Hey all Ash here to give you the low down on our recent trip to Dublin. Although I don’t feature in any of the photos I was actually there :)
A cracking two days of Fintech was had by all, at Moneyconf 2018 in my home nation, last week. Talks from thought leaders such as, music legend, Imogen Heap, and Revolut’s CEO Nikolay Storonsky, gave us lots to discuss. Pia got off to a great start, as the MoneyConf team named us one of the top 10 startups investors want to meet, alongside companies such as Tide and Hedgewiz. Day one was all about listening, learning and the PITCH, whereas day two got us talking to possible partners, users and investors. The overall response was great and further validates what we’re trying to achieve.
Here are some of our favourite bits from the event.
Transferwise
Founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann was a breath of fresh air as he revealed their soft spot for major banks. His humble admission comes after the unicorns recent deal with France’s second largest banking group, BCPE. This is just one of many partnerships that we will start to see form over the next few years, as Fintech and Banks start to understand the strength of their alliances.
Lemonade
Daniel Schreiber co-founder and CEO of insurance disrupter, Lemonade, hosted, yet another, another inspiring session. Discussing their plans to re-write the book on insurance models and the power of behavioural psychology and AI gave us some food for thought. Their unique business model, designed to help combat insurance fraud, really sets them apart from the rest.
Lemonade keeps a flat 20% fee of a customer’s premium while setting aside the remaining 80% to pay claims and purchase reinsurance. Unclaimed premiums go to a nonprofit of the user’s choosing in an annual “Giveback.”
Schreiber said by linking insurance with a charity that a customer feels passionate about, these customers will be better disposed toward their insurer, and will, therefore, be less likely to file a fraudulent claim.
They’re betting big that behavioural psychology will give them an edge over established industry players. I personally can’t wait to see how they transform the sector to make it more accessible for us all.
Open Banking
Edward Robinson, of Bloomberg, held one of the most exciting sessions of the event. N26 CEO, Valentin Stalf, sat down with Starling Bank’s Anne Boden and Deutsche Bank’s JP Rangaswami to discuss the power of open banking and if it will ever be truly consumer centric. It was interesting to hear their varied thoughts about this significant strategic shift. However, Anne definitely stood out from the crowd with her knowledge and experience on both sides of the fence. Challenger banks are definitely paving the way, but it’s still unclear if the larger traditional banks will move forward with them. Always one to keep an eye on!
The PITCH
Lex, as always, seamlessly guided Pia into the PITCH semi finals on day one. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to get our message out to some of the most influential figures in fintech. Although we didn’t make it into the final it resulted in some really exciting conversions for us. Hats off to Brad van Leeuwan of Railsbank for taking the trophy home. Railsbank is a unique banking and compliance platform that connects companies into a Partner Network (banks, and other financial services and compliance providers) so companies can easily integrate global banking services into your app or business with “5 lines of code”. Really looking forward to seeing where they go in the future.
Day 2
Day two was super successful and made the trip for us. After a heavy night, we dusted ourselves off and prepared for an exciting day of chatter. We lured the punters in with some jazzy sweets and great conversation. By lunch time we had queues of people lining up to get the inside scoop on Pia, especially after hearing Lex’s pitch. It was great to meet so many people who share our vision and it just proves that we’re on to something great. We would definitely recommend MoneyConf for any early stage Fintech trying to get their name and product out there. We’re looking forward to next year already!
If your interested in joining our journey, head over to yourpia.com and become part of our community today.
