Bankadelic: The colorful side of finance

Whether they struggle with providing seamless customer service a la e-commerce, or just need help tying together the disparate threads of their tech infrastructure, financial institutions have lacked a platform that makes it possible to step up their game on all digital-age fronts. Heang Chan, the CEO of Prelim, shares how his company has cracked the code (or if you prefer, low code/no code) to make business banking simple, secure and accessible to millions of Americans.

Credit unions have always offered personalized customer service—but is that enough to survive in an age of digital ascendancy and pandemic uncertainty? The fact is yes, credit unions can survive and thrive if they can balance the personal/digital equation, and work to attract a young demographic receptive to their value proposition and non-profit status. Randy Rosen, Vice President Benchmarking and Applied Analytics for Curinos (a division of Informa Financial Intelligence) explains what it will take for credit unions to win in 2022 and beyond.

A surfer dude. A mobster of questionable intellect. A psychedelic pole dancer. And a British executioner-turned-fintech lord from the 18th century. They have absolutely nothing to do with financial services, but all of them appeared in Bankadelic skits in the last half of 2021. It’s time, then, to ring in the Lou Year with a review that captures 15 of the greatest, lamest skits ever produced for a banking podcast. We can assure that absolutely no brain cells were used in the making of this Bankadelic “best of” episode ... though “best of what” remains open to debate.

For the second straight holiday season, Bankadelic has assembled a cast of animated, effervescent and informed fintech/financial services leaders to pass the virtual eggnog, talk about the gifts of an incredible year, and share their enthusiasm for what they’re looking forward to in 2022. Disclaimer: Ebenezer Scrooge has not endorsed this podcast, not that we asked him. Second disclaimer: No holiday fruitcakes were harmed in the making of this episode.

As much as Lou loves unwrapping the booty, rest assured: Your presence is the present. Our guests…

Kevin Hurwitz, Managing Partner, Praxent

Eric Dotson, EVP, Aptys

Nathan Baumeister, CEO, ZSuite

Kelly Payne, CMO, Moca Financial

Brad Sivert, Head of Proptech, Tavant 

Casey Scheer, Director of Marketing & Sales, BHMI

Heading into 2022, the days of conventional call centers and impersonal service are numbered. In the next wave that will surprise and delight consumers, “digital customer service” leverages data and technology to create one-of-a-kind experiences where reps work alongside the people they serve as real-time problem solvers, even to the point of sharing screens. Rick DeLisi, lead analyst at Glia, talks about the concept as explained in a new book co-authored with CEO Dan Micheali, “Digital Customer Service: Transforming Customer Experience for An On-Screen World.”

Over decades of groundbreaking (and often backbreaking) work, Dr. Lynne Baldwin of BHMI and Randall Hardy of Pulse have established their leadership in taking payments into the digital age. Today, these two industry veterans recount some of the challenges they’ve faced and the values that drive their work. They also discuss what’s ahead in the payments landscape heading into 2022: an exciting time of innovation and disruption where, as Hardy puts it, “Everything’s next.”

Pass the carving knife, the cranberry sauce and an extra heaping helping of what we’re thankful for in 2021—personally and professionally—while looking ahead to how we’ll build on the blessings in financial services. A superstar panel of five finance leaders will guide us on the pilgrimage .. and share memories of their oddest Thanksgiving vittles ever.

Meet our dinner guests:

Amy Berger, Vice President, Solutions Specialist – Teslar

Sidra Berman, CMO - Engageware

Jill Homan, President – Deep Target

Johanna Pugh, Managing Director – North America, Mambu

Brad Tompkins, CIO – Vergent

This finance-themed shopping ditty, commissioned for the WalletPop personal finance web page, became a hit soundtrack for a YouTube video shot in NYC. It's featured in Bankadelic's 2021 "Banksgiving" podcast. Music written, produced and performed by Lou Carlozo, with drums by Chuck Harling. (Photo: Daily Mail)

The COVD-19 pandemic and resulting the Great Resignation have taught us just how wrong our workplace assumptions were. Fact: In an overwhelming number of cases, people got more done at home, not less. And yet, some employers continue to operate in a pre-pandemic fog. They bog down employees in an avalanche of meetings, emails and menial tasks, to the detriment of productivity. Dr. Tommy Weir, the founder and CEO of enailble, explains how the savvy application of data frees up time, optimizes workflow, bolsters workplace satisfaction--and creates a foundation for stellar performance.

While none of us would think of carrying rotary phones in our pockets or trying to stream videos via box cameras, we still use the generations-old FICO score as the main way to evaluate credit worthiness. That leads to mistakes, oversights and the exclusion of otherwise deserving consumers. Pankaj Kulshreshtha, the Founder & CEO of Scienaptic AI, explains how “augmented intelligence” can close the gaps of a n obsolete credit measure and give financial institutions peace of mind—and a piece of the action—as they think far, far outside the credit score box.