Why OTP Bank works with Nestholma

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Featured, Fintech, Global Fintech Accelerator, Programs.

Collaboration between startups and corporations is not easy. Most attempts to cooperate actually fail. There is a cultural divide between their two worlds. This why you need a mediator who understands both of those worlds: to make the collaboration a win-win for both the corporation and the startups.

Luckily, our area of expertise at Nestholma is exactly that: collaboration. Turning it into an actual business. Making the magic happen. “Banks and startups speak a different language”, says András Fischer, Head of Retail Innovation. “We need an interpreter”. Tweet this. And we’re proud to say that they have chosen Nestholma as such an interpreter.

But what does Nestholma bring into the mix for the startups and the corporation, as an acceleration partner? Read more »

Why OTP Bank wants to work with startups

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, Innovation, Startups.

It’s clear that for startups, having a big bank as a partner is crucial. And that OTP Bank is such a partner. It can make it or break it. It makes your startup bank-validated. But collaboration is not a one-way street. Tweet this. You also need to understand your partner and their motives; why they want to collaborate with you. After all, those are the things that will shape how the future collaboration will really be in practice.

We had a chat with key people in OTP Bank to find out and share with you. And let me tell you, startups are in for a treat. Read more »

Taviq signs a deal with Nordea and that’s amazing news for Nordea’s customers!

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, General, Programs, Startups.

It’s time for more deals and more pilots! Taviq from our second Nordea accelerator has just signed a pilot agreement with Nordea Private Banking, going live now. And that’s awesome news for Taviq and Nordea, but even better for Nordea’s customers!

Juho Isola on a MoneyFintech panel with Nordea's Ewan MacLeod.

Taviq’s Juho Isola on stage with Nordea’s Chief Digital Officer Ewan MacLeod.

In Private Banking and wealth management, too many clients drop off during the first meeting. That’s because the first meeting is like a cold blind date. Except the customer and the wealth advisor know even less about each other. The first meeting is spent figuring each other out; if the wealth advisor even is the right one to handle their money. Read more »

Here’s what I learned from talking with people from 9 countries of OTP Bank

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, Innovation, Technology.

Digital technologies have transformed the way we do… everything. And it continues to transform it, every day. We often read about new technology that looks like science fiction… but we’ve exploited only a fraction of the technologies available today.

On October 3rd and 4th I was lucky to take part in OTP Group’s Digital Meetup in Kecskemét. Participants included key people from OTP Group, from its 9 different countries. It also included partners that OTP Bank is working with – such as myself from Nestholma.

I got to see very interesting points of view on digitalization. Banking is going to change a lot in the upcoming years. And not only in the obvious ways. Read more »

Ophelia, openness, and readiness for disruption

Posted by & filed under Corporations, Innovation, Organizational learning.

Hurricane Ophelia decided to pay a visit to Ireland at the same time that we were visiting Dublin for an event about collaborating to make the best out of PSD2. And one can learn a lot from seeing how people react to a hurricane. In a way, dealing with a hurricane can be like dealing with changing markets. Change is like the wind, and when it’s fast and sudden, it’s a hurricane. The hurricane of disruption. Tweet this.

Many industries are going through their own “disruption Ophelia” at the moment. Fintech is going through a regulation hurricane. Knowledge-based industries, in general, are bracing for the AI hurricane. All industries deal with the hurricane of digitalization, one way or another.

Read more »

The next big thing in banking, with OTP Bank

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Customers, Fintech, Innovation, Programs.

Telling the future is difficult. And even more in banking right now, with so many innovations happening. New fintech startups (like you?) claim to disrupt the industry every day. By collaborating with a big bank you can improve your chances of success. And that makes those banks more ready for the future. But in which areas can we make the biggest changes?

For our upcoming program with OTP Bank, we’ve taken a shot at defining the key areas of banking that need new innovations. Read more »

Corporate Venturing official Slush side event, November 29th 2017

Posted by & filed under Corporations, General, innovating, Investing, Organizational learning, Product development, Startups.

