Banking: The Digital Dimension
Olivier Crespin, Co-founder and CEO of Zand, explains what it takes to build a successful digital bank.
What are the core foundations when it comes to creating and operating a digital bank?
The core focus should be on the mindset shift, where we don’t treat the digital bank as a bank but instead as a digital platform—so essentially a platform with a banking license. This mindset shift is enabled by a fine balance between the DNA of banking and the DNA of digital. It’s important to blend financial expertise, risk management, compliance, regulation, and security, with customer-centricity, the latest technologies, native data platforms, and advanced analytics. Finally, people who have banking experience but who are eager to challenge the status quo as well as people with a technology background can be a valuable asset.
As the co-founder and CEO of digital banking platform, Zand, what are the main challenges that you face?
The first significant challenge is to avoid building a legacy, as legacy structures hinder scale and evolution. Here, it is important to make sure that the structure and technology used are always reversible.
The second challenge is to remain true to your strategy, mission, and vision despite the many opportunities that present themselves with time. In the case of Zand, if we cannot provide a fully digital version of the product, we simply don’t do it.
What are the right things to consider when choosing a fintech partner like Aion?
First, you must decide what will be entirely owned by you and what will be outsourced. It makes sense to partner with people who have already taken their time to build and optimize a solution, and that’s when we usually look for fintechs. It’s about business integration and having a shared vision of success and growth. Also, it’s important to feel you can go to the partner team directly for support. With large organizations, you don’t always have that access.
How do you see the future of the digital banking industry, especially in the Middle East?
Countries in the Middle East have a potent digital agenda that can only be fulfilled by having a digitally native bank that can connect with the ecosystem, facilitate financial transactions, and scale and leverage analytics. Also, customers now want things to be more accessible and simpler, and the pandemic has accelerated their adoption of all things digital. They want to be recognized by the bank serving them too, and to be enabled with the best products tailored to their needs.
With many traditional banks trying to transform into digital banks, how is Zand going to maintain its advantages?
We understand the ecosystem and have built innovative products serving individuals and SMEs. Zand was created as a platform, so we’re ready to connect to the ecosystem and be there for our clients when they need us. Our front-to-back digital products, scalability, and uninterrupted customer experience set us apart. We also understand the importance of the human element; our clients will still be able to contact us even though we’re digital.