INTRODUCING…
Railsr Nigel Verdon, co-founder and CEO of embedded finance experiences platform Railsr, talks about why this Money 20/20 marks a milestone for a company that started in 2016 with just four people, and now has more than 525 based across four continents, in a market where new entrants are putting pressure on the fintechs.
This is a significant Money 20/20 for us, not least because after six years, we have decided to change our name. And this esteemed event seemed a great opportunity to tell the world we will now be known as Railsr and not Railsbank. I must admit to having been a little sad about that at first, but I don't spend a great deal of time looking back. Railsbank has served us well over our startup years, but now, for our next phase of expansion, we need a name which reflects our core activity: embedded finance experiences. And I think Railsr hits the exact spot – it’s also a name which works across all our markets, right across the globe and allows us to operate as either a software only, or a fully financial regulated business.
europe.money2020.com
leading to banking-as-aservice, embedded finance and now, embedded finance experiences.
HARDEST TASKS A STARTUP CAN FACE
Coming up with a company name is one of the hardest tasks a startup can face, but as I tell all those that ask me advice about being a startup founder – and this is my third, my previous two having been sold to major international companies – one of the traits you need is flexibility. As you build your company, everything will change; nothing remains set in concrete. Railsr was born during the period of the open banking initiative which can be more accurately described as open finance, such was its impact upon a traditional financial services industry that frankly was not fit for purpose in the 21st century. The traditional system was outdated, slow and moribund. Along came the fintechs and showed how it should be done, and central to that approach was that the customer came first. The legacy financial services sector was all about itself coming first, not the customer. But open banking was the opening of the floodgates,
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Over the last few years, the market has evolved hugely, and is throwing up a myriad of both opportunities and challenges for fintechs. Banks used to be the only players, but they are now having to share the exciting and growing market with specialist fintechs that leverage modern technology and the modularisation of the banking stack. Yet fintechs no longer have the space to themselves. Now companies and consumer brands are claiming an increasing part of the action, creating embedded finance experiences. And fintechs need to readjust to the new landscape to remain relevant and stay competitive.
FINANCE IS MOVING CLOSER TO THE CUSTOMER
The trend is clear. Finance is moving closer to the customer. We see this with day-to-day consumer brands embedding finance. So fintechs are now competing with finance
experiences embedded within a brand’s customer journey, not just standalone financial products. They need to create engaging experiences and communities around their financial products to add real value and compete meaningfully. They need to create experiences, not just products. In short, we are entering a world beyond 'fintech 2.0' and we can see from our customer base how the market is developing. Our customers were traditionally innovative fintechs determined to change things, startups and scaleups. Now it's the non-fintechs, the companies and brands are increasingly coming onto our platform, seeking the level of engagement that embedded finance experiences offers their own customers. There is room for everyone, but innovation, adaptability and the ability to keep the end user as the focus of attention will be the key traits that all players will need to be successful. Website: www.railsr.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com
/company/railsr
Twitter: @RailsR_
SPECIAL
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