 

Corporate venture capital has been an excellent way for many companies to increase shareholder value. Research shows 30% better increase of share value with companies with strong Corporate Venture capital activities.  And if you look for example at the biggest Chinese giants, most of that valuation increase is because of good investments, not operative business.

But it’s usually done only with later-stage companies.
Read more »

Strong, innovative and startup-minded: why startups want OTP Bank

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, Global Fintech Accelerator, Programs.

Collaboration between startups and corporations is a great formula. That’s why fintech startups are looking for good financial institutions to work with.

That’s why we’ve picked the best partner for you at the Global Fintech Accelerator: OTP Bank! It has all the traits you need. It’s a strong partner. It’s also an innovative one. And the people working there have an attitude of getting stuff done (tweet this).

A strong partner

OTP Bank is a 65-year-old institution. But don’t let that fool you: they have had to live through great changes, you could even say it comes from a different era. And they had to change fast, so they know how to adapt to new environments.

OTP Bank is not only the biggest bank in Hungary, it’s also the biggest banking group in the Central Eastern European region. They are present in 9 different countries, with around 14,5 million customers. With a strong focus on retail banking, they have the financial background and know how to help your startup. According to Peter Csanyi, Head of Digital Sales and Development, you will be able to “verify the value proposition of your startup, and see how it can work in the long run”. It’s your best chance to become bank-validated! (tweet this)

But OTP Bank is not just a bank. It’s a group, with very different subsidiaries. This gives you the opportunity to test your business idea in a live ecosystem. Big markets can be tough to enter, but with a partner like OTP Bank, you have a chance to validating your business in it, knowing what you’re doing.

 

 

“We know the local market, we know what’s realistic” adds András Fischer, Head of Retail Innovation. Their dominating position gives them the capability being ambitious and delivering. And it also gives them access to lots of data, that they’re willing to use to make the customer experience better. Big data? No: huge data!

 

An innovative partner

OTP Bank is renown in its region for its innovativeness. This means that their customers are used to trying new products and services. “We are not relaxed, thinking that we are the biggest in Hungary or in the region”, says Ferenc Böle, Head of IT Project Management and Methodology. Instead, they are committed to bringing new innovations to the market.

One of the effects of their openness towards innovation is their decision-making process. During the accelerator, in the OTP Bank’s headquarters, decision-makers are all at your reach. “All decisions happen very fast, very efficiently, every good idea can be executed”, adds Böle. If it’s a good idea, they’re in! And working with your startup is a good idea for OTP Bank, right?

This shows in their attitude as a company. “Traditionally OTP Bank is superior in technology innovation”, comments Tamás Schenk, Head of Digital Transformation Program Management Office. “If something is really exciting to our customers, we are devoted to developing it here”. They’re keen on working with startups, to bring the next disruptive idea to the market (with you).

Evidence to this attitude is the fact that they have already developed two internal startups themselves! “OTP Bank has the power to rise these solutions to a mass level”, shares Peter Benyó, CEO of OTP Mobil, one of those startups. “We run lean startup, we have the flexibility, with the strong financial background”, adds Tamás Jósvai, CEO of eBiz, the other OTP Bank startup. This means that OTP Bank knows very well how to work with a startup, which will make the collaboration with you so much easier!

 

A partner with the right attitude

Last but not least, people at OTP Bank are generally open, hard-working, and very structured. “Once something is decided, they are devoted to carrying it out”, adds Schenk. They have an attitude of doing business and getting things done.

 

 

“We don’t try to pretend”, adds Böle. OTP Bank doesn’t work with startups just “to be cool”. They have the capability – and the will – to bring value to customers. And they strongly believe that they can do that better working with startups. “I believe that our colleagues provide a very welcoming atmosphere”, adds Fischer.

Collaboration requires the right attitude, and the right ingredients (tweet this). And OTP Bank has both. And they are looking for startups to join the OTP Bank’s Startup Accelerator with us.

