What Customers Want: Navigating the Tension Between Innovation and Regulation

Welcome back What Customers Want, a limited 4-part series from the Fintech Takes podcast, hosted by me and Corey Besaw, President of APAC and co-founder of Ubiquity.

In Episode 3, Corey and I are joined by Ahon Sarkar, SVP & GM at Helix, to dive into the natural tension points between fintechs, banks, and those ever-evolving customer expectations.

Financial services are leaning hard on self-service automation, but fintech moves at lightning speed—constantly innovating to craft the perfect solution. So, what happens when customer expectations and fintech’s rapid pace don’t quite sync up?

Highlights include:

When fintechs, banks, and platforms first come together, discussions around customer service can be a mixed bag. Banks want to know if the fintech understands support systems or if they’re building from scratch. How do you scale a lean team while delivering an exceptional experience?
Choosing a sponsor bank is like setting the stage for long term success. Alignment is key. Do they have experience managing the complexities of third-party models like BaaS? Can they handle the risks that come with fintech partnerships?
As fintechs scale, banks must strike a balance between fostering innovation and keeping control. It’s a bit like managing a kid on a trampoline—gradually handing over trust while ensuring the right safeguards are in place (or so we’d hope!).
As Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) matures, customer service is becoming a competitive edge—but only if fintechs and banks can align on expectations and regulatory standards. What happens when customer support or fraud spirals out of control?

In the tug-of-war between innovation and regulation, tune in to hear how these growing pains may create a brighter future for customer experience in financial services.

And don’t forget to subscribe and catch more insights on what customers want in upcoming episodes.

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