Q&A with Sarita Bahety, Strategic Alliances and Partner Marketing Lead at Cognizant

Media 7 | March 31, 2021

Sarita Bahety, Strategic Alliances and Partner Marketing Lead at Cognizant, builds and nurtures partnerships with technology alliance partners to strengthen Cognizant’s position as an industry leader in enterprise Data and Intelligence solutions and to accelerate growth by delivering on joint value propositions with the partners that solve their customer’s needs and increase their digital maturity. She manages pan-European partner marketing. Her work experience ranges from startup to Fortune 200, across multiple industries and geographies.

In addition to managing and growing a network of their tier-one strategic alliances and trifecta, she also advises a leading telco in the Middle East on how to accelerate data protection and privacy adoption for all of their employees.

Marketing is a very dynamic field. What was relevant yesterday may or may not be relevant today and tomorrow. Good storytelling is never going to get out of trend.



MEDIA 7: Could you please tell us a little about yourself? What inspired you to get into marketing?
SARITA BAHETY:
I manage the Strategic Alliances and Partner Marketing for Cognizant’s Data and Intelligence business in Europe.  I delved into the realm of marketing because it naturally aligned with my passion for storytelling. Just as in real-life interactions, I believe that to be successful in this field, your narrative is the key.

While growing up in Nepal, this saying often sprung up in conversations, which when loosely translated into English means, “if you can tell a compelling story, you can easily sell flour. Otherwise, you will even struggle to sell rice (generally considered superior over flour, in that part of the world). I really like this saying.

During my school days, I had an opportunity to take a graduate course where marketing was one of the core subjects. My cohort at school, especially in the marketing courses, was very diverse and it made the learning process very rewarding. Since then I have had a number of opportunities to work in various roles in marketing across industries and regions. Each one of them contributed to my professional growth.

M7: How does your ideal customer profile look like?
SB:
We count an array of C-suite buyers as our clients including those who are technology as well as business-facing. We work with the broader C-suite, given that the budget owners, decision-makers, and influencers are no longer confined to a single job title. Our key stakeholders include personas in the space of Information, Technology, Data & Analytics, Digital, Privacy, Risk, Marketing, Legal, Lines of business leads to name a few.

M7: What have been the most valuable lessons you’ve learned about strategic partnerships and effective marketing over the last few years?
SB:
Strategic alliances are key to business growth. Our team always emphasizes the winning formula, “1+1 Equals to 3”. We endeavor to prove this together with our strategic alliances. We work with the established leaders in the industry. Together we put world-class thinking and top-tier technology to deliver results that create positive business impact and improve outcomes. It is a collaboration designed to help our clients' businesses grow.

In my opinion, to make an alliance successful, networks are super important. At the same time, a partner eco-system can only be as effective as the people driving it. This a people-centric business driven by strong client and partner relationships. A robust personal network in the industry across geographies and connections at both business and technology levels are fundamental to accelerating the revenue. To succeed, one must cultivate relationships across functional areas internally and within the alliance organizations across the regions. An ability to connect with people across cultures can help seamlessly navigate this industry. This approach helps to bring the best practices into action.


Personal networks are key to your professional growth. Reach out and often. With most people regularly accessing and interacting on virtual platforms, networking has now become a level playing field.



M7: What strategies and tactics have you put in place or would you like to put in place to help drive revenue?
SB:
From a strategic alliances perspective, to drive revenue, it is important to have the right focus on who and how we partner with. Once this is established, then we need to create a solid go-to market strategy and execute it with the support from executive sponsors. An alignment of vision on both sides needs to done upfront. It is equally important to highlight the strength of the alliance to all the stakeholders across the business. Consistent communication is the key. Each alliance is unique and hence requires a bespoke strategy and an execution plan.

On a tactical level, regular cadence with our partners helps to uncover potential opportunities early in the sales cycle. This allows us to not only jointly solve the business challenges our clients grapple with, but also to fuel innovation.

M7: What do you believe are the top three marketing challenges that have arisen in the post COVID-19 era?
SB:
The implications of the pandemic have led to clients accelerating their shift to digital. Digital is no longer perceived as a unique selling point; in fact, it has become the “new normal.” Given that there is a significant shift in marketing towards digital, it is important to be able to stand out in an otherwise crowded media. With people’s waning attention and real online fatigue, the need is to consistently create compelling and engaging narratives and articulate value. As a marketer, the language of our messaging has to resonate with the emotions of our clients, irrespective of the industry and the time zones we are in.

The second key challenge is to generate Return on Investment (RoI) from the marketing campaigns. Marketing campaigns can at times become like a catch-22 situation. Future investments are often tied to the results of previous campaigns (where applicable). We need to think of an integrated approach versus a one-off campaign to drive mindshare. Putting together a holistic approach needs collaboration with various stakeholders. As a marketer, one needs to excel in the art of bringing together people and ideas, to be able to deliver a successful marketing campaign. Even in the age of online meetings, people skills continue to be super important.

Finally, there is an urgent need to ensure data privacy. While a large section of the business has moved to remote work and digital systems, renewed attention has been drawn to data privacy. In the digital world, data is at the heart of the business. As such, not only in the field of marketing but also across the business, data privacy should be built by design and not as an after-thought. Today, like every other part of the business, marketing also needs to adhere to data privacy regional and global regulations. Adoption of best practices and technologies, which promote data privacy, can help win client trust and foster innovation.


In addition to knowing the heart of the story, it is essential to know your audience too. The more we get an understanding of both, the more engaging a narrative becomes.



M7: What is your advice for young women considering a career in marketing?
SB:
Marketing is a very dynamic field. What was relevant yesterday may or may not be relevant today and tomorrow. However, good storytelling is never going to get out of trend.

To my younger self, I will re-emphasize the power of storytelling and acing this art. In addition to knowing the heart of the story, it is essential to know your audience too. The more we get an understanding of both, the more engaging a narrative becomes. Although we live in the age where apps can help with any language-related support (grammar, translation, phrases and idioms that fit the context, etc.). However, effortless storytelling needs a significant amount of work and no app can (yet) replicate it real-time like a skilled storyteller. Use it to your advantage to create visibility for yourself and create a compelling personal brand.

The more you interact with people, the more opportunities you get to hone this skill. Personal networks are key to your professional growth. So, do not be shy. Reach out and often. With most people regularly accessing and interacting on virtual platforms, networking has now become a level playing field.

ABOUT COGNIZANT

Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant is ranked 194 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com

More THOUGHT LEADERS

Q&A with Elisabeth Dana, Founder at Infinity Circle Fintech Innovation

Media 7 | September 6, 2021

Elisabeth Dana, Founder at Infinity Circle Fintech Innovation, was a former wealth management banker at Barclays. She has spent two decades of her professional career in finance with a passion for technology. She wants to make wealth management digital....

Read More

Kraken's Head of Banking and Payments, Maximilian Marenbach discusses their platform and the future of cryptocurrencies

Media 7 | October 27, 2021

Maximilian Marenbach, Head of Banking and Payments/Business Development at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, takes us through his professional journey with Kraken - one of the largest and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Read on as he talks about the Kraken Bank,  the significance of digital currencies and their impact on our financial system....

Read More

Q&A with Suleiman Barada, Head of UABdigital & Sr. Advisor at the Union of Arab Banks

Media 7 | September 17, 2021

Suleiman Barada, Head of UABdigital & Sr. Advisor at the Union of Arab Banks, is an Independent Technology Business Strategist and at the Union of Arab Banks, he spearheads the inception of the Digital Transformation Unit with Ecosystem-wide vision and mission, and a mandate to leaving no financial institution behind in the Digital Economy within the Arab countries. Suleiman is an Ecosystem Architect with focus on value creation and practices a purpose-driven methodology to developing and executing Digital Business Transformation roadmaps while being entirely focused on Benefits Realization and the way they can be measured, attained, and sustained. Suleiman has worked with a wide variety of technology vendors such as SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft, and possesses a thorough understanding of the global tech ecosystem and their characteristics. Certified Digital Transformation Advisor, Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2005 and cross-industry experience includes Defense, Government, Financial Services, Healthcare, Higher Education, Construction, Facilities Management, Telco, Utilities, and Retail sectors....

Read More

Q&A with Elisabeth Dana, Founder at Infinity Circle Fintech Innovation

Media 7 | September 6, 2021

Elisabeth Dana, Founder at Infinity Circle Fintech Innovation, was a former wealth management banker at Barclays. She has spent two decades of her professional career in finance with a passion for technology. She wants to make wealth management digital....

Read More

Kraken's Head of Banking and Payments, Maximilian Marenbach discusses their platform and the future of cryptocurrencies

Media 7 | October 27, 2021

Maximilian Marenbach, Head of Banking and Payments/Business Development at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, takes us through his professional journey with Kraken - one of the largest and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Read on as he talks about the Kraken Bank,  the significance of digital currencies and their impact on our financial system....

Read More

Q&A with Suleiman Barada, Head of UABdigital & Sr. Advisor at the Union of Arab Banks

Media 7 | September 17, 2021

Suleiman Barada, Head of UABdigital & Sr. Advisor at the Union of Arab Banks, is an Independent Technology Business Strategist and at the Union of Arab Banks, he spearheads the inception of the Digital Transformation Unit with Ecosystem-wide vision and mission, and a mandate to leaving no financial institution behind in the Digital Economy within the Arab countries. Suleiman is an Ecosystem Architect with focus on value creation and practices a purpose-driven methodology to developing and executing Digital Business Transformation roadmaps while being entirely focused on Benefits Realization and the way they can be measured, attained, and sustained. Suleiman has worked with a wide variety of technology vendors such as SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft, and possesses a thorough understanding of the global tech ecosystem and their characteristics. Certified Digital Transformation Advisor, Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2005 and cross-industry experience includes Defense, Government, Financial Services, Healthcare, Higher Education, Construction, Facilities Management, Telco, Utilities, and Retail sectors....

Read More

Related News

CORE BANKING, DIGITAL BANKING

Actionable Business Insights via upSWOT Now Standard on the Alkami Digital Banking Platform

PRnewswire | June 01, 2023

Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) ("Alkami"), a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for banks and credit unions in the U.S., and upSWOT, a leading fintech platform that connects business applications for integrated data analysis and insight, have expanded their partnership by making upSWOT's business insights from Alkami digital banking data a standard feature available to all Alkami business banking clients. The dashboard is designed to empower businesses and financial institution relationship managers with real-time, actionable insights to: build loyalty and increase engagement opportunities. deliver more personalized and relevant offers to business users to increase cross-sell and upsell revenue rates. gain visibility into business health based on assets, debt load, short and long-term liabilities, and revenue pipelines. "Businesses need to quickly ascertain their performance and partner with a financial institution that can be their trusted advisor to ensure they thrive," said Jeff Chen, vice president, product management at Alkami. "Making upSWOT a standard part of Alkami's business banking solution allows our clients—regional banks and credit unions—to better serve the financial wellness of their business account holders by providing them with the data aggregation, visualization, and analytics they need to grow their revenue." The data-driven insights from upSWOT also identify opportunities for timely recommendations related to business operations. "We believe that small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. This philosophy drives our commitment to providing financial institutions with the innovative tools they need to not only help their business account holders grow but also build loyalty and drive engagement," said Adam Dolby, senior vice president of partnerships at upSWOT. About Alkami Alkami Technology, Inc. is a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the United States that enables clients to grow confidently, adapt quickly, and build thriving digital communities. Alkami helps clients transform through retail and business banking, digital account opening, payment security, and data analytics and marketing solutions. To learn more, visit www.alkami.com. About upSWOT upSWOT offers real-time business performance data, trends, and insights to financial institutions and business owners. The upSWOT platform, with connections to 200+ SaaS products used daily by small- and medium-sized businesses, is a powerful add-on to digital banking offerings.

