So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin…

Ben Lynch, founder of Jude.io

In a previous blog I outlined how the world of the future could look and promised to show where the opportunities are for financial services.

Ben Lynch is a clever innovator in New Zealand who is already creating this future with Jude.

Ben’s vision for Jude is a digital service that’s pretty much like a private banker but built using modern technology to create an over-the-top data-play across all financial providers.

He’s building a service that pro-actively looks out for the customer. It works across all your finances to give a wholistic view of your money, it pays bills on time, possibly even look for savings and investment opportunities.

Ben, and Jude, have spent the last six months in the Flux Flux Accelerator based in Auckland and run out of The Icehouse.

I caught up with Ben in Auckland and spent some time finding out how Jude is showing the way in the future of financial services.

Like most really good product ideas, Jude looks to have come from some personal frustration with banking. What’s the story?

Yes. I hated the fact my bank would charge me un-arranged overdraft fees on an account when I might only go a couple of dollars overdrawn and have plenty of money in another account right next door to cover the difference. Just take the money from there … It can’t be that hard can it?

So, whilst working at Xero, I built my own “bank” on top of all the banks I had accounts with so I could then make my own rules and provide the interface I wanted to use. Effectively I sat on top of the banks & just used their existing infrastructure for moving money around as you normally would. I just wanted to build the experience, not deal with any of the hard, boring stuff of actually storing & moving your money.

That’s basically still my goal. From a user’s perspective, be everything without being anything.

What made you choose an accelerator?

The people. Last year I was primarily working from home. Great autonomy but hard to stay motivated. It’s very easy to do other things.

Would you recommend the acceleration route to other start ups?

Yes. No. It depends. I’m a big believer in there’s no “one size fits all approach”. In general, we as humans try to simplify things down to a knowable or believable truth in order to comprehend or make sense of something. Most often we reason by analogy. “This thing is like that, so you should do that …” There’s almost never a single thing you can point to or attribute back to anyone’s success, let alone a start ups.

I’d recommend all early stage founders get very clear in their own heads around want they want to achieve, think about what or who could help accelerate that achievement and if it’s an accelerator or incubator, then great. Go for it!

Don’t do it because that’s what you’re “supposed” to do or because you read about one in a book …

Where is Jude at now?

Right now my focus is on replicating the core functionality of everyday banking across all the major banks in NZ for both iPhone & Android users; Balances, Transactions, Transfers & Payments.

We have a small group of private beta users whom we’re testing & developing this with and are hoping to launch a public beta in September.

From that point, we can do anything. Fundamentally though, if I’m asking you to not use your banking app(s) and just use Jude because the experience will be that much better, then I have to cover off that core functionality before we can earn the right to do the cool, shiny stuff.

You’ve been very open about your product roadmap and your strategy “make an app that replaces your banking app” — what’s been the reaction from fans and potential competitors?

Yes that’s basically what I’m asking people to do. I can’t just pop up with a product out of the blue and expect people to hand over their banking credentials. They need to buy into the story, the vision & my belief that together, we can build a product that is an order of magnitude better than what they are currently being offered.

Potential competitors … don’t know. They’ll do what they do. I can’t control that.

Would open banking APIs help or hinder your growth?

Most definitely help. I see them as inevitable. Hopefully some of the stuff we’re doing accelerates and helps shape their arrival here in NZ.

What’s going to happen to banks in this new world? If you were a bank what would you do?

Haha, loaded question … In the next few years, I think from an everyday consumers perspective, when we talk about who we “bank with”, it will be in reference to who do we trust to store our data, not so much our “money”. Money’s just data anyway.

I think the most successful banks in the world will transform themselves into custodians of people’s data. It’s inevitable, I think, that consumers will & should own their own data. We as consumers will simply choose where our data resides then connect pretty much whoever we choose to with that data in order to improve almost every aspect of our lives.

That of course, leaves banking, particularly retail banking in an interesting spot. Historically technology & data were a bank’s two big competitive advantages or barriers to entry over competitive threats.

The great democratisation of technology means I have arguably better access to cheaper, faster & smarter technology from my bedroom than what a bank is constrained to or can access.

And now we’re slowly seeing a global movement towards customers having ownership of their own data & choosing who should or can access it. Layer on top of this the fact banks are under an incredible amount of pressure from a regulatory, risk & compliance perspective & the paradigm shift in “trust”, as in, we’re much more likely to trust our friends & peers recommendations as pioneered by the likes of the Uber & Airbnb model rather than the logo on top of the tallest towers in the CBD, then yeah, I think the sun has passed midday on the traditional “main bank” model.

It’s going to be incredibly hard for a red bank, or a yellow bank, a blue bank & or a green bank to differentiate themselves on everyday & savings accounts. The only differentiation, in my opinion, will be on the experience the customer receives.

Increasingly that experience is going to become “invisible”. Banking has always been “pull over push”, as in, I have to ask for everything. What’s my balance? How much have I spent? As already seen across almost every other industry it needs to be “push over pull”. You tell me when something relevant happens. Keep me informed. And do it from wherever I’m comfortable. If I’m in Facebook Messenger, I want it there. If I’m at home or in my car it might be via a voice interface like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. The days of having a single channel or interface where you expect your customers to come to you are well and truly gone.

All of these future experiences however are powered by technology & data. Access to both of those components is starting to become a reality almost anyone can build a company or experience on top of. Experience matters. Now more so than ever before. People love great experiences. They pay for them, they’ll try to repeat them & most importantly, they’ll tell their friends about them.

If I were a bank … I’d try a partnership with Jude :)

What’s your opinion of the fintech scene in NZ? What do we need more of, less of?

To be honest, I don’t tend to follow or keep track of what anyone else is up to in NZ or even overseas. You can get easily distracted. I know what I want to do. For me, it’s just about getting on with it.

Where do you personally want to be in 5 years time?

Not wondering when Open APIs will be a thing …

What company or entrepreneur to you most admire?

Outside of NZ it would have to be Elon Musk & Jeff Bezos of Tesla & Amazon fame respectively. Locally I think the general public under appreciate what Rod Drury & the Xero team have been able to achieve in a relatively small time frame.

I could rattle off another 50 different entrepreneurs whom I admire though! In general I think it’s pretty cool we now live in an age where the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos & even Warren Buffett are considered “rockstars” by a whole new demographic of society.

)

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade