Global Digital Banking; Interview With Jason Blick, the CEO of EQIBank.
EQIBank provides lightning-fast transfers and digital onboarding in addition to offering worldwide digital banking services for businesses in over 180 countries. During this interview, the Chief Executive Officer, Jason Blick, will be providing us with additional details.
Good morning, Jason, and many thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Could you start off by telling us a little bit about who you are and where you come from?
My name is Jason Blick, and I serve as the Chief Executive Officer of EQIBank, a pioneering global digital financial institution that is redefining the banking industry via integration, innovation, and integrity.
It looks like a very interesting firm, EQIBank. Could you elaborate on it a little bit for us?
EQIBank was founded in 2015, and since then, we’ve been doing things in a somewhat different way. We provide global digital banking services to individuals and businesses who are on the cutting edge of innovation, such as entrepreneurs and those working in innovative industries. We want to be the digital bank that offers more options in terms of products, countries, and currencies than any other bank:
Financial Services Including Banking, Lending, Insured Custody, and Wealth Management
What do you think has been the most significant development and change in offshore banking over the past few years?
In order to transfer and manage your money offshore, you will no longer need to purchase a plane ticket. The banking industry as a whole is transitioning to digital platforms. Customers want to be able to access their overseas funds digitally.
The total value of the world’s banking industry is estimated to be more than US$130 trillion, of which more than US$32 trillion is kept abroad. Given the size and significance of this market, customers have come to anticipate immediate transfers, rapid onboarding, and round-the-clock banking services. EQIBank is a multinational financial institution that provides digital efficiency to a sector of the economy that has been in dire need of modernization.
Transactional banking, which is a concept that is both more stable and more cost effective, is becoming increasingly popular these days. Could you please comment on why you think this took place and how the transactional model functions?
The practise of handling cash for corporations and funding their trade and supply chains is known as transaction banking. This type of banking assists businesses in more effectively managing their working capital, liquidity, and risk. They require end-to-end cash management solutions to handle pools of liquidity in many areas, in addition to quick transactions, in this age of globalisation. These solutions must also be available.
In order to better service these customers, financial institutions will need to revise certain components of their business models in order to bring down the overall cost of doing business. The conventional, paper-based method of conducting business is automated by new digital technologies, which results in significant cost reductions. Traditional banks, with their antiquated information technology (IT) infrastructure and banking practises that predate the internet, are unable to provide the services that customers require at this time. EQIBank is not like other banks since we offer digital global banking to give great outcomes for our customers so they can concentrate on expanding their businesses.
Many people are still not convinced that storing funds offshore is a good idea; nevertheless, the monies are not actually housed in a location that is considered to be offshore. How does it work?
Seventy-three percent of the Fortune 500 companies have money held offshore, with the total amounting to approximately $2.6 trillion, and more than fifty percent of the world’s cross-border assets and liabilities ($32 trillion) are carried out offshore. Companies that are registered in such jurisdictions are entitled to a variety of protections and privileges, which contribute to the creation of an environment that is desirable and, in some ways, “neutral” for businesses that operate on an international scale. Businesses and individuals bank offshore for a variety of reasons, some of which include the following: I securing and protecting capital; enjoying the highest levels of private banking; (ii) having convenient and accessible access to funds; (iii) having the potential to save tax on deposits, savings, and investments; (iv) so that you can better finance and manage international investment and business; to benefit from superior lending, credit, and forex facilities
Many people frequently inquire about the location of the offshore financial assets. Offshore monies are typically kept in what are known as “nostro accounts,” which are bank accounts that are denominated in the native currency of the nation in which the funds are maintained. EQIBank stores US dollars with extremely large institutions located within the United States, offering a level of security that is unmatched in the industry.
In your opinion, what are the five factors that contribute the most to the success of a bank in the modern era?
Traditional financial institutions are facing difficult circumstances right now. On the one hand, businesses need to accelerate their adoption of new digital platforms in order to satisfy the demands of modern customers and compete with disruptive fintech players. This will allow them to better serve modern customers. If companies want to integrate smoothly with these new digital platforms, however, they will first need to modernise the way in which they link to the legacy systems that form the basis of a significant portion of their company. In light of the difficulty of bridging the gap between two very different generations of information technology, the vast majority of financial institutions have come to the conclusion that it is nearly impossible for them to progress. Leaders in the field of digital banking often discuss the distinction between digitising certain components of a bank and building a financial institution that is completely digital.
Digitizing or really digital? The traditional approach, which utilises compartmentalised channels (such as the web, online, or branches), is not user-friendly, is not staff-friendly, and does not maximise productivity. Banks need to fully embrace digitalization, not just some components of it.
