Ross Republic: Recent Episodes
Ross Republic – A strategy consultancy
Join digital banking expert Adrian Klee for deep dive analyses on industry-defining developments, and discussions with industry professionals and fintech entrepreneurs. The podcast offers actionable insights into the future of banking and the subject matters directly impacting the transformation and daily grind of financial services.
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our forty-fourth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Nicolas Grilly, CTO at IP firm Zacco and Ex-Head of Group Innovation at Husqvarna, to explore how industrial companies can achieve successful innovation returns.
RR Podcast #44In a world where higher interest rates and economic turbulence are the new normal, top companies are rethinking their growth strategies. In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nicolas Grilly to explore how industrial companies can set up their innovation efforts for success and avoid common pitfalls to ensure those efforts pay off.
Nicolas is currently the CTO at the global IP firm Zacco. Until recently, he was VP of Group Innovation at Husqvarna Group, a Stockholm-based global leader in outdoor power products—think chainsaws, robotic lawn mowers, and garden watering gear, generating roughly USD 4.8 billion annually. Before that, Nicolas was the Head of Digitalisation at Northvolt Systems, Europe’s fastest-growing battery producer, where he led the digital transformation of their battery systems and factories.
Balancing innovation: strategies for success in a complex business landscapeIn today’s fast-paced business environment, companies face the challenge of balancing the need for continuous innovation with the demands of day-to-day operations. Our chat shone a light on the delicate dance between making small, incremental improvements and chasing big, transformative projects.
One of the key takeaways? Companies often fall into the trap of placing small bets—those low-risk, incremental innovations that, while safe, rarely make a dent in the bottom line. As Nicolas put it, “The problem with making small bets is they don’t matter regardless of the outcome.” Sure, this cautious approach might shield you from potential losses, but it also means missing out on substantial gains. If companies really want to drive growth, they need to shift from just minimizing risks to maximizing opportunities.
If this innovation succeeds, can it grow into a new division or business unit? If not, should we even pursue it?
Structuring innovation for successWe also dug into the best ways to structure innovation teams for maximum impact. Should innovation projects stay close to the core business, or should they be spun off entirely? It turns out, the answer depends on the type of innovation you’re pursuing.
For incremental innovations or those closely linked to existing products, keeping teams close to the core business can foster collaboration and ensure everyone’s on the same page. But when it comes to more radical innovations—those that bring significant changes in technology, business models, or target markets—keeping them separate is often key. As Nicolas emphasized, “If it’s a radical change, it should absolutely be separated.” This kind of separation gives these projects the breathing room they need to develop without being boxed in by the existing business structure.
The critical question: “Why us?”Another crucial point we discussed was the importance of strong strategic alignment between innovation projects and a company’s core strengths. It’s all about constantly asking, “Why us?” Why should our company be the one to succeed with this innovation? If the answer isn’t clear, it might be time to rethink the project.
We talked about a corporate startup that, despite its potential, ultimately failed because the connection between the new venture and the company’s existing strengths was too weak. As Nicolas noted, “It’s good to have some kind of connection between that new venture and an existing strength of the business.” Without that link, even the most promising innovations can struggle to gain traction.
Sustaining innovation in challenging timesWith many companies scaling back their innovation labs and focusing on core operations, keeping innovation alive can be tough. Our conversation highlighted how innovation often goes through cycles—companies swing between investing in transformative projects and retreating to safer, incremental innovations depending on the economic climate.
However, as we agreed, long-term success hinges on a commitment to innovation, even when the going gets tough. Nicolas summed it up perfectly: “There are some shifts that you cannot change that will happen no matter what you do.” Companies need to stay alert and keep adapting their strategies to ensure they’re not left behind as the world continues to evolve.
The roadmap to long-term innovation successThe insights from this podcast offer a valuable guide for companies navigating the complexities of corporate innovation. By balancing small bets with big ambitions, structuring innovation efforts wisely, and ensuring strong strategic alignment, businesses can set themselves up for long-term success. And in a world where external forces are constantly shifting, maintaining a commitment to innovation—especially during challenging times—will be essential to staying ahead of the curve.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our forty-third episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Ken Knoll, coach and interim CPO, to explore how companies can build, transform and lead successful product organizations that continuously discover and deliver high-value products for their customers.