Read More

CORE BANKING, DIGITAL BANKING

Jack Henry Continues Phase Out of Screen Scraping on the Banno Digital Banking Platform

PRnewswire | May 30, 2023

Jack Henry™ (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced it continues to replace inbound screen scraping on its Banno Digital Banking Platform with API connections to all five major data exchange platforms, Finicity, Akoya, Plaid, Envestnet | Yodlee, and Intuit, giving accountholders more control of their financial data and protecting financial institutions from a wide range of fraud and security risks that arise from passwords shared with third parties. Screen scraping, while a common practice throughout the industry, presents multiple challenges in both security and customer experience; Jack Henry is on track to eliminate all inbound screen scraping on its Banno Digital Banking Platform by the end of summer this year. Screen scraping is an automated process that uses bots, web crawlers, and other proprietary tools to log into websites on behalf of accountholders using their passwords and credentials. In addition to being a slow and unreliable means of data extraction, screen scraping makes it difficult for financial institutions to distinguish legitimate login attempts from fraudulent ones, leaving systems vulnerable to credential-stuffing attacks and other cyber threats that continue to plague the industry at large. Replacing inbound screen scraping for the more than 700 banks and credit unions on Jack Henry's Banno Digital Banking Platform inaugurates a new and more secure era of financial data exchange. Unlike the indiscriminate data extraction performed by screen scraping, open-API aggregation allows accountholders to specify, minimize, and fully control their data and how it's shared with third-party providers—including the ability to grant or revoke data permissions within their bank or credit union's digital banking experience. "This is an important milestone for the industry, and I am in full support of modernizing the exchange of financial data with Jack Henry's direct APIs to the five major data exchanges," said Phil Suckow, vice president of innovation at $1.9 billion IncredibleBank. "Ending screen scraping for the more than 9 million end-users on Jack Henry's Banno Digital Banking Platform will reset consumer expectations, create a new data security standard, and empower community and regional financial institutions to strengthen and differentiate their service on security and reliability. Leveraging the new API connections to the data exchanges through Jack Henry enables us to continue to be at the forefront in providing open financial data access to our customers." Ted Anastasi, growth team lead at Akoya, added, "The collective goal here is to make financial data access easy and secure so that consumers feel confident using fintech applications. Using APIs as a means of data transfer is a model the industry can use to create more reliable and more secure data sharing. This is a big win for both consumers and open finance." "Screen scraping is an outdated, broken process," said Ben Metz, chief digital and technology officer at Jack Henry. "Sharing passwords is both problematic and prevalent, and this is why the CFPB is scrutinizing screen scraping and proposing new open banking rules later this year. Changing consumer behaviors and expectations is best done at scale. Requiring the use of API-driven, consumer-permissioned data access across our platform will make it easier to recognize and neutralize malicious activity and enable banks and credit unions to minimize fraud and improve their accountholders' financial health and security. It's the right thing to do." Jack Henry is working with the banks and credit unions on its Banno Digital Banking Platform to make a smooth transition from screen scraping to secure, API-based financial data exchange. Visit jackhenry.dev to learn how to integrate solutions with Jack Henry's digital banking platform. About Akoya The Akoya Data Access Network is simplifying data access for open finance. Through a single integration with Akoya, financial institutions, fintechs, and data aggregators can enable multiple API connections and avoid continued maintenance and development efforts. Akoya handles all data-sharing relationships on behalf of network participants and removes the myriad of internal and external costs required to develop and manage multiple third-party agreements. Akoya optimizes for security, transparency, and scalability, and offers a passthrough model that does not copy, store, or hold any financial data or personal information. The network is an interoperable solution available to the entire financial services industry. The independent company is co-owned by 12 of the largest North American financial institutions. To learn more, please visit www.akoya.com. About IncredibleBank℠ IncredibleBank, headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin, was awarded as one of America's Most Innovative Banks by the Independent Community Bankers of America in 2019. With deposit and lending customers in all 50 states, plus their status as one of the nation's top motorcoach and SBA lenders, they are America's First Online National Community Bank (and who doesn't love the idea of a national community?). They are dedicated to their promise of an Incredible Customer ExperienceTM with every interaction. Learn more about IncredibleBank at www.incrediblebank.com. About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® Jack HenryTM (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a well-rounded financial technology company that strengthens connections between financial institutions and the people and businesses they serve. We are an S&P 500 company that prioritizes openness, collaboration, and user centricity – offering banks and credit unions a vibrant ecosystem of internally developed modern capabilities as well as the ability to integrate with leading fintechs. For more than 46 years, Jack Henry has provided technology solutions to enable clients to innovate faster, strategically differentiate, and successfully compete while serving the evolving needs of their accountholders. We empower approximately 8,000 clients with people-inspired innovation, personal service, and insight-driven solutions that help reduce the barriers to financial health. Additional information is available at www.jackhenry.com.

