology has advanced, and as consumer trends have changed, more and more services are meeting customers where they are and going digital.   And the world of wealth management is no exception to this new rule.   In this episode of Financial Futures, we learn how the as-a-service model is coming to wealth management and how this technology is democratizing this essential resource. We'll find out how demand for wealth as a service has grown in light of increasingly optimized user experiences across the tech sector and we'll learn why legacy technologies are hindering, rather than helping, wealth managers to provide the best value.   Joining us in this episode are head of wealth management at FIS Global, Luke McCabe, and head of wealth management consulting at NTT Data, Eric Bittel. They'll reveal how the wealth management landscape has evolved (and where it's going), and they'll discuss the current challenges wealth managers are facing, along with some potential solutions.   We'll also ask: What is wealth as a service?How is wealth as a service helping wealth managers to focus on higher-value work?What are customers demanding from the wealth management user experience?How can firms stay relevant and provide value to wealth management customers?What can wealth management professionals and firms do to prepare for WaaS adoption?How is WaaS making wealth management more scalable and allowing for flexible pricing models?

Time is the nemesis of the rewards program. Because as society's taste for streamlined processes has grown, the long minutes spent signing up for cards at checkouts and remembering logins online have become decidedly more inconvenient. However, those clunky loyalty program processes will soon be a thing of the past thanks to a very modern rewards solution, underpinned by tokenization and fuelled by superior data collection, making its way into the mainstream.   In this episode of Financial Futures, we learn all about the future of loyalty and rewards programs and how these solutions are working for consumers and merchants alike. We'll find out where modern rewards programs can offer the most value to customers and businesses, and we'll find out why the benefits of tokenization aren't solely monetary.   So, join us as we speak with managing director at PWC, Doug Dwyer, and director of loyalty at FIS, Mladen Vladic, all about the technologies helping to set organizations apart from the competition all while keeping customers coming back for more.   We'll also ask: What is tokenization?How can modern loyalty programs be used to benefit charities?What makes modern rewards programs more financially beneficial to merchants?How is tokenization helping organizations to personalize their rewards programs?What do rewards programs mean to customers and why are they important?How can organizations adopt modern rewards and loyalty programs?What does the future of loyalty look like? 

Most financial institutions are well beyond the mom-and-pop store stage of their journey. And while this greater scale is good for business, it does make knowing their customer base almost impossible. And knowing the people an organization serves is essential if they are to continue offering the right products and services. But how does an institution get to know thousands of customers? The answer is simple - they need a customer data platform. In this episode of Financial Futures, we find out how customer data platforms are helping financial institutions (and indeed a whole host of businesses) to once again reconnect with their customer base. We'll learn how data is helping to shape new services and strengthen customer engagement, plus we'll hear about some of the out-of-the-box strategies organizations have utilized thanks to the insights they've gained through their CDPs. Joining us today are senior director of full-stack solutions at TEKsystems, Peter Thum, and senior director of strategy and decision & data solutions at FIS, Brandon Richardson. Join us as we find out how CDPs fit into an organization's data strategy and how institutions can adopt the technology. We'll also ask: How do customer data platforms differ from traditional data warehouses?Why do organizations need to understand their customers better?How should organizations approach their customer data platform efforts?Which organizations (and departments within those organizations) can benefit from a CDP?What do institutions need to ask themselves before adopting a customer data platform?How will CDPs continue to evolve?

At the center of every bank’s operation is its mainframe. These computing behemoths power all of a bank’s core processes, allowing institutions to function day to day. But mainframes the world over are facing some challenges. They’re becoming difficult to maintain with the talent pool of specialists qualified to keep them operational dwindling each year. Plus, the yearly cost of running them is high and likely to keep rising. Banks need to upgrade their cores to a more sustainable and cost-effective technology - and the solution everyone is turning to is the cloud. In this season of Financial Futures, we’re examining a new generation of intelligent tools that are making financial services fit for modern institutions and their customers. And in today’s episode, we’ll learn how banks are taking on the task of migrating their cores from the mainframe to the cloud. We’ll be joined by banking cloud leader for North America at Accenture, Nicole Lanza, and division executive of modern banking platform business at FIS, Rick Foresta, as we find out why banks are choosing to move their cores to the cloud and how they’re de-risking the transition. We’ll also ask: How important is it for banks to move their cores to the cloud?What are the benefits of having a cloud-native core?Should banks opt for a public, private, or hybrid cloud model?What are the risks involved in migrating banking cores?How should banks approach the task?What does having a cloud-native core look like?

On today's episode of Financial Futures, we delve into the world of entrepreneurialism in fintech to find out how startups can set themselves up for success in the fintech space. We hear from an entrepreneur about their own journey to market and learn about the challenges and opportunities in the current investment climate. Joining us today are CEO of Cashplus, Rich Wagner, and SVP of banking and payments Europe at FIS, Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly. They reveal what makes the fintech space such a unique, lucrative and collaborative market for startups to break into, and Rich details his own journey of taking his idea to market. Plus we'll learn how technology partners can help startups to actualize their innovations.

In this episode of Financial Futures, we learn how transformative BPO is helping financial institutions to not only streamline processes and find new efficiencies, but also how it is facilitating organizations' ability to meet their own ESG goals. We debunk some of the myths around BPO and we explore a real-life example of one institution's journey to better ESG through Transformative BPO. Joining us today are sales lead of business process transformation and resourcing at FIS, Simon Penny, and SVP of banking and payments Europe at FIS, Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly. We discuss why ESG is so top-of-mind for everyone from investors to customers, and we reveal why good ESG starts with a thorough self-assessment of processes.

For some young people, forming the right habits around managing finances happens either far too late, or not at all. And as financial tools, products and services become more sophisticated, the job of educating young people about money is getting more complicated. But what if learning how to balance the books wasn't just left up to the schools? What if institutions could help share the load? In today's episode of Financial Futures, we learn how one institution is taking on the mission of teaching young people how to manage money, and we'll be asking who should be responsible when it comes to educating children about money. We'll be joined by co-founder and COO of goHenry, Louise Hill, and SVP of banking and payments Europe at FIS, Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly to discover how goHenry is bridging the finance gap in young people's education, and we'll reveal how the financial services industry is proactively trying to foster a more financially inclusive society.

For every successful technological solution, there are dozens more relegated to history. But what makes a trend a success? How do you determine which trends to place your investment dollars in? And how do you identify the right disruptive themes and key trends? In this episode of Financial Futures, we examine the emerging trends, themes, and technologies that could form the groundwork for the future of financial services. We speak with Vice President of Future Exploration and Ventures at FIS, Ed Barker, to find out how institutions can look to the past to make better predictions about the future, and we'll find out how investors and fintech founders can set themselves up for success in economically volatile times.

The next generation of fintech is just around the corner. Gen one brought financial institutions greater technological integration during the dot-com boom, and gen two delivered traditionally in-person functions digitally thanks to the use of APIs and the cloud. But gen three will bring the financial services industry into a new era, building upon the successes of gen one and two to enable the greatest user and institution experience yet. Join us as we speak with SVP and global head of venture investment at FIS, Stephane Wyper to uncover the future of finance into 2030 and beyond and explore the advances and attitudes that will shepherd in this new age of fintech.

Very often, fintechs and other financial institutions don't have the time or resources to develop innovations when they present themselves, meaning opportunities go unrealized. So if organizations want to develop new capabilities, they can't just leave it to chance and hope that someone else will create the breakthrough service or product they've been looking for - they need to do it themselves. Join us, along with CEO of Shipyard Innovation, Ash Bhatia, and VP of Venture Studio Investments at FIS, James Clayton as we find out why the venture studio model is a recipe for building successful businesses and why inorganic business building is the future of startup success.

Great innovations don't come along every day. And, usually, these ideas can't be fully realized unless the right conditions are met. But now there's a new way to innovate. A method that doesn't rely on Goldilocks conditions for any hope of success - it's innovation as a service. In this episode of Financial Futures, we explore innovation as a service (IaaS) and learn how this structured and methodical approach to innovation is helping financial institutions accelerate their GTM strategies for new solutions and making innovation equitable. Join us as we learn about the innovations that are already helping institutions to remain competitive with a little help from vice presidents of Impact Ventures at FIS, Adrian Sturley, and Jason Williams.