RR Podcast #43Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts
After a decade of ZIRP-driven expansionary growth strategies, many companies are now refocusing on generating organic growth within their core or adjacent business areas. Instead of outsourcing growth activities to greenfield innovation labs, leading companies are shifting towards creating empowered, cross-functional core teams that own business outcomes end-to-end. After all, it’s about leveraging technology effectively and building the best possible solutions for a company’s target users. This approach has been coined as product organisation, hence we’re excited to explore this topic together with Ken. He’s currently working as interim CPO, where he focuses on building and transforming successful product organizations that deliver high value for their customers. Before that he spent almost six years at BCG X, where he built ventures and products in the climate tech, health, mobility, logistics, automotive, insurtech and fintech space. You can check out his website here and LinkedIn here.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.The importance of visionKen emphasised that a strong vision is the cornerstone of any successful product organization. It’s not just about setting a direction but inspiring and rallying the team around a shared goal. The vision should articulate why the company exists and the positive change it aims to bring to its customers’ lives. It’s crucial to start with the customer problem and envision a solution, rather than starting with a technology or product and searching for a problem to solve. This vision must be clear and compelling enough to drive the team through the inevitable challenges and setbacks they will face.
We discussed how many companies often make the mistake of starting with a solution and then looking for a problem. Instead, the focus should be on understanding and defining the customer’s problem first. A well-defined vision answers the fundamental questions of why the organization exists and what it aims to achieve, painting a vivid picture of the future where the customer’s problem is solved. This vision should be communicated consistently and integrated into the daily operations and culture of the organization.
Setting a strategic focusThe discussion highlighted the distinction between strategy and planning. A good product strategy translates vision into actionable steps while allowing the organization to focus on what truly matters. It involves placing strategic bets and understanding that not all will succeed. The ability to say “no” to non-essential activities is a hallmark of a sound strategy. This focus ensures that resources are directed towards efforts that align with the strategic goals of the organization.
Ken pointed out that many companies fail to differentiate between a strategy and a plan. A plan is a detailed roadmap outlining steps to achieve a goal, while a strategy is a broader framework that guides decision-making and prioritization. A robust product strategy should help the organization prioritize the key initiatives that will drive the most significant impact, allowing it to focus its efforts and resources on these areas. This often involves making difficult decisions about what not to pursue, ensuring that the team’s efforts are not diluted across too many initiatives.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.Building the right cultureCulture is a critical component that supports the vision and strategy. A culture that fosters psychological safety allows team members to express their ideas and take risks without fear of failure. This environment is essential for innovation and continuous improvement. Practical tools, like using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to set strategic bets, help embed a culture of learning and experimentation. Failure should be viewed as a learning opportunity, not a setback.
Ken explained that creating a culture of experimentation and learning is crucial for a product organization. This involves encouraging open communication, where team members feel safe to share their thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution. Psychological safety is the foundation for healthy conflict, which is necessary for innovation. When team members can challenge each other’s ideas constructively, better solutions emerge. Moreover, using OKRs to set ambitious yet achievable goals helps teams focus on what matters most and measure their progress effectively. Celebrating successes and learning from failures are both integral to this process.
Organizational structure and processReorganizing around cross-functional teams was another key point we discussed. Effective organizational design supports collaboration and accountability. In many companies, particularly large ones, silos can hinder innovation and slow down processes. By ensuring that all relevant functions, including IT and compliance, are involved from the beginning, organizations can better align their efforts towards common goals.
Ken shared his experience working with an Australian bank, where a large-scale transformation involved 500 people. The bank aimed to center its organization around customer journeys and adopt agile methodologies. However, the initiative faced challenges because the deeper layers of IT, responsible for compliance and other essential functions, were not adequately considered into the transformation process. This highlighted the importance of involving all necessary stakeholders from the start and ensuring that the organizational design facilitates collaboration across different functions.
Empowering teamsEmpowering teams to take ownership of their work from discovery to delivery is crucial for fostering innovation and accountability. I mentioned a case where a financial services organization successfully implemented Marty Cagan’s principles by giving product managers end-to-end responsibility. This approach ensures that the people who come up with concepts are also involved in the delivery, which helps them understand the practical challenges and constraints.