So now is your chance to join one of the best accelerators for your business. If you haven’t applied yet, what are you waiting for? It’s your chance to validate your business with one of the best partners.

 

Apply

Global Fintech Accelerator: first look into the participating banks

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, Global Fintech Accelerator, Press release, Programs.

It has been a hard to keep our lips zipped with all these exciting news, but now we can finally give the first peek into the Global Fintech Accelerator – the first ever fintech accelerator done on such a global stage! We couldn’t be more excited to introduce new bank partners in the program.

 

Yes Bank

Fintech experts have been calling China the hottest place for fintech for a while now, but now they are turning their attention towards India. And not without a reason!

India is a huge market. Just the sheer size of the country itself is humongous with 1,3 billion people and counting. And while the size of the country and its market are impressive, their fintech adoption rate is even more so. It is the top of the world with 52%, only second to China and far ahead of Europe (source). The market has very different conditions than the traditional western countries and they lack many of the legacy systems and old innovation-stifling regulations many banks and countries in the West have. No wonder India is hotter than hot in fintech!

That’s why for an accelerator focused in fintech, partnering with one of the strongest players in Indian banking scene Yes Bank could not be better news!

Yes Bank is the fifth biggest bank in the enormous market of India, they are highly awarded and even have a massive following in their social media channels (They are for example, the most followed bank in the world in Twitter). If India is hot in fintech, Yes Bank is even hotter! We can’t think of a better partner for startups than the Yes Bank Accelerator to take over the Indian market.

Our next partner comes from an equally interesting marketplace: Eastern Europe. China has had the fintech innovation crown for a bit now and India seems to be taking over. But is Eastern Europe the next hotter than hot market for fintech?

 

OTP Bank

Eastern Europe has been able to fly under a radar for a while. But that won’t be so for long, especially when banking and fintech are in question. GDP of East European countries is growing nicely, in fact, better than nicely when compared to other European countries who drag behind. They also have a very interesting opportunity in the banking sector. What China and India have been able to pull off in fintech doesn’t seem too much of a fairytale for East Europe either. They do after all have many similarities in the consumer environment, regulations and other key issues that made China and India succeed.

East European consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the possibilities fintech innovations bring, and they will not just passively wait for them. They will demand them and they will demand them from their banks. Consumers still prefer banks over startups to provide their banking solutions, including new innovations. The local startup ecosystems are still just evolving, and there aren’t even that many real competitors for banks to provide such solutions. There is demand for fintech innovations but not much local supply. Game-changing innovations are expected to come from international players.

Overall, there is great potential for fintech startups in Eastern Europe to fill up the gaps in banking and disrupt the existing systems. But due to the strong status of the existing banks, not just any startup can do it. The fintechs need a way in. And that’s why we could not be more proud to partner up with OTP Bank, one of the biggest players in Eastern Europe.

OTP Bank has a presence in 9 East European countries (including dominating position in Hungary). And they are called the leading innovator in their market (more about it here). All in all, for startups there could not be a better partner to work with to conquer Eastern Europe.

At the heart of the Global Fintech Accelerator is, of course, banks working with startups, but also with other banks. The best results are when different kinds of banks with different experiences and knowledge work together. And we are proud to say that is exactly what is happening in Global Fintech Accelerator.

 

The Nordics

When you think about fintech you can’t help but also think about the Nordics. The Nordics have a flourishing startup environment that is attracting a high proportion of investments in Europe. Stockholm is the second largest fintech hub in Europe, and the whole Nordic fintech market is rapidly growing. The Nordics are also home for ginormous success stories like Klarna and iZettle, which have brought the area high to fintech investors interests.

A big part of the fintech’s success in the Nordics is its markets uniqueness. The Nordic countries are forerunners in many areas of banking. And that has made adopting new fintech innovations much easier for both the companies and the general public.