Read More

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Centime Introduces New Working Capital Credit Solutions in Partnership with FNBO

PRnewswire | May 26, 2023

Centime, a Boston-based fintech that offers comprehensive cash management and banking solutions to small-to-midsize businesses, today announced a new set of credit products in partnership with bank partner FNBO. Together, Centime and FNBO are joining forces to combine the modern convenience of online banking and credit solutions with the stability and trust of a 165-year-old financial institution. "Businesses need well-priced credit solutions that can flex to meet their changing liquidity needs," said Carrie Zoucha, Vice President at FNBO. "With Centime, we're able to simply and easily allow customers to access short-term credit online, supported by the bank's resources." In recent years, many small and mid-sized businesses have turned to online lenders, but a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland cites concerns over their transparency on pricing, data privacy and product features. The report notes the critical role of credit, stating: "The Federal Reserve has an ongoing interest in small businesses and their access to the credit they need to succeed and grow." As a fresh entrant into the online lending market, Centime's banking solutions combine the ease and accessibility of a modern fintech solution, while addressing the pitfalls called out by the Federal Reserve. With CentimeCredit, businesses benefit from: Only paying for credit that is used No prepayment penalties No origination fees or monthly fees No minimum periods Ability to draw cash as needed or use the integrated AP Automation solution to pay suppliers directly Visibility over their cash position on a rolling, real-time basis Clear, upfront pricing, without hidden charges and fees or prepayment penalties "We're proud to bring the ultimate flexibility and convenience to CentimeCredit customers, by giving them the freedom to pay virtually any expense with a card or credit line," said Sergio Tzianos, Chief Product Officer of Centime. "We've made the application process simple, the administration is convenient and modern, and it's all provided by a trusted partner in FNBO." This latest addition to Centime's full suite of cash management applications is designed to round out its offerings on cash flow forecasting, AR and AP automation, and banking solutions. And it's a timely introduction, in the wake of recent turmoil in the banking industry that has many financial experts predicting an upcoming credit squeeze for SMBs. "Securing cost-effective credit is an essential component of any cash management strategy, but in light of recent turmoil in the banking industry, now is an especially important time for CFOs to think about how to get that credit from a provider they can trust," said BC Krishna, CEO and Founder of Centime. "We're confident that FNBO is the ideal partner for that, and we're excited to join forces to give customers a convenient and modern user experience from a trusted bank partner." About Centime Centime, Inc. is a Boston-based fintech led by a veteran team of banking, payments, design and fintech professionals. We are bound by a shared desire to help small to mid-sized businesses thrive through strategic cash management and banking solutions. Learn more at www.centime.com About FNBO First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, Inc. (FNNI). FNNI and its affiliates have nearly $30 billion in assets and 5,000 employee associates. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Founded in 1857, FNBO has maintained its commitment to helping build strong communities for more than 165 years. Learn more at fnbo.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Read More

CORE BANKING, DIGITAL BANKING

Actionable Business Insights via upSWOT Now Standard on the Alkami Digital Banking Platform

PRnewswire | June 01, 2023

Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) ("Alkami"), a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for banks and credit unions in the U.S., and upSWOT, a leading fintech platform that connects business applications for integrated data analysis and insight, have expanded their partnership by making upSWOT's business insights from Alkami digital banking data a standard feature available to all Alkami business banking clients. The dashboard is designed to empower businesses and financial institution relationship managers with real-time, actionable insights to: build loyalty and increase engagement opportunities. deliver more personalized and relevant offers to business users to increase cross-sell and upsell revenue rates. gain visibility into business health based on assets, debt load, short and long-term liabilities, and revenue pipelines. "Businesses need to quickly ascertain their performance and partner with a financial institution that can be their trusted advisor to ensure they thrive," said Jeff Chen, vice president, product management at Alkami. "Making upSWOT a standard part of Alkami's business banking solution allows our clients—regional banks and credit unions—to better serve the financial wellness of their business account holders by providing them with the data aggregation, visualization, and analytics they need to grow their revenue." The data-driven insights from upSWOT also identify opportunities for timely recommendations related to business operations. "We believe that small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. This philosophy drives our commitment to providing financial institutions with the innovative tools they need to not only help their business account holders grow but also build loyalty and drive engagement," said Adam Dolby, senior vice president of partnerships at upSWOT. About Alkami Alkami Technology, Inc. is a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions in the United States that enables clients to grow confidently, adapt quickly, and build thriving digital communities. Alkami helps clients transform through retail and business banking, digital account opening, payment security, and data analytics and marketing solutions. To learn more, visit www.alkami.com. About upSWOT upSWOT offers real-time business performance data, trends, and insights to financial institutions and business owners. The upSWOT platform, with connections to 200+ SaaS products used daily by small- and medium-sized businesses, is a powerful add-on to digital banking offerings.