By breaking down silos and creating cross-functional teams, organizations can enable better communication and collaboration. This structure allows teams to be more responsive to customer needs and adapt quickly to changes in the market. It also ensures that all relevant perspectives are considered, leading to more holistic and effective solutions.
Getting startedTransforming into a product-led organization requires a clear vision, a focused strategy, a supportive culture, and an effective organizational structure. While the journey is challenging, starting small with cross-functional teams and iterating on successes can pave the way for broader transformation. The principles we discussed in the podcast provide a valuable framework for companies looking to stay competitive and innovative in today’s fast-paced market.
Understanding and implementing these principles can be daunting, but as Ken noted, it’s a journey worth embarking on. Starting with yourself and committing to the process is the first step towards creating a resilient and customer-centric product organization. It’s not about overnight changes but about making continuous improvements that align with the company’s vision and strategic goals. By fostering a culture of experimentation and collaboration, and by empowering teams to take ownership of their work, organizations can unlock new levels of innovation and organic growth.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our forty-second episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Dieuwertje de Rover from Rabobank to explore how Rabobank enables third parties to embed banking services directly into their own customer journeys.
RR Podcast #42Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts
Embedded finance, i.e. to ability to offer banking services as a seamless part of a customer journey, is a trend that is here stay. After exploring this topic with Christoffer Malmer from SEB Embedded as well as Dee Mitra from Deutsche Bank, we invited Dieuwertje de Rover to our podcast to hear how one of the leading Dutch banks is approaching this new business opportunity. Dieuwertje is the area lead for banking-as-a-service (BaaS) at Rabobank, a cooperative bank, based in the Netherlands where it serves around 9.1 million retail and corporate customers
Exploring the frontiers of embedded finance with Dieuwertje de Rover of RabobankThis episode provides an in-depth look at how Rabobank is steering the future of banking by integrating financial services into broader consumer and business platforms. Dieuwertje began her tenure at Rabobank as a digital strategy consultant, where her initial project involved developing a vision for banking-as-a-service (BaaS).
Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.Over the past five years, she has spearheaded the transformation of this vision into a strategic operational component of Rabobank, highlighting her journey from strategy formulation to leading a critical area within the bank.
Banking as a service vs. embedded financeDieuwertje explains the distinction between general banking-as-a-service (BaaS) and Rabobank’s approach to embedded finance. While BaaS often entails providing banking infrastructure to other companies on a white-label basis, Rabobank focuses on embedding its financial services into the ecosystems where their customers are active, ensuring the bank’s brand is part of the customer experience. This approach not only leverages Rabobank’s strong brand equity but also aligns with their strategic goal to meet customers on their preferred platforms.
Regulatory impact and market evolutionOur conversation also covers the significant role of regulation in shaping the future of banking services. Dieuwertje discusses the impact of the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), a European regulation designed to increase competition and participation in the payments industry, including from non-banks. This directive mandates banks to open their payment services to third-party providers on behalf of their customers. She anticipates the introduction of PSD3, expected to further enhance these provisions and possibly introduce new ones aimed at tightening security and extending the scope of regulated services. Another upcoming regulation, the Financial Data Act (FIDA), aims to promote greater access to financial data, enhancing transparency and enabling consumers to benefit more fully from their financial data. These regulations encourage innovation and competition, pushing Rabobank and other banks to adapt and innovate in response to evolving market demands and consumer expectations. Dieuwertje highlights how these regulatory changes are driving banks to develop more customer-centric products and services, fostering a more dynamic and interconnected financial ecosystem.
Customer expectations and technological advancementsDieuwertje touches on the shift in customer expectations towards instant and integrated services, akin to experiences offered by platforms like Spotify. This shift is driving banks to offer financial services that are not only accessible but are also seamlessly integrated into other services and platforms that customers use daily. Related to this point, we discussed the complexities of developing new financial products that meet both regulatory standards and succeed customer needs.
The future of embedded financeLooking forward, Dieuwertje is optimistic about the role of embedded finance in transforming the banking sector. She foresees a future where banking is not only about transactions but about being an integral part of a customer’s daily digital experience. The conversation concludes with thoughts on the potential for banks to innovate and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, where collaboration between banks and fintechs could redefine traditional banking models. We are excited to see the offerings that Rabobank’s banking-as-a-service unit will launch next. You can check out its current services here.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our forty-first episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Piotr Pisarz from Uncapped to explore the current state of debt financing for digital companies and how Uncapped is becoming the leading provider of next-generation debt products.
