Nordic Fintech Magazine’s - The Future of

The Role of Marketing in Establishing Emotional Connections with Customers Jenny Gaffner, Nordic Head of B2C Marketing and Communications, BNP Paribas Personal Finance

The role of Marketing and Communications in any financial services organisation cannot be understated. It is this function that opens a door between the output of all internal processes and the needs of the customers.  Most importantly, this is the only function tasked with creating emotional relationships with customers, and to do so successfully, requires a deep psychological understanding of peoples' highly emotional and highly personal relationship with money.

In this fascinating interview with Jenny Gaffner, Nordic Head of B2C Marketing and Communications at BNP Paribas Personal Finance we learn about the transformation that the Marketing and Comms function in finance has undergone in the past 10 years.  Jenny walks us through the highly set of specialized skills that marketers require, beyond traditional marketing, to successfully communicate the value proposition of financial institutions and fintechs to the wider market. Jenny is sharp, insightful and you'll be glad you listened to her keen observations on Marketing and Communications in Finance.

Venture Capital to set Innovation in Motion - Mathias Kaasgaard, Investment Associate at Vækstfonden

We often marvel at the heroic feats of entrepreneurship that founders and innovators achieve when they combine their determination and execution ability to bring new products and services into existence. However, for most of us, how capital flows behind the scene to fuel all this innovation is still a bit of a mystery.

We had a chance to catch up with Mathias Kaasgaard, Investment Associate at Vækstfonden who was able to expertly explain the role of Venture Capital and how it powers the dreams that are changing the world. In this enlightening primer on Venture Capital you'll learn about different types of funding available to founders, the pros, the risks and what goes on in the mind of the venture capitalists.

Impact Investment for the Next Generation- Varan Pathmanathan CEO & Founder at Make Impact

Step aside. The new generation is coming with tall orders and high demands and financial institutions better be willing to listen! We’ve recently been covering the trend of democratisation of Financial Services, especially within the wealth management space. A number of movements, especially amongst the younger generations, like the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), the Antiwork movement are causing millennials and Gen Zeters to rethink their approach to earning, saving and spending.  This is resulting in a demand for wealth creation and wealth building products, never seen before, from a generation that has traditionally been neglected by the Financial Services Industry.

In this excerpt or our lively conversation with Varan Parthmanathan, CEO & Founder at Make Impact, he shares with us Make Impact is educating a younger generation to invest sustainable. In this conversation you’ll find out the distinct consumer behaviours of those between 18  and 28 and the mindset shift required from financial organisations to learn to listen to the needs of this group to develop solutions that cater for their needs and values. Varan’s contagious enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for disrupting the investment space will leave you wanting to try out their platform and learn how to start making impact. 

Credit Intelligence to Maximize Business -Timm Jeppersen CEO & Co-Founder at Risika

Having to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days for a company to do good on their invoices often without the certainty that the payment will come can be critical to SMEs. The wealth of data available to companies these days is bolstering the creation insights and predictive power businesses have at their fingertips. One of the areas in finance that is seeing an enormous amount of transformation from more data and new ways of putting it to use is the area of credit worthiness and credit risk assessment.  For companies this can dramatically improve the precision with which they can assess who to do business with, a super power that,  can not only help them ensure that trading partners are able to honour their commitments,  but that can also help them maximise business opportunities along their value chains

In this highly informative and engaging interview with Timm Jeppesen, CEO & Co-Founder at Risika we hear about the challenges that Small and Medium Enterprises  (SMEs) face when transacting with organisations that are at risk of losses from non-paying partners. Hear about how technology is helping SMEs assess the risk of doing business with each other and how Risika is creating services that businesses can use to maximize the value of commercial relationships with their partners while reducing risk.

Democratizing Wealth: Levelling the Financial Playing Field for Society - Ramtin Matin Head of Innovation at Sparebank 1-SR Bank

Culture is changing faster than ever before and with it people's aims and ambitions. Strong trends amongst the young, like the FIRE - Financial Independence Retire early and the Antiwork movements are not only disrupting the whole idea of what it means to work for a living, but also what it means to accumulate wealth. And as we all know, where there is demand, supply follows.

A new wave of disruption is hitting wealth management, a part of financial services that was traditionally reserved for the wealthy who could afford the steep fees associated with having a dedicated advisor. In this provocative and lively conversation with the engaging Ramtin Matin, Head of Innovation at Sparebank 1-SR Bank in Norway, we find out what the democratization of wealth management is all about and the exciting opportunities it is opening for the rest of us.