For example, consumers in the Nordics are avid smartphone users. In fact, smartphone ownership is almost universal, more than 9 out of 10 internet users have one. Nordic countries are also often referred to as cashless societies. Cash is not seen convenient and you can easily live your life without using cash pretty much 100% of the time. The Nordics also have strong electronic banking systems in place, and they have warmly welcomed innovations like e-invoicing. For example, 89% of large and even 59% of small businesses in Finland use it, and the usage is growing fast.

These and many other similar market conditions have made Nordics a very favorable for fintech innovations. Thus the Nordics just had to be a part of our Global Fintech Accelerator.

And we are very happy to have such a close relationship with Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordics.

Nordea

Nordea has over 10 million personal customers and over half million corporate customers. They are also one of the top 10 largest universal banks in Europe, and have a presence in 16 countries around the world. They are also one of the very few European banks to have an AA- rating. We can’t think of a better bank to work with in the Nordics. Especially as they are already well immersed in the startup world.

We have already done three great accelerators with Nordea and we have had an amazing time working with them. Thus we couldn’t be happier to continue working with them!

These banks from such different areas and market situations will be giving amazing opportunities and insights for both the participating startups and banks. We are expecting to see great innovations, big changes and most importantly: more satisfied banking customers. Stay tuned for amazing results!

…

If your bank wants to get access to those results, there is still time! We have several models from marketing partnership to full accelerator in the Global Fintech Accelerator. Just contact Antti at [email protected], and let’s find together the best solution for your bank!

 

The future of banking: what innovators should focus on?

Posted by & filed under Accelerator, Banking, Fintech, innovating, Product development, Startups.

What will the future of banking look like? Just what the innovators will make it be.

Advances in technology, regulatory changes, new entrants to the market… In the past couple of years, banking has gone through big changes and more is to come. They keep saying the ‘future has never been as uncertain as now’ year after year, decade after decade. But in banking, this time it might be true. A lot of things are changing and a lot of things will change. And with it, a lot of challenges are coming. But more importantly: also opportunities. So, what should innovators focus to get the most of it all?

Technology is driving the change

When you talk about the future of banking you just can’t not talk about advances in technology. They are making things possible we couldn’t even imagine just couple years ago. No, even months if not just weeks ago. In fact, behind the success of many fintech startups has been mastering new technologies like AI, big data or blockchain and thus being able to create something completely new and revolutionary for the customers. And that has been one of the key reasons the little and new entrants have been able to challenge the old giants, banks.

For innovators embracing the technological changes and even new technologies is a must. Advances in technology and innovation go hand in hand. Like blockchain and bitcoin. And the first innovation is just the beginning. Just think about the innovations that have come and especially the innovations that are coming because of the blockchain.

While it is impossible to be the master of every single technology, innovators have to keep their eyes open. See what’s out there, what’s up-and-coming. And then use the opportunities that become possible. The players that refuse to adopt the new and/or evolving technologies are the ones who will lose. Just like many banks have noticed.

The future is mobile

It hasn’t been long when computers were huge, the size of rooms. Now they fit in a pocket and can do so much more. So so much more, especially with things related to banking.

Usage of mobiles is growing fast. Incredibly fast. And it is no wonder considering how handy they are, far from just calling and texting. Now we can handle our money usage, savings, investments, pay our bills, transfer money to our friends in an instant, pay for a haircut, do our accounting… and those are just some examples from digital banking. That’s a huge jump from storing our cash under a mattress or going to our banks’ physical location to let the employees do something magical behind the desk. Now the customers have control over everything. We can choose exactly the services we want and exactly how we want to use them, and when we want to use them.

And it is not just about making mobile versions of old services. Smartphones have made completely new things possible. For example, the spread of phones has been the key to fintech’s success in China and India. People who didn’t even have access to any banking services now have a phone, with what they now have access to exactly the kind of banking services they need. Mobile is completely changing the game. And innovators need to remember that.