RR Podcast #41Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts /Google Podcasts
As outlined in our latest digital lending whitepaper, business lending is an area that is ripe for disruption. In particular, the fast-growing segment of digital businesses – think e-commerce, software, gaming or marketplaces – have been underserved by the traditional banking industry due to their lack of collateral and lower/negative EBITDA levels, which negatively impact their creditworthiness at traditional banks. Due to recent regulatory developments, tech debt and unfit underwriting/lending policy approaches, traditional banks have therefore left the field wide open for alternative lenders to serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). In order to see where the market is headed, take a look at the UK: Challenger and specialist banks’ share of total gross lending reached a record high in 2022. Nominal gross lending excluding overdrafts to SMEs by challenger and specialist banks in 2022 was at £35.5bn, according to BoE data. This is the highest level since records began in 2012:
Gross bank lending (UK)
Although these stats are impressive, alternative lenders are more exposed to the recently strongly increased cost of funding compared to large established banks. Since February, there has been a notable rise in interest rates, especially in SONIA swap rates that incorporate expectations for the Bank of England’s Bank Rate. This has led to a roughly 50% increase in the cost of wholesale funding for marketplace lenders, asset finance providers, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). This uptick in costs, coupled with more limited access to funding, higher expenses for wholesale funding, and possibly decreased equity valuations, may lead to fewer new lenders and business models entering the EU/UK market.
Alternative lenders now need to show resilience and proof the efficiency of their business models. With a recently closed funding round of about €230mn, this was a perfect time to speak to Piotr Pisarz, the co-founder and CEO of Uncapped.
Building innovative lending products to unlock SME growthFounded in 2019 and now at around 90 FTE, the vision behind Uncapped is that founders shouldn’t have to give away ownership of their company to fund growth. Uncapped provides no-security and no-equity investments from €100k – €10 million to digital companies, such as e-commerce, direct-to-consumer (DTC), fashion, SaaS, gaming, and app development. In our podcast episode, we cover why these segments fall between the cracks of the lending industry, as they often neither fit the venture capital model nor the traditional bank lending model. John Luttig from Founders Fund recently summarised how new lending approaches will emerge to fill the gap:
As the ROI of SG&A spend becomes more predictable, a non-VC financial layer will emerge(…), similarly helping to fuel its growth.This suite of services will benefit from a tech-specific approach: real-time debt offerings based on operating KPIs, securitization of software ARR, and retail investor-facing SaaS bonds.
This is exactly where Uncapped comes in. With a deep understanding of digital businesses and their underlying KPIs, Piotr and his team built the lending product to incorporate real-time data through APIs and automated large parts of the underwriting and servicing process:
Uncapped Customer journey schematic (Source: RR)
Lending has become an automation and data game, where the player with the best dataset and decisioning model as well as operational velocity wins. At Ross Republic, we’ve helped both large European banks and leading fintech-scale-ups in developing their business lending products. Get in touch with me here to learn more.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our fortieth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Dee Mitra from Deutsche Bank to discuss how traditional banks can capitalize on embedded finance and banking-as-a-Service.
RR Podcast #40Listen now on Spotify (link coming soon) / Apple Podcasts /Google Podcasts
In our latest podcast episode, I had the privilege of hosting Dee Mitra, the Managing Director and Head of BaaS (Banking as a Service) and Embedded Finance Platforms at Deutsche Bank. The episode sheds light on how Deutsche Bank is leveraging embedded finance to redefine banking experiences for its clients.