Read More

CORE BANKING, DIGITAL BANKING

Jack Henry Continues Phase Out of Screen Scraping on the Banno Digital Banking Platform

PRnewswire | May 30, 2023

Jack Henry™ (Nasdaq: JKHY) announced it continues to replace inbound screen scraping on its Banno Digital Banking Platform with API connections to all five major data exchange platforms, Finicity, Akoya, Plaid, Envestnet | Yodlee, and Intuit, giving accountholders more control of their financial data and protecting financial institutions from a wide range of fraud and security risks that arise from passwords shared with third parties. Screen scraping, while a common practice throughout the industry, presents multiple challenges in both security and customer experience; Jack Henry is on track to eliminate all inbound screen scraping on its Banno Digital Banking Platform by the end of summer this year. Screen scraping is an automated process that uses bots, web crawlers, and other proprietary tools to log into websites on behalf of accountholders using their passwords and credentials. In addition to being a slow and unreliable means of data extraction, screen scraping makes it difficult for financial institutions to distinguish legitimate login attempts from fraudulent ones, leaving systems vulnerable to credential-stuffing attacks and other cyber threats that continue to plague the industry at large. Replacing inbound screen scraping for the more than 700 banks and credit unions on Jack Henry's Banno Digital Banking Platform inaugurates a new and more secure era of financial data exchange. Unlike the indiscriminate data extraction performed by screen scraping, open-API aggregation allows accountholders to specify, minimize, and fully control their data and how it's shared with third-party providers—including the ability to grant or revoke data permissions within their bank or credit union's digital banking experience. "This is an important milestone for the industry, and I am in full support of modernizing the exchange of financial data with Jack Henry's direct APIs to the five major data exchanges," said Phil Suckow, vice president of innovation at $1.9 billion IncredibleBank. "Ending screen scraping for the more than 9 million end-users on Jack Henry's Banno Digital Banking Platform will reset consumer expectations, create a new data security standard, and empower community and regional financial institutions to strengthen and differentiate their service on security and reliability. Leveraging the new API connections to the data exchanges through Jack Henry enables us to continue to be at the forefront in providing open financial data access to our customers." Ted Anastasi, growth team lead at Akoya, added, "The collective goal here is to make financial data access easy and secure so that consumers feel confident using fintech applications. Using APIs as a means of data transfer is a model the industry can use to create more reliable and more secure data sharing. This is a big win for both consumers and open finance." "Screen scraping is an outdated, broken process," said Ben Metz, chief digital and technology officer at Jack Henry. "Sharing passwords is both problematic and prevalent, and this is why the CFPB is scrutinizing screen scraping and proposing new open banking rules later this year. Changing consumer behaviors and expectations is best done at scale. Requiring the use of API-driven, consumer-permissioned data access across our platform will make it easier to recognize and neutralize malicious activity and enable banks and credit unions to minimize fraud and improve their accountholders' financial health and security. It's the right thing to do." Jack Henry is working with the banks and credit unions on its Banno Digital Banking Platform to make a smooth transition from screen scraping to secure, API-based financial data exchange. Visit jackhenry.dev to learn how to integrate solutions with Jack Henry's digital banking platform. About Akoya The Akoya Data Access Network is simplifying data access for open finance. Through a single integration with Akoya, financial institutions, fintechs, and data aggregators can enable multiple API connections and avoid continued maintenance and development efforts. Akoya handles all data-sharing relationships on behalf of network participants and removes the myriad of internal and external costs required to develop and manage multiple third-party agreements. Akoya optimizes for security, transparency, and scalability, and offers a passthrough model that does not copy, store, or hold any financial data or personal information. The network is an interoperable solution available to the entire financial services industry. The independent company is co-owned by 12 of the largest North American financial institutions. To learn more, please visit www.akoya.com. About IncredibleBank℠ IncredibleBank, headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin, was awarded as one of America's Most Innovative Banks by the Independent Community Bankers of America in 2019. With deposit and lending customers in all 50 states, plus their status as one of the nation's top motorcoach and SBA lenders, they are America's First Online National Community Bank (and who doesn't love the idea of a national community?). They are dedicated to their promise of an Incredible Customer ExperienceTM with every interaction. Learn more about IncredibleBank at www.incrediblebank.com. About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.® Jack HenryTM (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a well-rounded financial technology company that strengthens connections between financial institutions and the people and businesses they serve. We are an S&P 500 company that prioritizes openness, collaboration, and user centricity – offering banks and credit unions a vibrant ecosystem of internally developed modern capabilities as well as the ability to integrate with leading fintechs. For more than 46 years, Jack Henry has provided technology solutions to enable clients to innovate faster, strategically differentiate, and successfully compete while serving the evolving needs of their accountholders. We empower approximately 8,000 clients with people-inspired innovation, personal service, and insight-driven solutions that help reduce the barriers to financial health. Additional information is available at www.jackhenry.com.

