Thought Leaders in Financial Technology: Mike Ward, Chief Revenue Officer at World First (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: You have a third segment that you wanted to talk about?

Mike Ward: Those are all the three: corporate, and I believe I touched on consumer and e-commerce.

Sramana Mitra: You touched on consumer and e-commerce. I don’t think you elaborated on the corporate.

Mike Ward: From a corporate perspective, it covers many different industries that we can work in. We have some success in certain industries and that might be because of acquisition channels. We can really come in and facilitate in any industry. What we tell the clients is, we’re almost a free hire in their treasury team under the CFO. We can come in and help, not just manage post-sale delivery of these funds, but we can also come in when it comes to budgeting. When you start to put in a forecast, collecting invoices, and paying those invoices in multiple currencies,

for them to have this extra sets of hands to get involved in their business is a great success story. When we’re dealing with small to medium-sized corporations, every dollar counts. They want to be making sure that their margins are managed appropriately. That’s the corporate focus for us. That’s a global opportunity.

Sramana Mitra: If you look at the industry as a whole, what are the trends and where do you see open problems?

Mike Ward: There is a big trend in financial services. I think you’re seeing that in many businesses, whether it’s lending or banking. You’re seeing a lot more of these non brick-and-mortar startup banks. You see it in international payments. You see financial services dramatically changing. I think you see the need to have a financial adviser. That world is really changing and leveraging a lot more in technology.

There are algorithms, platforms, and businesses out there today saying, “We could do exactly what your financial advisor does for you but at a much different rate.” The world is changing. When it comes to international payments, or payments in general, you have tools like Venmo, Apple Pay, and Facebook Pay. The way of money movement is dramatically changing.

In America specifically, the fact is that you still have financial institutions, and people still need to carry a chequebook. There is a dramatic change that is going to happen over the next five or seven years. We’re going to see that in the sustainability and success of regional banks. We’re going to see that in who you want to and can deal with in the future. Technology is driving, in many big ways, financial services. As companies that are in the market or people who want to start, we’re on a pivotal point right now. Many people go and acquire customers at a time. Acquisition channels today can be grouped into three. You have direct sales, partnerships, and marketing.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Thought Leaders in Financial Technology: Mike Ward, Chief Revenue Officer at World First
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