The new frontier in bankingDeutsche Bank stands as a key player in the global banking sector, continually adapting to the dynamic world of finance and fintech. One of the most impactful fintech business model shifts is embedded finance, i.e. the integration of tailored financial products into non-banking propositions. In the background, such services are enabled by banking-as-a-service providers, which are essentially APIs wrapped around the major functions of a bank. One example of how Deutsche Bank enters the embedded finance market is its API program, which offers services such as a Cash Account Opening API and Decoupled Wallet SDK, allowing for seamless access to banking data and services.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos.For a traditional bank, API-driven embedded finance offerings are a significant shift in how the bank’s end-users interact with financial products. Dee Mitra, with her extensive experience in leading Deutsche Bank’s embedded finance and BaaS initiatives, provides an insider’s view on the transformational journey from traditional banking to embedded banking ecosystems. Under her leadership, Deutsche Bank has embraced embedded finance, recognizing its potential to offer tailored financial products that enhance customer experiences directly at point of need. Our discussion delves into the factors driving Deutsche Bank’s decision to enter the embedded finance market, the strategic vision behind their offerings, and the challenges and opportunities this new banking paradigm presents.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-ninth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Joost Diepenmaat, Co-founder & COO at Moneybird as well as Lars Markull, founder of Embedded Finance Review. In this episode, we discover the benefits of embedded finance for SaaS platforms.
RR Podcast #39Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts
Currently, it’s predominantly the provider-side of Banking-as-a-Service solutions that is pushing the embedded finance narrative. Our aim with this episode is to explore first-hand how leading operators in the European SaaS segment are experiencing the embedded finance trend and how they’re implementing embedded finance solutions. During the episode, Joost, Lars and Adrian explore how the direct integration of financial services by B2B SaaS providers can enhance the overall customer experience, improve automation and generate new revenue streams. Beyond that, critical challenges when integrating business bank accounts and card issuing capabilities are highlighted.
The evolution of banking APIsTo begin with, Joost laid out the journey of Moneybird. The company was founded already in 2008 and evolved from an invoicing tool to a full-stack, integrated accounting platform now serving over 300.000 users across the Netherlands and Belgium. When building Moneybird, Joost mentioned one of the key challenges was to anticipate the seamless integration of banking services within software, as pre-PSD2 it was almost impossible to get private API connections to traditional Dutch banks. After PSD2, many operators realised that the regulatory (PSD2) APIs are not meeting performance standards required by modern SaaS apps. From the start, their vision, as Joost mentioned, was to make banking and bookkeeping a unified digital experience. Ultimately, with the emergence of Banking-as-a-Service APIs, the time was finally right: instead of solely pulling external data, the direct integration of accounts, card issuing and payment features into the accounting platform unlocks completely new levels of user experiences and accounting automation. For instance, an integrated solution enables the seamless reconciliation of bank transactions and respective accounts receivable and payable data.
Schematic of embedded finance providers. Source: RR
Challenges when integrating banking APIsActualizing this vision was not without challenges. The process involved substantial elements of product design, API implementation, and regulatory compliance, such as handling KYC requirements. Joost stressed that integrating with a Banking-as-a-Service API was not a one-off task, but a continuous one due to constant updates and security measures. Hence, one key success factor that was highlighted is the importance of choosing a trustworthy and established Banking-as-a-Service provider, which continuously improves the underlying services and can offer a whole product suite beyond plain vanilla banking. For software companies contemplating integrating financial services, Joost recommended focusing on the value it adds to the customer experience. He emphasized the project’s complexity, suggesting it be treated as a principal focus endeavor, not a side project.
The power of contextCrucial to the discussion was the understanding that banks lack contextual information about transactions, which software companies often have at their disposal. In essence, banks know ‘what’ is done, but not ‘why.’ Hence, adding banking functionality to a software platform that already possesses transactional context, empowers entrepreneurs with deep financial insights originally unavailable with traditional banking models.
In conclusion, it was clear the merger of banking and accounting via embedded finance, despite initial hurdles, is well underway.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-eighth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Claudio Wilhelmer, Chief Commercial Officer at Dock Financial.
RR Podcast #38Listen now on Spotify / Apple
One of our key hypothesis at RR is that the rapid digitalisation of the banking industry results in the split of its manufacturing and distribution functions. Long-term, there will be players fully focusing on the manufacturing of financial products, such as balance sheet management, regulatory and risk compliance, as well as maintaining the underlying core banking system of financial products like bank accounts, cards, payments or lending. All of these services are wrapped under APIs, which players fully focusing on the distribution side plug into their customer-facing products to integrate them as a product extension.
Schematic of embedded finance providers. Source: RR
Given the current integrated business model where all financial services are offered by one provider, this shift will take time to fully materialise. One key learning that RR made during client projects is that especially the brands that integrate financial services need a strong support system to first understand potential product and business opportunities, and later to implement them effectively.