Technology is driving change

Customer behavior is changing and millennials are ruling

The most hated, loved, talked about generation now is millennials, at least if you read any online news sites. And innovators should take notice.

Millennials are not only the cat video and selfie-loving generation: for example in America millennials will make more than 1 out of 3 adults by 2020 and 75% of the workforce by 2025. And America is not a unicorn. In just few years millennials will be the ones with the biggest consumption power and the ones making making decisions in corporations. If innovators ever want people and companies to buy their solutions, they need to know how millennials work. How they consume, how they make decisions, and especially, how they are different from the previous consumer majorities.

For example, millennials don’t share the previous generations’ love for owning things like houses and cars. They like to share them. And when they do want to own them, it’s usually later than the previous generations wanted. Millenials are diginative and put huge emphasis on companies’ presence online, especially in social media. And unlike the previous generations, millennials are obsessed with corporate social responsibility. In fact, 75% said that it’s either fairly or very important that a company gives back to society instead of just making a profit. In short, they are critically different from the previous generations.

Millennials and their quirks should be in the minds of innovators when planning, when creating, and when selling – throughout the whole journey of innovation.

Collaboration is a must – know how to do it

In banking the past years have been dominated by fierce competition between banks and fintech startups – the old rulers and the new challengers. But now the fierce competition has had to give space for fierce collaboration. Banks and startups have realized joining forces makes a lot of sense. Collaboration is now a must – for all innovators.

But just the willingness to collaborate isn’t enough. Innovators on both sides also need to know how to collaborate. Startups and corporations are after like two completely different creatures – the differences in their pros and cons and how they are complementary are, after all, why collaboration between the two makes sense. But that also poses many challenges to collaborating.

There are countless articles about how banks need to collaborate with startups and especially how they need to change to be able to do that. To not to smother the startups with their processes. But likewise, the startups need to know how to collaborate with the corporation. Many deals have been lost for stupid reasons, in essence, not understanding the other party.

For example, where is the user data stored is a question many bank and startups approach differently. The answer from some startups is ”Not sure, somewhere. Probably in some kind of a cloud. My co-founder might know…”. But for banks where and how data is stored and protected is one of the big things that keep them awake at night.


These are some of the big themes visible in banking now that innovators need to keep in mind. That is why they are also themes in the Yes Fintech accelerator by our Global Fintech Accelerator partner YES BANK. Take a more detailed look here, and see what kind of innovations banks are really looking for. And if you already happen to have an innovation that matches those themes, apply to the accelerator.

 

YES BANK

YES BANK is one of the strongest players in one of the hottest fintech markets; India, and the Yes Fintech accelerator also shows that. The perks will make the participating startups giddy (straight access to the huge customer base and YES BANK’s extensive market knowledge, huge number of APIs, investment opportunities, global fintech market access, coaching…. just to name few), as were the results from the last accelerator (e.g. 9/10 solutions from the accelerator were taken up by YES BANK. 90%! Not many bank accelerators can say the same!). 

YES BANK has adopted a new approach to Banking, called A.R.T – Alliances, Relationships & Technology (A.R.T) approach to Digitized Banking. They are a good example of a major player in banking who has really taken on the collaboration part as they have already partnered with over 100+ fintechs to deliver best services to their customers. And thus the selected startups in Yes Fintech accelerator will be in good, no: great hands! Read more about the accelerator benefits for startups here.

Finding opportunities instead of threats

What differentiates innovators from the others is that innovators see opportunities where others see threats. Instead of shivering in fear and hiding under their blankets when someone mentions new technologies, changes in regulations or any of the usual commonly mentioned boogie men, they start looking for the opportunities in them. What could we do with this new technology? How could this new regulation be used to create new and serve our customers better?

The future of banking is made by the innovators. The startups, the banks and the ones who take on the opportunities instead of hiding from the threats. And that’s why innovators will also be the winners of the future.

Read more about the YES FINTECH accelerator here and apply now! Deadline the 14th of October 2017!