Hubs or pieces? The likes of Google and Facebook are known for consistently releasing new features in a prompt manner and at an almost insignificant marginal cost. A hub-strategy gives a bank the ability to move beyond simply reacting to the reality of the market and instead swiftly design, develop, and introduce products on a worldwide scale.
Open for business? The threat of disintermediation has persisted for a number of years. When a bank opens up their application programming interfaces (APIs), it grants other parties, including their competitors, unprecedented access to their data. Banks are obligated to make their application programming interfaces (APIs) public, but they can also reap benefits by using them themselves and thereby tapping into the capabilities of third parties to enhance the value of their products and services.
Large ideas for big data. Banks own massive data, so use it! This indicates that data from a variety of sources can be compiled and analysed to produce actionable visions, which can then be used for segmentation, targeting, and tracking purposes. The utilisation of big data should result in improved business operations and more satisfied clients as the end aim.
Partner or die? In order for traditional financial institutions to thrive in the coming digital era, they will need to make investments in, construct, and form partnerships with financial technology companies.
Over 180 nations can take advantage of EQIBank’s banking services, which include lightning-fast transactions and digital onboarding. Who is eligible to establish a new account with EQIBank?
Our services are customised to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) as well as the corporate community. Our clients are global citizens. They want sophisticated banking products that can be accessed anywhere in the world.
AML and KYC procedures are the difference between success and failure for both the customer and the bank. You have a responsibility to your customers to provide prompt and effective service despite the fact that you are a member of the global financial system and therefore share the responsibility for reliable and safe transactions that comply with international law and regulations. What is the solution that strikes a balance between the two?
Even if every single experience of being onboarded at a bank is different, there are simply too many areas of friction. It should be as simple to open a new bank account as it is to create an account on a social media website. On the other hand, digital onboarding cannot ignore the severe regulations placed on other bank onboarding processes, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (AML).
Finding a happy medium between the time-honored procedures of KYC and the immediate needs of customers will be essential to satisfying today’s customers as well as the regulatory requirements of banks. During the onboarding process, potential customers of our banking services go through screenings for sanctions, direct connections to corporate registrations, identity verification, screenings for digital asset wallets, and occasionally even biometric checks.
We have developed one of the most advanced digital onboarding procedures, and as a result, the majority of our customers will be able to transmit their KYC documentation to us with just “one click.”
It has been said for a long time that technology will be the future of banking. Do you agree? If that is the case, then what kind of technology will be used in banking in the future?
The rise of digital technology has given providers of financial services newfound capabilities. They are frequently subject to “light-touch” regulation, which has contributed to their success by allowing them to thrive. The company places a strong emphasis on investing in technology, which may help them attract customers who are technologically sophisticated. Traditional financial institutions are increasing their investments in digital banking technology, such as mobile, web, and digital platforms, in order to remain competitive.
APIs are causing open platform banks to alter the banking industry. Customers now have access to a greater variety of products and services than ever before because to the expansion of banking offerings made available to them by their financial institutions. Modern banks such as EQIBank provide as a platform for third-party companies to build their own applications on top of by utilising the bank’s application programming interfaces (APIs) and data. Your bank is, in essence, a partner in your company’s endeavours.
The sector is consistently going through change. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) will completely revamp the banking industry’s traditional business models while simultaneously improving the overall consumer experience. Chatbots are now equipped with artificial intelligence, and they use it to guide clients through the completion of simple activities such as making payments.
The processing of payments won’t be the primary focus of bank visits for much longer. The CapitalOne Café, which is an early illustration of how bank branches have evolved over time and where CapitalOne has contracted with Peet’s Coffee to sell espresso and other hand-crafted beverages, is just one example. In 2017, Vikram Pandit, a former executive of Citigroup Inc., projected that new technology might cause the loss of thirty percent of the jobs in the banking industry. While traditional tellers are being replaced by electronic kiosks, the function of human personnel may evolve to include providing answers to customers’ concerns and working to expand their product offerings.
EQIBank, to round things off, is definitely an intriguing firm to hear about. What can you share with the people who read this about the plans you have for the future?
Only one of the top ten firms on this year’s Forbes 100 list, Apple, is not a financial institution. Seven of the top ten corporations on the list are financial institutions. What’s the takeaway? In an era that is characterised by technological transformation and industry upheaval, the unstoppable expansion of financial services in developing economies as well as developed markets makes banking the most stable industry on the planet. These businesses are transitioning from “monoline to multiline” businesses as they expand beyond simply holding customer deposits or issuing credit and debit cards; however, EQIBank is light years ahead of the competition in this regard, and it will remain so for a significant amount of time into the foreseeable future.