While the provider side of banking-as-a-service has matured over the last five years, most brands still need more than just a good API documentation and a few consultative sales calls. Launching an embedded finance feature requires to understand how to weave a financial service into an existing offering, while adhering to complex regulatory and technical requirements. Despite the existence of Banking-as-a-Service providers who promise fast out-of-the-box implementation, embedded finance projects can easily take a year until production launch.
This insight led Claudio to found a new embedded finance startup, Paydora, to provide a dedicated support layer on top of existing Banking-as-a-Service providers. Focusing on explaining the business opportunity and providing technical infrastructure to launch an embedded finance use case within weeks or a few months, his team closed deals with large enterprise clients such as Metro or Booking.com. Paydora publicly launched this year in May, using German Dock Financial as is key Banking-as-a-Service partner. Just six months later, the company now announced that it will merge fully with Dock Financial given the strong synergies of both companies.
In the podcast, we talk about:
- What Claudio learned at this time at Revolut
- From linear banking to embedded banking – what triggers the change, why now?
- How Paydora and Dock Financial differentiate from existing BaaS competitors
- Claudio’s vision for Paydora and Dock Financial Stay in touchSubscribe to our article and podcasts
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-seventh episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by RR partner Maso Arai and Olli Anteroinen, Head of SME Digital, Business Banking at Nordea, to talk about Nordea's impressive journey in delivering innovative, digital financial services for small business clients. [...]
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-sixth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Michael Zyber from Metro Financial Services to discuss how established corporates can successfully execute an embedded finance play. RR Podcast #36 Listen now on Spotify [...]
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-fifth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Andrew Vasko from Group Sella to discuss how Sella’s open innovation strategy is creating a sustainable financial ecosystem. RR Podcast #35 Listen now on Spotify [...]
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-fourth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Christoffer Malmer from SEB to discuss its new embedded finance business unit.
RR Podcast #34Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts
As one of the most hyped fintech trends, embedded finance is increasingly put on traditional banks’ strategic plans. It describes the integration of financial services into non-financial propositions, such as retail or e-commerce platforms, transportation services, or software, allowing users to access financial services seamlessly without having to leave the platform they are already using. As more and more financial services are atomized and natively integrated into the propositions of non-financial brands, banks need to decide how to line up against such new business and distribution models.
For Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, in short SEB, a northern European financial services group headquartered in Sweden, the direction is clear: According to its latest investor presentations, the bank’s 2030 strategy entails to “rethink ways of producing and distributing products and services”, as well as “to strengthen innovation and business momentum through external partnerships”. A key enabler of this strategic direction is SEBx, the innovation studio that explores new technologies and customer offerings to innovate, build, and enable “the best financial services”. As part of SEBx, our guest Christoffer Malmer, has built up a new tech stack from the ground up and simultaneously leveraged decades of operational and risk experience of SEB to adapt the operational processes at SEBx to the age of embedded finance. Hence, SEBx started out as greenfield play, with the goal to leverage both the bank‘s structural competitive advantages, such as its balance sheet, risk and regulatory expertise with the entrepreneurial advantages of a fintech startup, such as a modern cloud- and API-based tech infrastructure and agile operational processes.
One key outcome of this endeavor was the creation of Unquo, a new digital banking offering targeting self-employed entrepreneurs:
UNQUO Banking app. Source: Unquo.com
Having built up a successful greenfield environment with SEBx, the bank additionally decided to launch new apps for younger generations on top of the new platform, i.e. creating a dedicated team that could leverage the new infrastructure and operational processes of SEBx. Next to having built the new standalone banking proposition Unquo, serving an internal SEB need by launching banking apps oriented towards younger users, SEBx also got a deal with Axel Johnson, a leading Swedish family-owned group, with a major footprint in Food, and with businesses spanning across sectors, who is building on SEBx’ banking stack to launch integrated banking products. Due to its success, SEBx decided spin out the offering, now called SEB Embedded and headed by Christoffer.
Embedded finance is a natural trajectory: If banking becomes readily available as a service, why would that not accelerate? It opens up for the whole verticalitisation of banking.
If you’re curious about the key reasons for brands to integrate financial services through a Banking-as-a-Service provider that Christoffer encounters most often as well as the essential success factor that got SEB Embedded off the ground, listen to the episode above.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-third episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Jon Fath from fintech startup Rauva to talk about the unmet financial needs of small businesses in southern Europe.