Read More

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Centime Introduces New Working Capital Credit Solutions in Partnership with FNBO

PRnewswire | May 26, 2023

Centime, a Boston-based fintech that offers comprehensive cash management and banking solutions to small-to-midsize businesses, today announced a new set of credit products in partnership with bank partner FNBO. Together, Centime and FNBO are joining forces to combine the modern convenience of online banking and credit solutions with the stability and trust of a 165-year-old financial institution. "Businesses need well-priced credit solutions that can flex to meet their changing liquidity needs," said Carrie Zoucha, Vice President at FNBO. "With Centime, we're able to simply and easily allow customers to access short-term credit online, supported by the bank's resources." In recent years, many small and mid-sized businesses have turned to online lenders, but a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland cites concerns over their transparency on pricing, data privacy and product features. The report notes the critical role of credit, stating: "The Federal Reserve has an ongoing interest in small businesses and their access to the credit they need to succeed and grow." As a fresh entrant into the online lending market, Centime's banking solutions combine the ease and accessibility of a modern fintech solution, while addressing the pitfalls called out by the Federal Reserve. With CentimeCredit, businesses benefit from: Only paying for credit that is used No prepayment penalties No origination fees or monthly fees No minimum periods Ability to draw cash as needed or use the integrated AP Automation solution to pay suppliers directly Visibility over their cash position on a rolling, real-time basis Clear, upfront pricing, without hidden charges and fees or prepayment penalties "We're proud to bring the ultimate flexibility and convenience to CentimeCredit customers, by giving them the freedom to pay virtually any expense with a card or credit line," said Sergio Tzianos, Chief Product Officer of Centime. "We've made the application process simple, the administration is convenient and modern, and it's all provided by a trusted partner in FNBO." This latest addition to Centime's full suite of cash management applications is designed to round out its offerings on cash flow forecasting, AR and AP automation, and banking solutions. And it's a timely introduction, in the wake of recent turmoil in the banking industry that has many financial experts predicting an upcoming credit squeeze for SMBs. "Securing cost-effective credit is an essential component of any cash management strategy, but in light of recent turmoil in the banking industry, now is an especially important time for CFOs to think about how to get that credit from a provider they can trust," said BC Krishna, CEO and Founder of Centime. "We're confident that FNBO is the ideal partner for that, and we're excited to join forces to give customers a convenient and modern user experience from a trusted bank partner." About Centime Centime, Inc. is a Boston-based fintech led by a veteran team of banking, payments, design and fintech professionals. We are bound by a shared desire to help small to mid-sized businesses thrive through strategic cash management and banking solutions. Learn more at www.centime.com About FNBO First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, Inc. (FNNI). FNNI and its affiliates have nearly $30 billion in assets and 5,000 employee associates. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Founded in 1857, FNBO has maintained its commitment to helping build strong communities for more than 165 years. Learn more at fnbo.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Read More