The world has cryptocurrency on the brain. And with new coins being released, seemingly, every day, and mammoth losses and gains occurring among the most popular cryptocurrencies, it’s no wonder why. And where some see danger in those troughs and peaks, others see opportunity - opportunity not just in the financial gains to be had, but in the blockchain technology behind these digital currencies. Indeed, crypto and blockchain might not just have the potential to diversify investors’ asset portfolios, they might actually be poised to completely evolve our financial ecosystem.

In this episode, we’ll be joined by John Avery, senior strategy director at FIS; Patrick Sells, CIO at NYDIG; and Richard Walker, principal at Deloitte. We’ll explore what has caused the surge in popularity of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, and we’ll discuss what the long-term impacts of these could be. We’ll also look at the potential implications of more widely adopting a decentralized finance model and examine whether crypto and blockchain could herald the demise of cash.

We’ll also ask:

• How are financial institutions and the capital markets reacting to crypto and blockchain?
• What are the drawbacks of a centralized financial system?
• How are different generations adopting cryptocurrency?
• Why are everyday savers, as well as high-net-worth investors, attracted to crypto?
• Could the world be moving away from fiat money do de-fi?

In one form or another, most people have debts. It is, in many ways, an everyday part of life. Yet debt carries a considerable amount of stigma with it, which can have a negative impact on people’s willingness to seek out ways to manage it. And it’s not that people don’t want to pay, in fact, in most cases the opposite is true, but outdated procedures, unfit technological solutions, and seemingly unempathetic customer service representatives create significant barriers - barriers that must be removed in order to modernize and humanize enterprise collections.

On today’s show, we’ll be speaking with Dale Williams, CEO of Telrock Systems; Guy Hammon, general manager of enterprise lending at FIS; and Michael Peretz, housing finance practice lead at Capco. Join us as we explore the modern solutions that are reshaping enterprise collections and improving debt recovery for institutions and customers. We’ll discover why poor communication can drastically damage an institution's ability to recover funds, where current enterprise collection solutions currently fall short, and how improved tech solutions can better human interactions and, therefore, debt recovery.

We’ll also ask:

• How has COVID impacted the technologies associated with enterprise collections?
• What, other than technology, is the key to providing a better experience for those in debt?
• How is the landscape in B2B enterprise collections changing?
• Why does empathy need to be at the core of debt recovery?
• What do organizations need to consider when bringing enterprise collections in-house?

Saving used to be simple. But as our society has advanced, so have our financial needs, which has made things a lot more complicated. Phone contracts, tuition fees, direct debits for endless streaming services - the list of bills we have to manage seems to be constantly growing, and savings accounts and piggy banks are no longer enough to help us reach our financial goals. The challenge of keeping our finances in order has evolved, and now we need to embrace new tools and a new mindset if we’re to regain control over our financial wellness.

In today’s show, we’ll be speaking with Nicole Meyers, vice president of strategic account management at Personetics; Nick Woodcock, digital banking executive at FIS; and Eric Bittel, wealth management practice lead at NTT Data Services all about the role financial institutions play in financial wellness. We’ll find out how fintechs are helping customers to improve their financial health, and look at some of the new (and potential) tools and services that are helping to put people back in control of their funds.

Join us as we discuss why so many of us feel financially unwell, and what some of the barriers are that stop people from building better saving habits and improving their financial literacy. We’ll also ask:

• How are financial institutions promoting financial wellness programs?
• What are the societal impacts of poor financial literacy?
• What are fintechs doing in this space to better serve the individual?
• How do you create engaging, socially-minded, and financially viable wealth management platforms?
• What does the future of financial wellness and wealth management look like?

When it comes to purchasing big-ticket items, our spending options have, traditionally, been pretty limited. Either scrimp and save until we can afford what we want, or borrow the money through a loan or finance agreement and pay even more in interest fees. But thanks to the myriad of terms and conditions and strict eligibility requirements, getting access to these products can be difficult. But a new product has made its way onto the spending scene over the last few years, providing customers with another, much-needed solution - buy now, pay later.

In today’s episode, we’ll be joined by Nathan Hilt, Managing Director and Payments Industry Leader at Protiviti, Amanda McBee, BNPL GTM Solutions Director at Amount, and Mickey Lynch, Product Management Executive at FIS. They’ll be discussing how BNPL is helping both consumers and businesses stay in control of their cash flow, and they’ll reveal how banks, fintechs, and even merchants, are innovating in this space to provide new BNPL products.

We’ll also ask:

• What does the BNPL customer journey look like?
• Which customers have been championing BNPL and how has this payment method been received by different generations?
• How are BNPL products evolving and what kind of innovations are emerging?
• How is BNPL helping businesses when it comes to their cash cushion and customer base?
• Is BNPL here to stay?

Financial institutions, businesses, and customers are seeing dramatic advances in the tools and services they use at an ever-increasing rate. As demand for immediacy and convenience continues to grow, fintechs are rising to the challenge to deliver more and more banking solutions at the points where people need them most. But behind the multitude of new apps and services, the most impressive changes are taking place in the fintech ecosystems powering these tools.

In this season of Financial Futures, we’ll be exploring some of the latest innovations in the fintech landscape that are paving the way for BNPL and crypto, enhancing enterprise collections, and improving customer financial wellness. And on today’s show, Division Executive and Head of Enterprise Banking at FIS, Andrew Beatty, joins us to discuss how the institutions and ecosystems supporting these advances are evolving.

We’ll be asking Andrew how financial institutions need to adapt in order to keep supporting modern customers and their increasing needs. He also discusses how fintechs are strengthening banks’ offerings, and how these new relationships are benefitting all parties, from institutions to customers.