RR Podcast #33Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Starting a digital bank for small businesses in Southern Europe is no easy feat. The region is known for its traditional banking system and conservative approach to finance, but the rise of digital banking is changing that. With small businesses increasingly turning to digital platforms to manage their finances, there’s a growing need for digital banking solutions that cater to their specific needs. Hence, in this podcast episode, we’ll explore the opportunities and challenges of starting a neobank for small businesses in Southern Europe. From understanding the local market, building a multipurpose banking service, to navigating regulatory hurdles, Jon shares his latest experiences on creating Rauva, a SME neobank focused on the Mediterranean region, from scratch.
The southern European banking market, which includes countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece, provides an untapped innovation opportunity for fintech challengers due to a number of challenges that the traditional banking sector grapples with, briefly set out below.
High levels of non-performing loans (NPLs)The high level of NPLs in southern European countries is a significant challenge for lenders that provide funding to small businesses. NPLs are loans that are unlikely to be fully repaid, which means that banks have to set aside significant amounts of capital to cover potential losses. This makes it difficult for banks to lend to new customers or to invest in innovation programs. During the episode, we discuss that fintech startups leveraging real-time and alternative sources of data can get a headstart in the business lending segment.
Low profitabilitySouthern European banks have been struggling with low profitability in recent years. This is partly due to the high level of NPLs, but it’s also due to the low interest rate environment in the region. Low profitability makes it harder for banks to attract investors and raise capital to fund growth. Since fintech startups start out on a much lower cost base, e.g. due to cooperating with Banking-as-a-Service providers or due to high levels of process automation, they have a strong competitive advantage right from the start.
Digitalization and innovation gapThe majority of Southern European banks haven’t caught up yet with global advancements in digital and platform banking, which is leading to a gap between the services offered by traditional banks and the services offered by digital challenger banks. Since businesses already use a variety of digital tools to run their business, they expect the same level of digital experience and interconnectivity from their banking provider, which created a market gap that Jon plans to fill with Rauva.
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Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty-second episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Christian Ritosek from Candis and David Frei from Swan to discuss the future of embedded finance. RR Podcast #32 Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirty first episode, your host Adrian Klee and guest Max Linden from lemon.markets discuss the future of brokerage services for developers. RR Podcast #31 Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirtieth episode, we replay the third out of three fireside chats that Ross Republic recently organised with Tuum. Host Adrian Klee is joined by Andres Kitter, Head of LHV UK, Tuomas Toivonen, Co-Founder & CEO at Holvi, as well as Rivo Uibo, CBO & [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-ninth episode, we replay the second of three fireside chats that Ross Republic recently organised with Tuum. Host Adrian Klee is joined by Kristian Luoma, CSO of Utopia Music, and Rivo Uibo, CBO and co-founder of Tuum, to explore the technologies that are powering [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-eighth episode, we replay the first of three fireside chats that Ross Republic recently organised with Tuum. Host Adrian Klee is joined by Simon Ousager, CEO of Januar, and Ove Kreison, CTO and co-founder of Tuum, to discuss the state of banking entering 2022. [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-seventh episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Saket Kumar, co-founder and CEO at the fintech Vitt. In this episode, we’ll discuss the growth of recurring revenue business models and how new forms of financing help SaaS founders to grow their business via non-dilutive [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-sixth episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Siri Børsum, Global VP Finance Vertical Eco-development & Partnership at Huawei and Christoffer Andvig, CEO at Neonomics. In this episode, we’ll discuss the current state of fintech and how to create a new digital financial services [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-fifth episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Anita Koimur, Co-founder & COO at LiveFlow, to investigate how the convergence of APIs and fintech revolutionises modern finance tools. RR Podcast #25 Listen now on [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-fourth episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Yasamin Karimi, Head of Product at Codat, to talk about the evolving financial API landscape and how Codat enables any brand to connect into the financial software used by small businesses globally. [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-third episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Alex Müller, Head of Growth at Airbank, to discuss the current state of the SME banking market and how Airbank helps SMEs to gain real-time insights into their finances. RR Podcast #23 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-second episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Chia Jeng Yang, Principal at Saison Capital, and Akash Bajwa, Investor at Augmentum Fintech, to re-evaluate how investors can take customer concentration risk at B2B fintech infrastructure players into account. RR Podcast [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twenty-first episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Christer Holloman, founder of the finance platform Divido and author of the book Transactional to Transformational: How Banks Innovate. RR Podcast #21 Listen now on Spotify / Apple [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twentieth episode, host Adrian Klee is joined by Jonathan Sanders, co-founder and COO of Juni, to discuss how the marketing & e-commerce ecosystem can benefit from tailor-made banking services. RR Podcast #20 Listen now [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our nineteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Fabian Mohr, Co-Founder at UnitPlus, to discuss the convergence of payments and investing. RR Podcast #19 Listen now on Spotify / Apple Podcast / Google [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our eighteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Maso Arai. Maso recently became partner at Ross Republic, so we discuss Maso's career, major learnings as well as the future of the financial industry based on insights from Money20/20 Amsterdam. [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our seventeenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Til Klein, the founder and CEO of Berlin-based fintech company Vantik, to discuss the importance of modern pension planning solutions. RR Podcast #17 Due to [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our sixteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Olga Shikhantsova, Principal at Speedinvest, to talk about the current state of venture capital and fintech in Europe. RR Podcast #16 With 2,3x year-on-year growth [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our fifteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Daniel Lê, former Head of API strategy at Commerzbank, to discuss how incumbent businesses can take advantage of APIs as a business asset. RR Podcast #15 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our fourteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Lars Markull from Weavr and Mateusz Pniewski from TransactionLink to cut through the hype about API-driven banking. RR Podcast #14 Banking is moving from a [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our thirteenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Ross Republic's Advisor Maso Arai as well as Nicolas Kipp and Jens Röhrborn from Banxware to discuss embedded lending. RR Podcast #13 The concept of [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our twelfth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Sebastian Dienst, co-founder of digital finance platform Remagine, to talk about new innovation opportunities in business finance. RR Podcast #12 Being the economic engine of [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our eleventh episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Rivo Uibo, the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Modularbank. They are here to discuss how technology enables new business models in banking. RR Podcast #11 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our tenth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Franziska Weissbach and Bastian Lindberg to discuss financial wellbeing. Franziska is a Corporate Entrepreneur within the Strategy & Business Development team at ING, and Bastian is the ex- Head of Human-Centred Marketing at Deutsche Bank [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our ninth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Ross Republic advisors Mikko Riikkinen and Gerrit Glass, an international fintech expert with experience at Europe’s leading fintech groups such as Finleap and N26. The topic of this podcast is how fintech companies can master [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our eighth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Ben Robinson, an expert on technology and business model shifts in the financial services industry. He joins us to discuss the future of the wealth management industry. RR Podcast #8 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our seventh episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Lars Markull from Weavr and Mikko Riikkinen from Ross Republic to discuss embedded finance. RR Podcast #7 One of the key trends in fintech is [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our sixth episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Maso Arai. He is Ross Republic’s Advisor for ecosystem finance and super apps. Maso joins Adrian to discuss the latest developments of open banking in Asia. RR Podcast #6 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our fifth episode, your hosts Adrian Klee and Mikko Riikkinen discuss the success factors behind collaborations between banks and fintechs. RR Podcast #5 The banking industry is ongoing a “fintech revolution” where the competitive advantages [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our fourth episode, your hosts Adrian Klee and Mikko Riikkinen discuss the future of banking services for small and medium-sized enterprises. RR Podcast #4 SMEs are the growth engine of Europe, where over 90% of [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our third episode, your host Adrian Klee is joined by Mr. Ignacio Javierre. He is the co-founder of Hubuc, a fast growing company focusing on embedded financial services, and a strategic partner of Ross Republic. RR Podcast #3 [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. In our second podcast, your hosts Adrian Klee and Mikko Riikkinen discuss the next frontier of finance. RR Podcast #2 Embedded banking enables brands to redefine their value proposition as a user-centric innovator, launch their own financial services [...]
Thank you for joining the Ross Republic podcast. Your hosts; digital banking experts Mikko Riikkinen and Adrian Klee provide deep dive analyses on industry-defining developments, and discussions with industry professionals and fintech entrepreneurs. The podcast offers actionable insights into the future of banking and the subject matters directly impacting the transformation and daily grind [...]