Cryptocurrency, Web 3 and Metaverse Businesses of the Future - Karina Rothoff Brix, Denmark Country Manager at Firi

The volatility of Crypto, which is typically used as an argument against the whole concept has definitely put the the whole idea of a decentralised alternative financial and monetary system to test, especially in recent days as we’ve seen heavy drops in the cryptomarket. But as the dust settles we need to start an honest and balanced conversation about the risk and benefits of new asset classes, and the revolutionary potential that new forms of capturing and exchanging value have for the creation of entirely new economies.

In this fascinating conversation with Karina Rothof Brix, Denmark’s country Manager at Firi, the largest crypto exchange in the Nordics, we get a sober view on risk in crypto in contrast with other risky investments like private equity and venture capital. We also discuss different levels of crypto uptake across the Nordics and the impact that Web 3 business models will have on the way we create and exchange value in the future. This is a must see for anyone interested in understanding what the future of business and the underpinning economy could look like.

Artificial Intelligence Helps Startups Get Funded- Interview with Kim Lundberg Head of ArK Kapital Denmark

Wonderful things happen when subject matter experts combine their knowledge with technology. A sound business model can all of a sudden become exponentially scaleable, more precise, timely and multiply its value manyfold. 

Swedish Debt Funding firm ArK Kapital uses artificial intelligence to empower technology companies to grow faster, achieve their potential and make the world better for all. Its founding team of senior technologists and bankers have masterfully combined the power of data and frontier tech, with their deep understanding of finance and risk to bring a non dilutive, debt solution to entrepreneurs. In this enlightening interview with Kim Lundberg, Head of ArK Kapital Denmark we hear about ArK's philosophy, its innovative way to assess credit worthiness and its approach to radical transparency that unleashes entrepreneurship without the financial barriers of the past.

When Design Meets Regulatory Compliance - Legal Design interview with Abda Rothman, Nordea Group Legal

Some things in live were meant to go together. Peanut butter & jam, bacon & eggs, Netflix and chill. However, amongst all the things that could be harmoniously combined, one would be excused for not arriving at the conclusion that Design & Law could fit the bill. And yet, this may be one of the most revolutionary ideas we have come across in a while.

It's been suggested that "Design adds value faster than it adds costs" and in this fascinating talk with the outstanding Abda Rothman, Regulatory Strategic Partner at Nordea Group Legal we learn how one of the most important banks in the Nordics is rethinking parts of it's Legal function, through the lens of design. In this interview you'll get to hear what Legal Design is all about, the principles that the function borrows directly form Design, and and how this seemingly "lo-fi" solution can radically improve customer communication, experience and loyalty in financial services and beyond.

The Enormous Business Opportunity of Embedded Finance - Interview with Fredrik Neumann, Nordics Country Manager for Worldpay

Not long ago, online payments and specially mobile ones, required a tiresome and inefficient process of taking out your card, typing in your name, card number, expiry date and CVV. This feat was often done on a tiny phone keyboard only to find out that your payment had been declined, either because you missed a number in the long chain of characters you were forced to enter or because your bank had rejected the transaction.

Things have improved significantly in the last few years as payments have become an integral and often invisible feature of the purchasing experience. Now, things are about to get wild! As embedded finance continues to make waves in financial services innovation, today it is possible to embed all manner of financial services, like loans, investment, insurance and even pensions into unlikely places, a trend that not only drastically improves convenience for customers, but that exponentially increase the potential opportunities for business. In this thought provoking interview with Fredrik Neumann, Nordics Country Manager for Worldpay, the world largest acquirer, we learn more about what the embedded future of finance has in store in the months and years to come.

Redesigning Money from Scratch: How Cryptocurrencies Can Change the World - Expert Interview with Liv Freihow, NBX

Cryptocurrencies continue to make strides towards the mainstream with more than 10,000 active cryptos in circulation and over 300 million users globally, and yet there is still so much confusion as to what they are, what they are not and how they are changing our economies and society.

Leave it to the experts in communication to explain this in an easy uncomplicated and jargon-free way. We recently had the wonderful pleasure of speaking to Liv Freihow, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at NBX, one of Norways largest cryptoexchanges. Liv has 15 years experience helping IT companies and tech start-ups with regulatory issues, market access, internationalisation, access to capital and advising government on digital policy. Today, she expertly breaks down for us what the different types of digital currencies are, how they are redefining money from scratch and the potential they have to change the world.