We’ll also ask:

• What has led to the rise of challenger banks and non-traditional banking services?
• How are fintechs helping banks to bring new solutions to customers?
• What should institutions consider when it comes to core banking transformation?
• What does the increased collaboration between fintechs, banks and businesses mean for the end consumer?

As regulators clamp down and criminals become more sophisticated, the roles of Chief Compliance Officers and Chief Risk Officers are becoming more complex. CROs and CCOs are the strongest lines of defense for financial institutions, but in order to carry on protecting their firms, they must embrace technology in order to manage the ever- increasing number of risks they face. But what are the solutions keeping them a step ahead of the fraudsters? And how are these technologies affecting CROs and CCOs day-to-day? 

In the season 6 finale of Financial Futures, we speak with Senior Manager of Advisory Technology Risk at Deloitte, Niv Bodor, and Senior Vice President & Group Executive at FIS Compliance Suite, Kyle Gardner, about the evolution of compliance and risk. We dig into the current and emerging issues affecting CROs and CCOs and take a look at how technologies such as AI are helping to tackle crime and keep institutions compliant. 

We discuss how contemporary issues such as free-trading platforms and the prevalence of the work-from-home model are creating new challenges for CROs and CCOs. We also look at how the changing demands of regulators are putting firms under increased compliance pressures and reveal how AI could hold the solution. And we find out how institutions can utilize unstructured data to help fight fraud. We'll also ask: 

• How are changing trader demographics affecting the role of CROs and CCOs? 
• What are the emerging risks to the capital markets beyond the pandemic? 
• How will CROs and CCOs have to change to meet the demands of regulators? 
• Why is people-power alone not enough to keep up with modern risk and compliance issues? 

Technology is advancing at a blistering pace and it's causing clients to ask for more from institutions in the capital markets. Investors want access to real-time data and insights and they want this service packaged up in slick, smartphone-like experiences. And if buy and sell-side firms want to meet these needs, they'll have to adapt and upgrade their own systems and embrace technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In this episode of Financial Futures, we speak with President and CTO of C3AI, Ed Abbo, and Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and Solutions Management at FIS, Tony Warren, about the changing stakeholder demands in the capital markets. And we take a look at AI, machine learning, robotic process automation and more to discover how these technologies could hold the solution.

Join us as we examine where these once futuristic technologies are being harnessed in the capital markets already. We also explore the pain points for buy and sell-side firms and discuss which processes and systems need to be updated in order for firms to continue to grow. And Tony and Ed share their predictions for these technologies and give us their advice on how firms should engage in this digital transformation. We'll also ask:

• How are emerging technologies, such as blockchain, prompting digital transformation?
• What major disruptors do firms need to prepare for?
• How can AI help institutions keep up with regulations?

The capital markets must look to the future. As institutions generate more data and clients demand more insights, it won't be enough for firms to rely on legacy systems. With solutions such as BPaaS and Cloud computing, institutions have hope. By streamlining data processes through modern BPaas solutions, firms in the capital markets can regain their competitive edge and maintain the resilience they need to move forward. 

In today's episode, we speak to Capital Markets Specialist for Worldwide Financial Services Business Development at Amazon Web Services, Alvin Huang, and Head of Global Managed Services for FIS Capital Markets, Tara Winters. We dive deep into the avenues for growth in order to understand how institutions can benefit from branching into emerging markets and by adopting newer technological systems. 

We discuss the mechanics behind BPaaS and Cloud computing, and how financial institutions, in wake of the pandemic, have newfound avenues for business growth. We'll look at the processes behind data migration and explore the factors firms may need to consider with the rise of new client and scaling challenges. We'll also ask: 

• How can BPass and cloud computing improve efficiency? 
• How are firms using public and private clouds?
• Which processes should firms be migrating to BPaaS and the cloud? 

Move over ROI. ESG is the hottest abbreviation in the capital markets now. Environmental, social and governance ratings aren't just the mark of a sustainable organization, to some extent, they're even a strong indicator of a good investment. And with societal expectations and investor demands changing, firms in the capital markets need to have these investment options in their portfolio if they want to keep clients happy.

In today's episode, we speak to Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and Solutions Management at FIS Tony Warren, alongside Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at FIS Andrew Ciafardini. We get granular and ask how ESG investments are impacting the institutions offering them as well as the risk and fund managers who manage them. 

We discuss the key components of ESG and the benefits these investments have on the institutions offering them. We'll explore what's prompting firms to center their attention on ESG, as well as look at the challenges surrounding ESG scores and the numerous disparate rating standards. We'll also talk about:

• What should risk and fund managers be doing when educating their clients?
• Why is the expectation for ESG investments so significant?
• How are ESG factors measured?

The capital markets are constantly evolving. But when the world had to overcome the challenges thrown up by the pandemic, that evolution accelerated exponentially. Almost overnight, employees went remote, meetings moved online, and an entire industry realized that the key to resilience depended on the ability to provide premium customer experiences through digitization powered by centralized, seamlessly accessible data.

In this season of Financial Futures, we'll be looking at the challenges and opportunities facing the capital markets and asking how institutions should prepare in order to stay competitive in this ever-changing industry. Today, we'll be finding out about the present and future of customer experience, digitization, and data with help from Microsoft's Global Financial Services Strategy and Solutions Leader, Rupesh Khendry, and FIS's Senior Director of Sell-Side Strategy, John Avery.

We'll be asking Rupesh and John what some of the core pain points are for institutions (and their clients) in the capital markets when it comes to digitization. And they'll share their thoughts on which solutions will allow both firms and their customers to seamlessly access data to get insights faster than ever before. 

We'll also talk about:

• How should institutions approach the challenge of digitization?
• What is the true cost of siloed data?
• Why is digitization crucial to both the customers of today and the workforce of tomorrow?
• How could technologies such as AI and ML be leveraged with the help of frictionless data?